An integrated approach to land, soil and water management

To feed the growing population and ensure food security for all by 2050, the world will need to produce approximately 50 percent more food, feed and other agricultural products than in 2012. Achieving this goal depends heavily on the sustainable management of natural resources like land, soil and water.  

Progress toward the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined in the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda), as well as commitments in the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, positions agriculture as a driver of a more sustainable future, while protecting the livelihoods of over 500 million smallholder farmers and rural communities worldwide.  

FAO’s work on land, soil and water plays a pivotal role across all dimensions of sustainable development. This work includes supporting effective governance and management of agrifood systems, delivering essential ecosystem services, conserving and using sustainably biodiversity, ensuring food security and nutrition, promoting people’s and planet health, and addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation.  

FAO promotes integrated approaches to sustainable land, soil and water management to bring greater coherence to policies and practices that combat climate change and protect the primary production systems which support the bulk of our food. It provides governments with a suite of resources – including toolkits, digital platforms, and real-time data – to help them develop legal and financial policies. The Organization also provides technical guidance. tools and training to farmers and land users to improve land, soil and water management, to enhance sustainable and efficient use of fertilizers and fertility management, and to restore degraded lands and soils to produce more and better.  

Through partnerships, field projects, policy analysis and knowledge dissemination, FAO contributes to a better understanding of the complex interdependencies between land, soil and water resources. The Organization also raises awareness about the degradation of resources caused by unsustainable agricultural practices, and promotes responsible management of land, soil and water - essential for achieving the four betters of the FAO Strategic Framework 2022–2031: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind. 

Thanks to its work on the food-land–water nexus, FAO has developed cutting-edge, practical and policy-relevant tools to support informed decisions on land and water use.