#StopSoilPollution: World Soil Day world, oath to find solution on soil pollution

 

New Delhi, December 5: World Soil Day is celebrated annually on the 5th December. FAO (food and Agriculture organization) supported this day. World Soil day (WSD) is held annually on 5 December as a means to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and advocating for sustainable management of soil resources.

 

In the developing world, industrialization and urbanization are emerging as significant contributors to land and soil degradation. Lack of sufficient knowledge in soil management and disregard for the environment has been identified as key reasons affecting urban soil degradation. Industrialization alters the chemical aspects of the soil through pollution of heavy metals and effluents. Construction and landfills in urban areas affect soil through compaction and excavation, which affect natural processes such as water purification and storage. In the developing and developing world governance of soils in urban areas requires bespoke policies because of the nature of urban and industrial developments in the cities.

 

 

Soil plays an important role in ecological balance as Soil holds three times as much carbon as the atmosphere and can help us meet the challenges of a changing climate, 815 million people are food insecure and 2 billion people are nutritionally insecure, but we can mitigate this through soil, 95% of our food comes from soil, 33% of our global soils are already degraded.

 

An international day to celebrate soil was recommended by the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) in 2002. Under the leadership of the kingdom of Thailand and within the framework of the Global Soil Partnership, FAO has supported the formal establishment of WSD as a global awareness raising platform. FAO conference unanimously endorsed World Soil Day in June 2013 and requested its official adoption at the 68th UN General Assembly.

 

In December 2013, the UN General Assembly responded by designating 5 December 2014 as the first official World Soil Day. The theme of this year World Soil Day aims to raise awareness and call people to #StopSoilPollution. This theme particularly designed for finding solutions on soil pollution by generating awareness on international level.

  

This year, the government of the Kingdom of Thailand has decided to establish and sponsor a World Soil Day Award. For this award, the selection committee assessed 39 candidates on the basis of previously established criteria this year. The winner of first ever World Soil Day is Practical Actions, Bangladesh.

 

Practical Action, Jointly with Soil Resource Development Institute of Bangladesh, organized different theme based colourful rallies, a ‘soil care Award’ 2017 ceremony, seminars, ‘Farmers’ Dialogue’ fora and field visits in Dhaka and other 22 districts, more than 5,500 participants were involved, from farmers to scientist, policy makers, practitioners and general public. Local newspapers, radio and TV channels gave wide visibility to these events. These events make an impact on soil agenda of Bangladesh.