Abstract
Soils are fundamental to life on earth but human pressures on soil resources are reaching critical limits especially in less developed countries. Soils are the bedrock of food production, habitat for biodiversity, and many ecosystem services. They are essential for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and building resilience to climate change that is made possible by maintaining or boosting their carbon content. This makes effective soil management a critical factor in the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as the Paris Climate Change Agreement particularly in Africa whose majority rural and urban population depend on agriculture for livelihood and income generation. A lot of effort has been made both globally and regionally to ensure healthy soils by way of legal, policy, and institutional frameworks. Various initiatives on the continent have provided a lead in facilitating sustainable management of soil in many countries. However, soil degradation continues unabated in Africa leading to food insecurity, desertification, climate change, famine and conflicts. Factors such as population growth, pollution, poor agriculture practices, under or overuse of inorganic fertilizers, land tenure, and rights-related issues and climate change are identified as being responsible for continued soil degradation. The Status of the World’s Soil Resources report identified ten key threats that hamper the achievement of effective soil management. These threats are soil erosion by water and wind, soil organic carbon loss, soil nutrient imbalance, soil salinization, soil contamination, acidification, loss of soil biodiversity, soil sealing, soil compaction, and waterlogging. This chapter reviews the existing challenges hindering effective/sustainable management of soils in Africa; policy and legal, institutional, and the political economy. It further explores potential strategies that could be employed in enhancing soil management in African countries for better soil health critical in attaining sustainable development.
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Notes
- 1.
Nielsen et al. (2015), p. 83.
- 2.
Amundson et al. (2015), p. 648.
- 3.
Lal (2004), p. 1624.
- 4.
Brundtland Report (1987), para 27.
- 5.
Tully (2015), p. 6524.
- 6.
Blaikie and Brookfield (2015), p. 23.
- 7.
UN (2015).
- 8.
Stewart (2020), p. 663.
- 9.
Remus (2016), p. 265.
- 10.
The Basel Convention (1989).
- 11.
The Bamako Convention (1991).
- 12.
Gilbey et al. (2019), p. 4.
- 13.
Pender et al. (2004), p. 3.
- 14.
Yahyah et al. (2020), p. 1.
- 15.
UNCCD (2017).
- 16.
FAO, ITPS (2015), p. xix.
- 17.
Nkonya et al. (2016), p. 204.
- 18.
Cotula et al. (2011), pp. 16–17.
- 19.
Enfors and Gordon (2007), p. 690.
- 20.
Wily (2011), pp. 4–13.
- 21.
Musinguzi et al. (2021), p. 2.
- 22.
Jayne and Muyanga (2012), p. 411.
- 23.
Kasimbazi (2019), p. 320.
- 24.
Msangi (2007), pp. 487–499.
- 25.
Ananda and Herath (2003), p. 348.
- 26.
Maathai (2011), pp. 1–2.
- 27.
Bationo et al. (2007), p. 18.
- 28.
Vandergeten et al. (2016), pp. 1395–1417.
- 29.
Shiferaw et al. (2009), pp. 601–619.
- 30.
Gebreselassie et al. (2016), pp. 404–406.
- 31.
Wynants et al. (2019), p. 1915.
- 32.
Ntshangase et al. (2018), p. 9.
- 33.
Garrity et al. (2010), pp. 197–214.
- 34.
Takoutsing (2015), p. 33.
- 35.
Berazneva et al. (2019), pp. 1–8.
- 36.
Nyamekye et al. (2018), p. 3182.
- 37.
Global Soil Partnership Report, Africa (2015).
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Kasimbazi, E., Yahyah, H. (2022). Options for Tackling the Challenges of Effective Management of Soils in Africa. In: Ginzky, H., et al. International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy 2020/2021. International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy, vol 2020. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96347-7_11
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