FAO and the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture celebrate the International Day of Soil and Share the World’s Awareness of the Dangers of Soil Erosion

Today, 5th December 2020, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in partnership with Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  participated in the celebration of the World Soil Day, which was held at the the National Seed Center in Riyadh, under the patronage and presence of His Excellency the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Engineer Abdul Rahman bin Abdul Mohsen Al-Fadhli, and a number of officials and representatives of sectors and universities and agricultural companies, farmers and interested people.

World Soil Day is celebrated across the globe on 5th December every year under the leadership of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nation. World soil day highlights to the global community the important of soils as a common heritage. Soils provides us with food, water, plants, and animals and important ecosystem services including those that mitigation the impacts of climate change. Soils therefore have a central role in achieving the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. 

This year theme “Keep Soil alive, Protect soil biodiversity” emphasis the important of ensuring that we keep our soils heathy and alive to protect the abundant but unseen soil biodiversity. If soils loss their biodiversity, they will become dead and will not be able to play their important role and provide vital services to humanity. 

The Director of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, His Excellency Dr. Abu Bakr Abdul Aziz Muhammad, praised the great interest that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia attaches to soil protection within its presidency of the G20 through launching "the Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation and Enhancing Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats to prevent, halt ,and reserve land degradation" , as he praised the fruitful cooperation between "FAO" and the Kingdom that extends for more than seven decades, and highlighted how this partnership has developed over that period to meet the Kingdom's needs and priorities.

He also added that FAO is currently working to provide technical and advisory support for the implementation of one of the pilot projects related to strengthening the Ministry's capabilities in the sustainable management of forests, rangelands and natural resources, which includes protecting soil, limiting desertification, limiting sand dune encroachment, preserving genetic resources and biodiversity, and ensuring sustainable management of forests, trees and resources.

Dr. Abu Bakr affirmed that the soil is home to more than 25% of the biodiversity of our planet, and that only about 1% of the microorganisms in the soil are currently known, and  there are many benefits for soil biodiversity, as it helps the growth of plants and maintain the integrity of the soil, as well as human health.