The policy brief, launched on 31 March 2019 at the Near East and North Africa Land and Water Days, aims to raise awareness and trigger policy action on the added value of soil resources in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region.
The document supports the aim of all NENA countries to promote Sustainable Soil Management (SSM) and demonstrates the value of coordinated and targeted action to safeguard the conservation of soils within the region towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The brief analyzes the close links between soil health and food security and nutrition; water scarcity; climate mitigation and adaptation; and, involuntary migration in the region. It consolidates regional and country-specific data from a number of sources and suggests key areas of intervention for policies.
Soil degradation in NENA is driven by multiple and complex variables; threatening food security and water availability, increasing social economic inequality and depleting ecosystems, particularly through desertification. For this reason, it is fundamental that inclusive agricultural/environmental policies which include SSM fit within a broader natural resource management agenda, one that integrates water security, climate change adaptation and domestic crop production priorities.
This is the first policy brief of a series, the Global Soil Partnership will be developing evidence-based policy briefs for all regions to support policy-makers in the promotion of SSM and healthy soils.
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