Land degradation costs the world $878 billion annually; new resolution seeks international legal framework to protect soil health

 The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has formally adopted Motion 007: Soil Security Law at its World Conservation Congress held in Abu Dhabi this month. The resolution calls for the development of an international convention or global legal instrument to ensure soil security, marking the first global step toward giving soil the legal recognition it urgently needs.

The motion, approved by IUCN members, mandates the organisation’s World Commission on Environmental Law to explore options for legally binding and non-binding instruments on soil protection. It defines soil security as the “responsible management and preservation of soil to ensure its continued ability to perform vital functions, provide essential ecosystem and biophysical services, and protect against emerging threats to support life on Earth.”

Motion 007 introduces a five-dimensional framework—capacity, condition, capital, connectivity, and codification—to guide nations in embedding soil security into policy, legislation, and development planning. The dimensions are expected to shape the foundation of a potential global convention on soil, encouraging countries to take coordinated action against degradation and loss of soil fertility.

Soil is now recognised as the “eighth existential issue,” alongside climate change, food and water scarcity, biodiversity loss, energy sustainability, environmental degradation, and human well-being. According to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), over 16 million sq km of land could face severe degradation by 2050 if countries fail to act. The economic toll is already staggering—an estimated $878 billion in annual global losses—as land degradation continues to erode the planet’s capacity to sustain humanity.

Despite the existence of international agreements on forests, water, and climate, soil has historically lacked a comparable global convention. Motion 007 seeks to bridge that gap by positioning soil as a central pillar of environmental and developmental policy.

Spiritual leader and environmental campaigner Sadhguru, whose Save Soil movement co-sponsored the motion, welcomed the decision on social media. “Congratulations to the @IUCN Membership for adopting Resolution 007 on a Soil Security Law… This is a significant step towards global recognition of the need for holistic, committed protection of soil. Now the real work begins—let’s come together for soil, our farmers, all life, and our future,” he said.

The adoption of the Soil Security Law motion marks a pivotal moment in global conservation efforts—signalling that soil, long overlooked, is finally gaining the policy and legal attention it deserves. The next step, experts say, will be turning this resolution into a binding international framework that can secure the very foundation of life on Earth.