Sustainable development requires a responsible management of natural resources to satisfy human needs and at the same time to maintain a natural basis of life for future generations. Functioning soils play an outstanding role for sustainable development. They ensure food production,they store and filter water and secure water balance. They turnover material, store organic carbon, mitigate the risk of weather extremes and provide - as a habitat for organisms - an exceptional contributions to biodiversity and the genetic reservoir of our planet.

In 2015 all 193 member states of the United Nations agreed on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Functioning soils are a fundamental precondition for the second goal: “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.” Soils ensure food production globally. At the same time they are essential to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems (Goal 15), they support availability and sustainable management of water (Goal 6) and their carbon sequestration capacity is vital for climate change mitigation (Goal 13).

The various functions of soils are difficult to reconcile. Often optimizing one soil function is at the expense of another one. BonaRes enlarges the knowledge base for a better compatibility of various soil functions and a responsible use of soil as a resource.

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