The International Year of Soils, 2015 (IYS 2015) was declared by the Sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly on December 20, 2013, after recognizing December 5 as World Soil Day. [1] [2]
The purpose of the IYS was to raise awareness worldwide of the importance of soils for food security, [3] agriculture, [4] as well as in mitigation of climate change, poverty alleviation, and sustainable development. [5]
The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) and the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) have invited the public to continue to celebrate World Soil Day on December 5 on an ongoing basis. [6]
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has implemented the hashtag, #WorldSoilDay, and a campaign "Stop soil erosion, Save our future," [7] with suggestions for activities by students, farmers, teachers, NGOs and private sector organizations. [8]
A map of International World Soil Day events is available online, as well as a list of yearly World Soil Day campaigns, a poster with World Soil Day Activities from the FAO, educational materials, and a downloadable coloring book for children.
The University of Michigan Museum of Natural History celebrated World Soil Day 2019 with hands-on activities, and a panel discussion by soil scientists and local farmers. [9]
TreeHugger commemorated World Soil Day 2019 with a feature article explaining how soil is "the foundation of ... of green building, the plants that make the materials ... to minimize our upfront carbon emissions." [10] Members of the public are urged to commemorate the day with efforts to reduce food waste, eat a diverse diet, compost, read labels on lawn and garden products, and perform soil tests. [6]
The Global Soil Partnership planned a website, logo and activities for The International Year of Soil, and agricultural and environmental organizations around the world held local events to contribute to the special year. [11] [12] [13]
The United States Department of Agriculture held a kick-off event. [14] Its National Resources Conservation Service commemorated the event with monthly themes. [15]
OpenLearn Open University featured its courses on soil. [16]
Kansas State University hosted an event in Manhattan, Kansas to celebrate the International Year of Soils, and kick off the 12th International Phytotechnologies Conference. [17]
Vivekananda College hosted a two-day Vivekananda Science Exhibition to Rural Masses (VISETORM-VIII) for rural schoolchildren. [18]
The 2015 Ethiopia Society of Soils Science (ESSS) Conference chose the theme of “International Year of Soils: Ethiopia Experience." Representatives from the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the Ethiopian Society of Soil Science celebrated World Soil Day at the end of conference. [19]
Other events included Sundays with Science lectures at the San Francisco Public Library and University of Nebraska State Museum, exhibits, events for teachers, and a Microbes Are Us Costume Parade by Hawaiian schoolchildren. [18]
The FAO website summarized what individuals could take home from the year as:
"On a closing note, just the other day a member of the IYS Steering Comittee[sic] told members that he recently found out that soils contain a bacterium called Mycobacterium vaccae, also known as the Golden Bacillus. Apparently, scientists have found that, when ingested or inhaled, this substance reduces anxiety and increases levels of serotonin in the brain, making you happier." [20]
Official closure of the 2015 International Year of Soils (IYS) took place at FAO Headquarters on December 4, 2015. [21]
The International Union of Soil Scientists has proclaimed 2015-2024 the International Decade of Soils. This is a continuation of the efforts made during the International Year of the Soils 2015. [22]
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to live in cities. While humans started gathering grains at least 105,000 years ago, nascent farmers only began planting them around 11,500 years ago. Sheep, goats, pigs and cattle were domesticated around 10,000 years ago. Plants were independently cultivated in at least 11 regions of the world. In the twentieth century, industrial agriculture based on large-scale monocultures came to dominate agricultural output.
Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by a variety of factors, such as overexploitation of soil as a result of human activity and the effects of climate change. Geographic areas most affected include the Sahel region in Africa, the Gobi Desert and Mongolia in Asia as well as parts of South America. Drylands occupy approximately 40–41% of Earth's land area and are home to more than 2 billion people.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, fiat panis, translates to "let there be bread". It was founded on 16 October 1945.
Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem services. There are many methods to increase the sustainability of agriculture. When developing agriculture within sustainable food systems, it is important to develop flexible business process and farming practices. Agriculture has an enormous environmental footprint, playing a significant role in causing climate change, water scarcity, water pollution, land degradation, deforestation and other processes; it is simultaneously causing environmental changes and being impacted by these changes. Sustainable agriculture consists of environment friendly methods of farming that allow the production of crops or livestock without damage to human or natural systems. It involves preventing adverse effects to soil, water, biodiversity, surrounding or downstream resources—as well as to those working or living on the farm or in neighboring areas. Elements of sustainable agriculture can include permaculture, agroforestry, mixed farming, multiple cropping, and crop rotation.
Food security is the availability of food in a country and the ability of individuals within that country (region) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuff. The availability of food irrespective of class, gender or region is another element of food security. Similarly, household food security is considered to exist when all the members of a family, at all times, have access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Individuals who are food secure do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. Food insecurity, on the other hand, is defined as a situation of " limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways". Food security incorporates a measure of resilience to future disruption or unavailability of critical food supply due to various risk factors including droughts, shipping disruptions, fuel shortages, economic instability, and wars.
