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Keywords

soil, soil crisis, land use, soil degradation, Land Degradation Neutrality, LDN, LDN framework, Green Revolution

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Feeding a larger world while preserving the resource that makes agriculture possible—soil—poses a governance problem. By 2050, food systems must support 9.8 billion people even as prevailing practices continue to degrade soils that are non-renewable on human timescales. Technological fixes (e.g., vertical farming, hydroponics) may complement production, but they cannot substitute for soil at scale. The question that follows is simple: are current uses of soil compatible with the future needs of food systems? This article argues that without a shift in governance, short-run productivity gains are achieved by drawing down the soil asset, thereby undermining long-run food security and key ecosystem services.

This research examines how current agricultural practices shape soil degradation outcomes through interconnected analyses structured in two parts. Part II of the article explores the scientific understanding of the soil crisis through four sections. Part III of the article explores governance frameworks and their practical implications through four sections. In this context, a governance framework is a structured system of principles, processes, and institutions that guides policy decision-making and implementation across multiple scales and actors. Unlike specific legal mechanisms that enforce particular rules, governance frameworks provide the overarching structure within which various regulatory, economic, and social instruments operate cohesively.

This research focuses on such frameworks because soil’s multifunctional nature, supporting food production while simultaneously providing ecosystem services like carbon sequestration, water regulation, and biodiversity habitat, requires approaches that can balance competing priorities and coordinate actions across jurisdictional boundaries.

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