Soils have been the neglected environmental media for a long time. However, several food crises at the beginning of this century have brought a change in perspective of late. Since then, the indispensable value of soils for humans and for the conservation of the environment as a whole has been increasingly understood and gained much momentum too. Also the language around “soils” has changed: Whereas in previous times, soils were predominantly perceived as “dust and dirt”, we have more recently experienced a shift in the public perception where emphatic formulations, like the “earth’s fragile skin” or “soils for life”, started to reflect the increasingly accepted importance of soils for all life on earth and as keystone element for sustainable development. It is no wonder that soils have been much more prominently featured in the outcome document of the Rio + 20 Conference “The Future We Want” in 2012 and ultimately in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in 2015. In addition, the UN General Assembly declared the year 2015 as the first “International Year of Soils” and has decided that December 5 every year shall be known as “World Soil Day”. An effective conservation of soils particularly by sustainably managing them requires reliable data, scientific knowledge, appropriate management concepts, public engagement, sufficient financial resources, effective legal instruments and good governance. In this regard, it has been our intention to establish a platform for discussion among legislators, lawyers and policymakers regarding regulatory concepts and approaches on the international, regional and national level. The new International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy aims to bring together the global legal fraternity, academics, judges and local legal practitioners to continue the discourse on soils in the attempt to improve the legal promotion and protection of soils by inter alia enhancing existing governance solutions.