Applying the Atom to Protect Soil and Water Resources

The IAEA helps countries to use nuclear science and technology to protect soil and water: to address desertification, assess freshwater availability, halt and reverse land degradation, optimize plant biodiversity, and ensure sustainable agro-ecosystems, as well as supporting increased access to plant breeding resources.

Overexploitation of land and the impact of climate change endanger soil and water – two key natural resources that underpin all human development. Sustainable management of these vital resources requires coordinated action across many sectors.

Driven by Member States’ priorities, the IAEA builds national capacity in the use of nuclear and isotopic techniques to improve crops, to enhance soil fertility and increase the efficiency of irrigation, leading to more resilient agricultural systems, which, in turn, can ensure food security and address climate change related challenges. Nuclear and isotopic techniques provide critical objective data that can help decision makers in Member States to develop policies to protect the environment and to guide the prioritization of conservation and restoration targets.