Soil is one of the essential components of a productive agricultural sector, and is a key provider of ecosystem services, such as regulating climate change and water flows, providing clean water, food, feed, and fuel, supporting human infrastructure, and buffering and filtering contaminants. However, due to the complexity of soil resources and the different stakeholders that benefit from them, soil governance is generally addressed in a dispersed manner in current national and international legal frameworks, ranging from agricultural legislation to regulations on mining, urban development and environmental protection.

A better understanding of the extent to which soils are protected and their use and management regulated is essential as soil governance determines how soils are used and can contribute to the conservation of their essential functions. Advancing soil protection in national programmes and building national capacity for law-making and enforcement are key to ensuring sustainable use and management of soil and ultimately achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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