In Salvation of African Soils: Exploring the Window of Opportunity Through Nationally Determined Contributions to Implement Sustainable Soil Management

Abstract

Although soil is deemed the foundation of food production and many ecosystem services, it is also responsible for the majority of biodiversity loss, soil erosion and a large share of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda affirms the importance of proper management of soils. This is evident, for instance, in SDG 3.9 which aims, by 2030, to substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from soil pollution and contamination. SDG 12.4 also aims to substantially reduce the release of chemicals and their wastes into soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment. These are complemented by SDG 15.3 which among other actions, aims to restore degraded land and soil, and to achieve a land degradation-neutral world by the year 2030. Since soil is the world’s largest terrestrial pool of carbon, about twice that found as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it can play a critical role in regulating climate and mitigating climate change through trade-offs between greenhouse gas emission and carbon sequestration. At the African level, while challenges in soil health, and the impacts of climate change are high, continental treaty provisions demonstrate prioritization of soil management. In addition, the contents of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change demonstrate that African countries recognize the vulnerability of their soils and have identified the opportunities to introduce sustainable soil management through adaptation and mitigation actions.