On the eve of World Soil Day FAO calls to keep soil alive

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. World Soil Day "Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity", is the United Nations Observance that celebrates healthy soils for a healthy life.

On the occasion of World Soil Day, FAO Ukraine has developed a video animation to focus on the importance of keeping soil alive.

You can see the video on YouTube through the link: https://youtu.be/M-ZlrNg0BjI.

Soils are essential for food systems. It is estimated that 95 percent of our food is directly or indirectly produced in soils. Healthy soils allow us to grow a variety of food products needed for human nutrition and each of us depends on soil productivity.

Intensive land use, unsustainable soil management practices and deforestation leads to soil sealing, pollution, increases fire frequency. All these can damage soil biodiversity and its functions. We need to focus on preserving our soils before it reaches this stage.

Sustainable soil management, tailored to the type of soil and its use, is an important part of food security and our lives generally. We can all play a role and our mission is to #keepsoilalive.

The video has been developed within the FAO project "Integrated Natural Resources Management in Degraded Landscapes in the Forest-Steppe and Steppe Zones of Ukraine", funded by Global Environment Facility.