The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The goals call for a deep international collaboration for the understanding of the main global problems and the search of strategic solutions, giving great importance to environmental questions. In this regard, severe soil degradation (e.g. soil erosion) has become one of the most critical phenomena affecting the Earth's surface.

The International Forum on Land Degradation, Soil Conservation and Sustainable Development, 2021 (LASOSU2021), organized by Dalian University of Technology (China) and University of Padova, will be held on 21-23 August 2021, in Dalian, China, to provide an avenue for scientists to discuss pressing issues on soil loss facing our profession and society.

The meeting hosts World Association of Soil and Water Conservation, Italian Association of Agricultural Engineering, Soil Erosion Division (China Society of Soil and Water Conservation).