SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This paper makes a reflection on the nexus between soil and climate change, with a focus on how the latter has triggered a renewed concern about soil not only as a source of carbon emission, but more importantly, as a natural solution for combating climate change. The paper employs the content analysis and doctrinal methods to investigate the level of attention given to soil security and sustainable soil management (SSM) by relevant African Union (AU) legal instruments and the consequential climate change ramifications. The investigation and analysis reveal that the AU’s legal landscape for SSM and soil security is inadequate and in consequence, limits Member countries from leveraging on soil as a natural and cost-effective solution to combat climate change. Based on the insufficiencies, the paper makes some recommendations, the key one being the need for the AU to give soil a special legal attention by way of a specific and comprehensive African soil charter that does not only promote SSM, but also underscores the centrality of soil as a natural and cost-effective climate change solution