World Soil Day 2022: History, Significance, Theme Of The Year, And How To Be A Part Of The Celebration

Soil is one of the most fundamental parts of our ecosystem. Almost 95% of our food comes from the soil. Hence, it is imperative that we understand and take steps to maintain the quality of our soil.

Every year, December 5 is held as World Soil Day as a means to raise awareness around the importance of soil, while encouraging people to take steps towards improving soil health. Let’s take a look at the history and significance of #WorldSoilDay along with a sneak peek at this year’s theme.

In the year 2002, the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) proposed an international day to celebrate soil, raise awareness around it, and encourage people to take care of it. Within the framework of the Global Soil Partnership, this notion was supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), under the leadership of the Kingdom of Thailand.

In June 2013, the FAO Conference unanimously endorsed World Soil Day. Later, they requested its official adoption at the 68th UN General Assembly. The UN General Assembly responded to this request towards the end of 2013, by designating 5 December 2014 as the first official World Soil Day.

Since it was under the leadership of the Kingdom of Thailand that this move was supported, World Soil Day also coincides with the birthday of Thailand's King, HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who formally turned this vision into a reality. Moreover, after the monarch passed away in 2016, the day is also marked in his memory as a contributor to this great cause.

Healthy soil is a crucial element in building a well-balanced ecosystem. Plants need 18 naturally occurring chemical elements that are extremely essential to their healthy growth. And out of the 18 elements needed, soils supply 15. The remaining 3 are absorbed by plants through photosynthesis.

Approximately 95% of our food comes from the soil. However, the health of soil is threatened by multiple forms of degradation. And this will not only affect our ecosystem but also our health as the quality of soil will directly affect the quality of plants grown in it.

Take a look at this tweet shared by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):

Currently, 2/3 of the world’s population is at risk of nutrient deficiency. Hence, it is imperative that we understand the importance of healthy soil, raise awareness around it, and take measures to reduce the degradation of soil.

This year, the theme for celebrating World Soil Day is “Soils: where food begins”. According to the official UN website, the campaign this year aims to raise awareness around the “importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the growing challenges in soil management, increasing soil awareness and encouraging societies to improve soil health.”

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has organized a Webinar on the occasion of World Soil Day, to highlight the importance of better soil management, how to reduce soil degradation and more. You can join this hybrid webinar from any remote location. All you have to do is, follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Go to the official page of World Soil Day on the United Nations website.

2. Scroll down to the “Events” section.

3. Click on the “Agenda” option, in case you want to learn more about the event. Otherwise, click on “Register to join the event” to register for the webinar.

4. Change your timezone to “(GMT+5:30) India” to see the updated timing of the event according to your location.

5. Now, fill in the details and click on the “Register” button.

That’s it, you’re registered to be a part of the World Soil Day 2022 Webinar on the topic, “Soils: Where food begins”. You’ll be sent an email with the link to join the webinar from any remote location. 

The event begins at 5:00 pm and ends around 6:15 pm IST. However, all participants are requested to be present by 4:50 pm.