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; and pollution. It is defined as any change or disturbance to the environment perceived to be deleterious or undesirable.
The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is a 1951 multilateral treaty overseen by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization that aims to secure coordinated, effective action to prevent and to control the introduction and spread of pests of plants and plant products. The Convention extends beyond the protection of cultivated plants to the protection of natural flora and plant products. It also takes into consideration both direct and indirect damage by pests, so it includes weeds. IPPC promulgates International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs).
World Food Day is an international day celebrated every year worldwide on October 16 to commemorate the date of the founding of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945. The day is celebrated widely by many other organizations concerned with hunger and food security, including the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. WFP received the Nobel Prize in Peace for 2020 for their efforts to combat hunger, contribute to peace in conflict areas, and for playing a leading role in stopping the use of hunger in the form of a weapon for war and conflict.
The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), is the largest soil-specific society in the United States. It was formed in 1936 from the merger of the Soils Section of the American Society of Agronomy and the American Soil Survey Association. The Soils Section of ASA became the official Americas section of the International Union of Soil Sciences in 1934, a notable role which SSSA continues to fulfill.
Agricultural soil science is a branch of soil science that deals with the study of edaphic conditions as they relate to the production of food and fiber. In this context, it is also a constituent of the field of agronomy and is thus also described as soil agronomy.
The Great Green Wall or Great Green Wall of the Sahara and the Sahel is a project adopted by the African Union in 2007, initially conceived as a way to combat desertification in the Sahel region and hold back expansion of the Sahara desert, by planting a wall of trees stretching across the entire Sahel from Djibouti, Djibouti to Dakar, Senegal. The original dimensions of the "wall" were to be 15 km wide and 7,775 km long, but the program expanded to encompass nations in both northern and western Africa. The concept evolved into promoting water harvesting techniques, greenery protection and improving indigenous land use techniques, aimed at creating a mosaic of green and productive landscapes across North Africa. Later it adopted the view that desert boundaries change based on rainfall variations.
The year 2011 was declared the International Year of Forests by the United Nations to raise awareness and strengthen the sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests for the benefit of current and future generations.
Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options is a United Nations report, released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations on 29 November 2006, that "aims to assess the full impact of the livestock sector on environmental problems, along with potential technical and policy approaches to mitigation". It stated that livestock accounts for 18% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, a figure which FAO changed to 14.5% in its 2013 study Tackling climate change through livestock.
The University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources is the agricultural and environmental sciences college of the University of Maryland. Founded in 1856 as the Maryland Agricultural College in College Park, Maryland, it eventually went on to become the core of what is now the University of Maryland. The college offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a variety of fields related to agriculture and environmental studies. Maryland's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources is often ranked among the better agricultural sciences schools in the United States.
The International Day of Forests was established on the 21st day of March, by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on November 28, 2013. Each year, various events celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests, and trees outside forests, for the benefit of current and future generations. Countries are encouraged to undertake efforts to organize local, national, and international activities involving forests and trees, such as tree planting campaigns, on International Day of Forests. The Secretariat of the United Nations Forum on Forests, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization, facilitates the implementation of such events in collaboration with governments, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, and international, regional and subregional organizations. International Day of Forests was observed for the first time on March 21, 2013.
Soil governance refers to the policies, strategies, and the processes of decision-making employed by nation states and local governments regarding the use of soil. Globally, governance of the soil has been limited to an agricultural perspective due to increased food insecurity from the most populated regions on earth. The Global Soil Partnership, GSP, was initiated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and its members with the hope to improve governance of the limited soil resources of the planet in order to guarantee healthy and productive soils for a food-secure world, as well as support other essential ecosystem services.
There were 795 million undernourished people in the world in 2014, a decrease of 216 million since 1990, despite the fact that the world already produces enough food to feed everyone—7 billion people—and could feed more than that—12 billion people.
World Milk Day is an international day established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to recognize the importance of milk as a global food. It has been observed on June 1 each year since 2001. The day is intended to provide an opportunity to bring attention to activities that are connected with the dairy sector.
2016 was declared as the International Year of Pulses by the sixty eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly on December 20, 2013. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has been nominated to declare a year for pulses, more commonly known as legumes.
Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices affect producers and consumers of food. Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing and food distribution. Fluctuation in food prices is determined by a number of compounding factors. Geopolitical events, global demand, exchange rates, government policy, diseases and crop yield, energy costs, availability of natural resources for agriculture, food speculation, changes in the use of soil and weather events directly affect food prices. To a certain extent, adverse price trends can be counteracted by food politics.