World Soil Day is commemorated every year on December 5, with the aim to shine the spotlight on the essentiality of healthy soils to sustain life on the planet. The Day also aims to mobilise public and political will to address challenges to the sustainable management of soil resources.
Soils form the basis of biogeochemical processes that make life possible on our planet Earth. Soils provide food and various ecological services for human well-being and other life forms. And, just like other biotic components, soils are a living resource as they also breathe, need water and keep changing and growing with time.
World Soil Day: Theme
The theme for World Soil Day 2020 is “Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity”. This years’ campaign “Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity” urges us to focus our attention on the workers below ground – from tiny bacteria to agile millipedes and slimy earthworms – all of which contribute to processes that are indispensable to life on Earth.
These days biodiversity loss is a worry and the soil is also affected. Soil is home to more than 1/4 of our planet’s biodiversity. Yet, we only know 1% of this universe. There are more living creatures in a single teaspoon of healthy soil than there are people on Earth.
World Soil Day History
World Soil Day has been celebrated every year since 2014. In 2019, the Global Soil Partnership dedicated WSD 2019 to the theme “Stop soil erosion, Save our future”. It was celebrated in more than 100 countries through 560 events. The UN report further reveals that a large number of articles in major newspapers reached 650 million people worldwide. Many high-profile people and household joined the campaign.
