Role of Leadership in Soil and Water Resources Management: A Global Bibliometric Analysis

The study investigated the role of leadership in soil and water resources management because of its increasing significance in the domain. This study investigated the current state, wide-range global research trends, and different concerns on the role of leadership in soil and water resources management. This study reviewed a total of 1,055 published articles mainly from 2008–2022. The review was performed using scientifically cited and indexed databases namely Dimensions, Web Science, Elsevier Scopus, and Google Scholar. The information and scientific knowledge were displayed using the scientometric program VOSviewer. The study revealed the present state of the role of leadership in soil and water resources management. Furthermore, the study responded to some important gaps by bibliometric analysis of data obtained from diverse research sources to shed light on the importance of leadership in soil and water resources management. In addition, the study identified more research gaps and proposed future scientific research paths. The study also showed that a complete understanding of the role of leadership in soil and water resources management can help to pinpoint important areas of overlap or underlap in leadership, soil and soil related topics such as community natural resource management. More broadly, this review can enhance the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in terms of Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), Climate Action (SDG 13), and Life on Earth (SDG 15). Taken together, this research can significantly enhance the understanding and implementation of overarching themes of the UN global agenda 2030 in terms of its five Ps: people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnerships. Enhanced collaboration and partnerships between various stakeholders therefore may lead to effective leadership in soil and water resources management, aligning with the spirit of Goal 17 (SDG 17).