Soil is the foundation of life on Earth. Its beauty and complexity as a living ecosystem are vast, and its functions are integral to our lives. For example, 95 percent of global food production depends on healthy soils, making access to fertile soil essential in the fight against hunger. Soils are also a crucial ally in adapting to climate change, as they help buffer the effects of droughts and floods.

Yet, climate change and competing global demands on soils place immense pressure on this invaluable resource, leading to soil erosion, biodiversity loss, and degradation. Indeed, a staggering one-third of the world’s soils are degraded. Meanwhile, land demands have yet again skyrocketed, inciting land grabs and human rights violations. Within Europe, this increasing land demand makes it difficult for young farmers to find affordable land. In the face of waning political will to protect this precious asset – even as climate change impacts increase and land use competition intensifies – our Soil Atlas is much more than an act of defiance. It offers a critical scrutiny of the diverse challenges we face in nurturing the very foundation that sustains us: the ground beneath our feet. It also showcases practical solutions.

The Soil Atlas 2024 also highlights key areas where collaborations and new alliances can be established to protect our soils. It also proposes a bottom-up approach to implementing joint actions and advocates for better natural resource governance, grounded in robust protection of human rights and land rights, particularly for women and local communities at heightened risk.

All graphs are directly downloadable here.