About the event:

Soils are fundamental to life on Earth. Their protection is of utmost importance to ensure the future of food. But soil erosion is putting our productive land in danger by removing the highly fertile topsoil. Soil erosion – the number one threat to the Planet’s soils - literally washes our topsoil away, down streams, rivers, into lakes and blows soil particles across oceans. While it occurs naturally everywhere, unsustainable human activities significantly increase natural rates. Since 95% of the food comes from soils, erosion mitigation is critical for a sustainable and food secure world.

During the celebration, RECSOIL: Recarbonization of Global Soils, a sustainable and cost-effective answer to climate change, will be officially launched together with the report “Global Status of Soil Laboratories”. The Glinka World Soil Prize and King Bhumibol WSD Award will be delivered for respectively the efforts towards the promotion of sustainable soil management and the most outstanding event organized for WSD 2018.

Purpose:

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 the sustainable management of soil resources. 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. The 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. Each year, more people are joining this world celebration conveying FAO message on the importance of soil quality for food security, healthy ecosystems and human well-being. This year, over 400 events in more than 100 countries will be organized across all FAO member countries. In addition to the WSD celebration in Rome on 5th December 2019, official celebrations are organized in New York (UN headquarters), Russia (Sochi), Thailand (Bangkok), Portugal (Lisbon) and several FAO country offices.

Agenda

Moderator:

Ms Isabelle Verbeke
Global Soil Partnership, FAO

Concept Note

Responsible office:

Land and Water division - Global Soil Partnership (CBL)

Website:

World Soil Day

Languages:

Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish

Twitter hashtag:

#CL163; #StopSoilErosion #WorldSoilDay