Soil has an image problem. For many people, land and soil degradation remains a local rather than a global issue. They see it as a problem limited to poor developing countries, particularly African countries. In the absence of a strong political commitment to the issue, the international regime for land and soil conservation remains relatively weak and fragmented. Meanwhile, climate change, biodiversity, international waters, hazardous chemicals, wetlands and forests have more easily gained political standing as global environmental issues. Importantly, each of these issues contains a strong land and soil component.