Global Soil Partnership
"On World Soil Day, I call for greater attention to the pressing issues
affecting soils, including climate change, antimicrobial resistance, soil-borne
diseases, contamination, nutrition and human health"
UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon
Celebrating Soils
Today is World Soil Day, a special day to spread awareness on how important healthy soils are for a healthy life. This year, World Soil Day 2016 (WSD2016) relevantly combines the International Year of Soils 2015 and the International Year of Pulses 2016 with the theme “Soil & Pulses, symbiosis for life”. Under this theme, WSD 2016 highlights the multifaceted benefits of pulses not only for human health and nutrition, but also for their contribution to soil health and sustainable agriculture through the symbiotic relationship between soils and pulses.
WSD2016 celebrations officially kicked off at the UN Headquarters in New York on the 2nd December with an event entitled “Soils and pulses, a symbiosis for life and for halting soil degradation”. This event, co-organized by the Permanent Missions of Lesotho, Thailand and Turkey, in collaboration with FAO and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), was also a special occasion to pay tribute to His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand in recognition of his lifelong work on soils and sustainable soil management. His Majesty’s Birthday, 5 December, has been designated World Soil Day since 2014 by the UN General Assembly.
Today, a special celebration is taking place at FAO headquarters in Rome, followed by a soil and agriculture development exhibition offered by the Permanent Representation of the Kingdom of Thailand. Also, a celebration is taking place at CBD COP13 in Cancun, Mexico. Join the Rome event by webcast.
See the full message from the UN Secretary-General for the WSD 2016
HAPPY WORLD SOIL DAY!
