Milo Mitchell / International Food Policy Research Institute

UNCCD COP15 | Scaling soil health globally

Multi-stakeholder action with evidence-based public and private investment.

What is UNCCD COP15?

The fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will take place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 9 to 20 May 2022.

The COP15 theme, ‘Land. Life. Legacy: From scarcity to prosperity', is a call to action to ensure land, the lifeline on this planet, continues to benefit present and future generations.  ​

COP15 will bring together leaders from governments, the private sector, civil society and other key stakeholders from around the world to drive progress in the future sustainable management of one of our most precious commodities: land. ​

Source: UNCCD

Our session

This session contributes to the goals of the UNCCD COP15 in combatting desertification by scaling investments in soil health by bringing together diverse stakeholders to scale action. 

These stakeholders are drawn from various communities: science, policy, development and conservation as well as the private sector.

The session provides insights into the final statements emerging from UNCCD COP15, and updates participants on advancements in the science that is enabling the monitoring of soil health.

Furthermore, the session demonstrates the need for multi-stakeholder action to achieve the UN Global Goals, by focusing on approaches to development that consider and respect soil health. 

The objectives of this session are to: 

  1. Raise awareness of and support to the critical role that soil health has to play in meeting the UN Global Goals, including goals on limiting land degradation.
  2. Garner support for the Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH)
  3. Demonstrate the impact of national policies on soil health.
  4. Highlight private sector investments that—if scaled—can increase equitable financial incentives that reach farmers, enabling scaling of healthy soil practices in communities. 

Leigh Ann Winowiecki of the AICCRA 'Innovation' team will speak at the event. Leigh is also soil and land health global research lead for the union of Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry Centre (CIFOR-ICRAF) which provides solutions to global problems for forests, landscapes, people and the planet.

For AICCRA's Innovation theme, Leigh is set to publish AICCRA policy briefs on how countries integrate soil carbon in nationally determined contributions (NDCs). 

Join us!

The event is in hybrid format. All UNCCD COP15 attendees are welcome to join in-person, while virtual participation is also possible. 

Register here for virtual participation

Read more

For more details on the event, visit the CA4SH website.