The primary objective of this report is to consider the treatment of soil-related issues in both national and international environmental law, and draw conclusions on needs at both levels. In exploring this subject, the report is mindful of the Resolution of the IUCN World Congress October 2000 Amman which requests the IUCN Environmental Law Programme (ELP), in the development of its legal guidelines, explanatory material and investigation into a global legal instrument for the sustainable use of soils, to pay particular attention to the ecological needs of soil and their ecological functions for the conservation of biodiversity and the maintenance of human life. Also taken into account are the objectives of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Montevideo Programme III – the Programme for the Periodic Review of Environmental Law for the Twenty-First Century, decided by the Governing Council of UNEP in February 2001, and in particular Objective 12 which is directed to improving the conservation, rehabilitation and sustainable use of soils.