Status of the World’s Soil Resources

The Status of the World’s Soil Resources 2026 provides an updated global assessment of the status of and trends in the adoption of sustainable soil management of the world’s soils, published now more than a decade after the first edition in 2015. The report shows that, while knowledge and solutions have advanced since then, sustainable soil management is still not being adopted at the scale and pace needed.

At the same time, it highlights proven practices and enabling conditions that can accelerate the adoption of sustainable soil management, offering a clear pathway towards healthier soils and more resilient agrifood systems. Prepared by the scientific advisory body of the FAO Global Soil Partnership (GSP), the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS), the assessment brings together scientific evidence and regional expertise from around the world. The report involves 293 experts from 76 countries, supported by 12 senior editors and 37 expert reviewers, and draws on scientific literature published between 2015 and 2025.

The 2026 assessment complements and updates the first Status of the World’s Soil Resources 2015, published in 2015.