World Soil Day – 5 December 2018

World Soil Day is celebrated annually on the 5th of December at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters in Rome, the regional offices and through national and local events.

While we can see many of the changes we have made to our planet, some of our impacts are virtually invisible, and soil pollution is a good example. Be the Solution to Soil Pollution campaign for World Soil Day 2018 aims to raise awareness and call on people to #StopSoilPollution.

Soil is a complex growing habitat that remains productive only if it is cared for and nurtured. Combating and addressing soil pollution is the only way to minimize the risks for food security, human health, and the environment.

One third of the soil on Earth is already degraded, according to the FAO. Soil pollution can be invisible and seem far away, but everyone, everywhere is affected. In the Agenda 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals 2, 3, 12, and 15 have targets which require direct consideration of soil resources, especially soil pollution and degradation in relation to food security.

According to the FAO, 95% of our food comes from soil. In addition, 815 million people are food insecure and 2 billion people are nutritionally insecure, but we can mitigate this through soil. It is time to uncover this threatening reality. Combatting soil pollution requires us to join forces and turn determination into action.

The AIDF Global Summit will return to Washington, D.C., USA for its 11th year in 2019.

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Photo Credit: UN/FAO