you may ask
What is Soil Security and why do we need a Think Tank for Soil and Soil Security?
Soil security is the maintenance of our soils to sustain life on Earth. Soil is essential for food production, water filtration, carbon storage, and biodiversity. Yet, it faces growing threats from erosion, contamination, deforestation, and climate change. By prioritizing soil security, we can maintain its vital functions and ensure a thriving planet for future generations.
Addressing soil security requires expertise from diverse field, not only soil science, and a unified global effort. A dedicated think tank creates a collaborative space where scientists, policymakers, economists, and educators can address soil-related challenges and develop innovative solutions. By keeping soil security at the forefront of the global agenda, the think tank fosters actionable strategies that protect this vital resource and ensure a resilient future for all.
Here comes Aroura
Despite its critical role, soil remains largely neglected in global policy agendas.
In response to this urgent issue, Aroura – the Soil and Soil Security Think Tank was established to raise soil security to the forefront of global priorities.
The Think Tank unites a wide range of experts from fields such as politics, law, economics, and soil science, working together to address the global need for sustainable soil management.
In October 2024, the first Global Soil Security Summit was held in Sydney, Australia.
3 DAYS
For three days, experts were gathered together to discuss soil security and the necessity of a Think Tank
15 SESSIONS
Those sessions were necessary to build the ground to design effective soil policies to safeguard soil.
15 COUNTRIES
Experts came from Australia, United States of America, South Korea, Italy, Germany, Spain, South Africa, Brazil, Scotland, Indonesia, India, France, Iran, Colombia & Chile.
5 CONTINENTS
All continents were well represented by scientists, economists, lawyers and politicians.
our fondamentals
The Soil Security Declaration
The Global Soil Security Summit was highly productive, yielding two landmark documents.
The first one is the Soil Security Declaration, a global call to action to prioritize soil protection. .
The Soil Security Declaration
We urge the nations and peoples of the world to acknowledge the vital significance of soil for both humanity and the planet. It is imperative that we develop a comprehensive plan of action to safeguard the world’s soil for the future. Soil provides an essential foundation for life and human civilisation. While its natural formation may take millennia, its degradation can occur almost instantaneously, presenting a profound challenge to our shared future. The loss of soil function poses serious risks to our food systems, economies, societies, ecosystems, and the overall stability of our global community. The UNCCD reports that we annually lose 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil, causing significant economic damage. This underscores that soil insecurity is not only an environmental concern but also a pressing economic issue.
History serves as a reminder of the far-reaching consequences of soil insecurity. The decline of great civilisations, such as the Babylonian and Mayan Empires, highlight the critical importance of soil security. Furthermore, current events—such as the devastation of vital agricultural regions in Ukraine due to conflict and the salinisation of vast tracts of soil in Central Asia—illustrate ongoing challenges. Regions that become unproductive and uninhabitable may face significant migratory pressures, which could exacerbate tensions over diminishing resources. The emergence of new threats, including the accumulation of exogenous chemicals in soil, and their unknown impacts, adds urgency to the mission of securing soil, including its regeneration.
It is essential to recognise that soil is central to addressing eight existential challenges of our time: food security, water security, energy security, climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity preservation, supporting human health, sustainable ecosystems and soil security itself. Soil should not be conflated with land; it requires its own dedicated regulation and thoughtful stewardship.
To confront this pressing issue, we have developed a set of core principles to guide global efforts toward ensuring soil security. We advocate for the design and implementation of effective policies and laws that engage diverse communities through a collaborative governance model, fostering the connection between people and soil. We encourage every nation to adopt comprehensive soil strategies that recognize and harness the myriad benefits of soil for humanity and the planet. Such strategies should incorporate incentive-based approaches that encourage positive actions for sustainable soil management and usage.
As participants in the first Global Soil Security Summit, we issue this declaration—a global call to action. We urge governments, legislatures, scientists, businesses, and citizens worldwide to join forces in the vital effort to secure our soils. We aim to promote the recognition, protection, and sustainable management of soil resources.
The University of Sydney, Thursday, October 17 , 2024
The Soil Security Declaration
We urge the nations and peoples of the world to acknowledge the vital significance of soil for both humanity and the planet. It is imperative that we develop a comprehensive plan of action to safeguard the world’s soil for the future. Soil provides an essential foundation for life and human civilisation. While its natural formation may take millennia, its degradation can occur almost instantaneously, presenting a profound challenge to our shared future. The loss of soil function poses serious risks to our food systems, economies, societies, ecosystems, and the overall stability of our global community. The UNCCD reports that we annually lose 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil, causing significant economic damage. This underscores that soil insecurity is not only an environmental concern but also a pressing economic issue.
