As UN agencies warn that more than half of the world’s soils are in poor condition, investigators say erosion, nutrient mismanagement and biodiversity loss are undermining food supplies worldwide—while proven solutions remain underused.
By A1 News International
LONDON / ULAANBAATAR, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026 — Global soil degradation is accelerating at an alarming rate, threatening not only food production but also biodiversity and the planet’s ability to absorb carbon, according to a new UN report released Thursday. The findings warn that erosion and other long-identified soil threats—ranging from depleted soil organic carbon to pollution and unplanned urban expansion—are being intensified by climate change, even as many effective soil-protection techniques remain inconsistently implemented.
Soils Under Pressure: Food Systems at Risk
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said soils are essential to modern life, supporting most of the world’s food production while providing habitat for vast biodiversity. The report highlights that soils also function as a major carbon sink—second only to oceans—meaning that deterioration can worsen climate impacts in addition to heightening hunger and instability.
“Globally, we must shift from a mindset of soil exploitation to one of soil stewardship,” the FAO warned, urging governments and stakeholders to treat soil health as critical infrastructure rather than an expendable input.
Investigative Findings: Where Soil Health Is Failing
The report evaluates soil management across regions and subregions, concluding that the majority are not being maintained at sustainable levels. It found soil management is poor or very poor in 52.5% of regions and subregions, fair in roughly one-third, and good or very good in only 14%—a distribution the UN described as evidence of an implementation gap between known remedies and real-world practice.
The FAO emphasized that the crisis is worsening. “Soil degradation continues to accelerate at an alarming rate,” the report states, linking deterioration to widespread erosion and mismanagement.
Erosion Tops the List of Threats
According to the report, the single greatest threat to soils is erosion, driven by unsustainable land-use practices that allow topsoil to be washed away by water or blown away by wind. In many places, repeated disturbance of land—such as through intensive tillage—can reduce soil structure and expose organic-rich layers to loss.
Beyond erosion, the UN lists multiple compounding threats, including:
- Loss of soil organic carbon (a key measure of the soil’s health and fertility)
- Nutrient mismanagement
- Depleted soil biodiversity
- Salt build-up
- Pollution
- Urban expansion into productive lands
Climate Change: A Multiplier of Soil Damage
The report warns that climate change is likely to intensify many drivers of soil decline by increasing the frequency and severity of droughts, storms and extreme weather. It also notes a two-way relationship: while climate stress can degrade soils, soil degradation itself can contribute to climate change by reducing carbon storage capacity and increasing emissions.
Why Solutions Aren’t Scaling: Costs, Access and Incentives
The FAO said the problem is not a shortage of knowledge. Many soil-protection and restoration practices were widely understood prior to the agency’s earlier global assessment released in 2015—yet implementation has lagged.
The report argues that adoption barriers are rooted in economics and capacity, including:
- Limited access to finance and inputs
- High upfront costs for farmers
- Insufficient localised data for decision-making
- Weak incentives to shift away from damaging practices
The FAO called for stronger financial incentives, better locally tailored information, and greater use of indigenous knowledge alongside agricultural science.
Telling Trends Since the 2015 Assessment
The UN noted that compared with the 2015 baseline, demographic and land-use pressure has grown substantially. Since then, the world’s population has increased by about 800 million people, and roughly 80 million hectares (around 200 million acres) of additional land—described as near the combined size of France and Germany—has been converted to major crop production.
Investigators say this expansion increases the likelihood of intensified cultivation and land pressure, especially in regions already facing erosion, drought risk and fragile soils.
Management Improves in Only a Fraction of Areas
The report finds soil management improved in just 10% of assessed areas, while it deteriorated in 58%. This trend reinforces the warning that the global soil crisis is not slowing—and that future food security may depend on rapid shifts in how farmland is managed.
Known Protective Practices: From Tillage Reduction to Agroforestry
Among the recommended strategies to reduce degradation, the FAO highlights measures such as:
- Reducing or abandoning tillage: The report notes that tillage can disrupt soil biology and increase erosion risk by breaking up natural soil structure.
- Cover crops: Growing legumes and brassicas on fallow land can help hold soils in place and support nutrient content.
- Agroforestry: Integrating trees into farming systems can improve soil stability and long-term land resilience.
- More responsible fertiliser use: The FAO says smarter nutrient application is critical—but also cautions that fertiliser mismanagement can contribute to pollution.
COP17 Context: Desertification Talks and Missed Agreements
The findings were released as diplomats and experts gather for COP17 on desertification in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where negotiators are hoping to reach a global agreement to combat drought and land degradation. The UN noted that COP16, held in Riyadh two years earlier, failed to produce an agreement—underscoring the political and implementation challenges surrounding land restoration commitments.
With erosion and soil mismanagement undermining fertility across wide regions, the UN report warns that global food systems face escalating risk—along with wider damage to biodiversity and climate stability. Investigators say the key issue is not the lack of solutions, but the failure to scale them: practical soil stewardship methods are known, yet financial constraints, weak incentives and limited local resources continue to stall progress. The stakes, the UN warns, are no longer confined to farms—soil health is now a global security issue.
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