Soil Organic Carbon – An Appropriate Indicator to Monitor Trends of Land and Soil Degradation within the SDG Framework?

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and related 169 Targets, adopted by the United Nations in September 2015, aim to end poverty, protect the planet, and to ensure prosperity for all. Due to their various functions, land and soil are addressed by several SDGs and Targets. However, soil related indicators for the implementation of the SDGs are still lacking.

This report takes a close look at the importance of soil organic carbon (SOC) and illustrates challenges to be met and conditions to be created in order to establish the SOC stock as a globally relevant and feasible indicator for the implementation of the SDGs.