History serves as a reminder of the far-reaching consequences of soil insecurity. The decline of great civilisations, such as the Babylonian and Mayan Empires, highlight the critical importance of soil security. Furthermore, current events—such as the devastation of vital agricultural regions in Ukraine due to conflict and the salinisation of vast tracts of soil in Central Asia—illustrate ongoing challenges. Regions that become unproductive and uninhabitable may face significant migratory pressures, which could exacerbate tensions over diminishing resources. The emergence of new threats, including the accumulation of exogenous chemicals in soil, and their unknown impacts, adds urgency to the mission of securing soil, including its regeneration.
It is essential to recognise that soil is central to addressing eight existential challenges of our time: food security, water security, energy security, climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity preservation, supporting human health, sustainable ecosystems and soil security itself. Soil should not be conflated with land; it requires its own dedicated regulation and thoughtful stewardship.
To confront this pressing issue, we have developed a set of core principles to guide global efforts toward ensuring soil security. We advocate for the design and implementation of effective policies and laws that engage diverse communities through a collaborative governance model, fostering the connection between people and soil. We encourage every nation to adopt comprehensive soil strategies that recognize and harness the myriad benefits of soil for humanity and the planet. Such strategies should incorporate incentive-based approaches that encourage positive actions for sustainable soil management and usage.
As participants in the first Global Soil Security Summit, we issue this declaration—a global call to action. We urge governments, legislatures, scientists, businesses, and citizens worldwide to join forces in the vital effort to secure our soils. We aim to promote the recognition, protection, and sustainable management of soil resources.
The University of Sydney, Thursday, October 17 , 2024
Policy Principles
The second document created during the Think Tank 2024 is a powerful set of policy guidelines, offering nations a framework for creating effective and sustainable soil policies
The team behind aroura
Meet the members
The Soil Security Think Tank is made up of leading experts in soil science, policy, economics, and environmental law, whose collective knowledge drives the mission to secure soil as a vital global resource. Supporting their work is the dedicated secretariat, managing logistics, communications, and operations to ensure the success of the think tank’s initiatives and events. Together, they form the backbone of the effort to protect and promote soil security worldwide.
EXPERTS MEMBERS – SECRETARIAT MEMBERS
Penelope Wensley
Soil Advocate – AUSTRALIA
Mercedes Román Dobarco
Soil scientist – SPAIN
Irene Heuser
Environmental lawyer – GERMANY
Cristine Morgan
Soil scientist – UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Pasquale Borrelli
Soil scientist – ITALY
Mara Thiene
Economist – ITALY
Liesl Wiese
Independant consultant – SOUTH AFRICA
Fatima Maria De Souza Moreira
Soil scientist – BRAZIL
Damien Field
Soil scientist – AUSTRALIA
Budiman Minasny
Soil scientist – AUSTRALIA
Alex McBratney
Soil scientist – AUSTRALIA
Jae E. Yang
Soil scientist – SOUTH KOREA
Sandra Evangelista
Postdoc researcher – AUSTRALIA
Julio Pachón Maldonado
Postdoc researcher – COLOMBIA
Soil is much more than just dirt—it is the foundation of food, life, and our future.
Jae E. Yang
For soil, we need an agreement, a global agreement, like we have for climate change and biodiversity.
Alex McBratney
Our lives depend on the millions of species that call soil home. By securing the soil, we secure life itself.
Fatima Maria de Souza Moreira
Quentin Styc
Postdoc researcher – FRANCE
Wartini Ng
Postdoc researcher – INDONESIA
Amin Sharififar
Postdoc researcher – IRAN
Thilini Jayasekara
PhD candidate –
SRI LANKA
Soil is a unifier and connector; it supports our food, homes, medicine, and clean water.
Liesl Wiese
Discussing the roles and the dimensions of soil security, including legal principles and instruments, was a fascinating experience.
Irene Heuser
David Watt
PhD candidate – SCOTLAND
Nicolas Francos
Postdoc researcher – CHILE
Anilkumar Hunakunti
PhD candidate – INDIA
Julia Feeth
PhD candidate – GERMANY
Daniel Park
Administrative Officer
the most important
Our Mission
Raise Global Awareness
Soil is often invisible in policy and public discourse, yet it is crucial for everything from agriculture to biodiversity.
We aim to bring soil security to the forefront of global environmental efforts.
Drive Actionable Solutions
By uniting experts, policymakers and communities, we are committed to developing practical, science-based solutions to protect and regenerate our soil.
This includes supporting innovative farming practices, policy reform, and new soil technologies.
Promote Global Collaboration
Securing soil requires a united global response.
We aim to build partnerships across sectors and borders, ensuring that every voice is heard and every effort counts.
Together, we can create a future where soil security is guaranteed for generations to come.
Get In Touch
If you have any questions, want to explore new collaborations, discuss potential projects, or have a media inquiry, please do not hesitate to reach out—we would love to hear from you!
Thank you!
We extend our heartfelt thanks to Nick Fairfax for their generous donation and to the Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship (FL210100054) for their support of the Soil Security project entitled ‘A calculable approach to securing Australia’s soils’. Those contributions have been essential in making this summit possible.