At #UNCCD #COP17 on 20 August, a DNI-convened side event examined how #soil information systems can strengthen sustainable land management (SLM), #land restoration and national delivery of land degradation neutrality (LDN).

❗ UNCCD Chief Scientist Barron Orr called on the soil science community to translate soil information into actionable evidence for national reporting under #SDG indicator 15.3.1 and for targeting land-restoration investments.

💡 Evidence presented by Melissa Allan (UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology), Claudio Zucca (University of Sassari) and Tatenda Lemann (WOCAT), drawing on AUSO and #SOILS4MED, showed how interoperable soil data can support diagnosis, selection, monitoring and scaling of SLM practices.

🤝 Policy takeaway: countries should treat soil information systems as public decision infrastructure, linking harmonized data, local knowledge, accessible tools and institutional capacity to restoration planning, monitoring and adaptive management.

The event was moderated by Pandi Zdruli of CIHEAM Bari and addressed by Rachid Serraj in opening remarks.