Despite the substantial progress made in spreading the knowledge about soil biodiversity and its functions, only around 1% of soil organisms have been identified so far. Moreover, soil biodiversity loss remains one of the main global threats to food security in many regions of the world and is likely greater than estimated due to the lack of data on this issue.

This event, organized by FAO and the government of China, convened on the margins of the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference to launch the Global Soil Biodiversity Observatory (GLOSOB), which aims to forecast the status of soil biodiversity and soil health.