The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released the report Status of the World’s Soil Resources 2026 (SWSR 2026), providing an overview of the state of soils across the planet. Overall, soil management remains largely unsustainable worldwide. Soil erosion continues to be the most serious threat to soil health on a global scale.
In the Policy Brief, it is highlighted that “we need to move from a mindset of soil exploitation to one of responsible soil stewardship. The knowledge, tools, and practices needed to protect and restore soils already exist. The challenge is no longer knowing what needs to be done, but acting with the urgency, ambition, and long-term commitment — and at the scale and pace required — to preserve soils for current and future generations” (FAO/ITPS, 2026).
Professor Lúcia Helena Cunha dos Anjos participated in the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS) and in the SWSR 2026 editorial working group, representing Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Researcher Ieda Carvalho Mendes contributed to the external review.
As lead authors for subregions in LAC, Marcos Gervasio Pereira and Alessandro Samuel-Rosa participated in the report. As contributors, Sonia Sena Alfaia, Ricardo Bergamo Schenato, George Gardner Brown, Pedro Luiz de Freitas, Fátima Maria de Souza Moreira, Milton Ferreira de Moraes, Lucietta Guerreiro Martorano, José João Lelis Leal de Souza, Arcangelo Loss, Ana Paula Moreira Rovedder, Gustavo Souza Valladares, and Taciara Zborowski Horst also contributed.
The LAC chapter had broad participation from many SBCS members, developed on a voluntary basis, both in the preparation of the text and in the extensive list of citations of studies produced in Brazil. The SWSR 2026, in its LAC chapter, was developed through a collective effort, with collaboration and strong representation from Brazilian Soil Science at every stage.
The SBCS thanks every colleague who dedicated their time and knowledge to this collective effort.
Source: FAO, reviewed by Lúcia Anjos
