World Soil Day (WSD) is held annually on 5 December as a means to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources.
History of World Soil Day
An international day to celebrate soil was recommended by the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) in 2002. World Soil Day was established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations under the leadership of the Kingdom of Thailand and within the framework of the Global Soil Partnership.
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.
World Soil Day 2021
World Soil Day 2021 (#WorldSoilDay) and its campaign "Halt soil salinization, boost soil productivity" aims to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the growing challenges in soil management, fighting soil salinization, increasing soil awareness and encouraging societies to improve soil health.
Soil salinization and sodification are major soil degradation processes threatening ecosystem and are recognized as being among the most important problems at a global level for agricultural production, food security and sustainability in arid and semi-arid regions.
Salinisation and sodification are processes that involve salts in the soil. Salinisation is the accumulation of salts whereas sodification is an accumulation of sodium on clay exchange sites leading to structural decline; sodium is transported into the soil via the sodium chloride salt.
In the framework of the World Soil Day 2021 campaign "Halt soil salinization, boost soil productivity", the booklet compiles a series of experiments and information for children on soil salinization.
2015 International Year of Soils
The International Union of Soil Scientists has proclaimed 2015-2024 the International Decade of Soils.
References
https://www.un.org/en/observances/world-soil-day
https://www.fao.org/world-soil-day/en/