FAO urges Countries to Comply with the Global Chemical Conventions to cut back Soil Pollution and to Address Food Insecurity

Did you know that it takes thousands of years to form 1 cm of soil? Yet, it can be destroyed in almost no time at all. Unsustainable agriculture practices, urban infrastructures, pollution, erosion, climate change and other factors all contribute to the rapid degradation of our soils and to desertification. About 33 per cent of our lands are already degraded, and this increasing trend is putting in check the achievement of many global agreements.

Indeed, the 2017 World Soil Day is on the theme: ‘Caring for the planet starts from the ground’. Soil is a symbol of fertility. It is the origin of life. It is the basis for food production. According to a statement from Dr. Cristiana Paşca Palmer - the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity on the occasion of world soil day, ‘Soils are also home to a range of life forms, which are not, perhaps, as charismatic as bees or butterflies. However, soil biodiversity is also fundamental to keeping Mother Earth fertile and for nurturing life on our planet’.

As part of this day, the Food and Agriculture Organization and UN Environment organized a breakfast side event to honor it on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA3) taking place in Nairobi 4 – 6 December 2017.

Speaking at this event, Mette Wilkie - Director of the Ecosystems Division at UN Environment, warned that soil degradation costs are estimated at USD 68 billion per year as lost income. On the other hand while 1/3 of the global food is lost as waste, it needs to be properly recycled to replenish our soils, given that 95% of all global food supply comes from the soil.

Carlos Martina Novella - Deputy Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, noted that farmers continue to use chemicals that are known to be dangerous to the environment and much so to the soil. While 3 chemical conventions (Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions) are in place, the use of some outlawed chemicals still goes on, while others result in bioaccumulation in the food chain, due to their persistence in the environment (Persistent Organic pollutants) causing long-term public health and environmental disruptions that stride borders. Unfortunately these chemicals are still widely used in large quantities including in emergencies like in control of the army worm and desert locust invasions.

Mr. Vijay Kumar from the Small holder farmers cooperative – State of Andra Pradesh in India shared several useful experiences on conservation agriculture that has zero chemical application that has changed food productivity, communities incomes and general landscapes in that area. He noted that, ‘these positive experiences have been replicated elsewhere and have the potential to contribute to better farming that can reduce soil pollution across the world’. He added that farmers in Andra Pradesh have a saying: ‘soil is my mother; protection of soil is my duty to get food from my mother’.

At this occasion a Global soil Organic Carbon Map (involving 110 countries) was launched. Soil organic carbon is the carbon that remains in the soil after partial decomposition of any material produced by living organisms. It constitutes a key element of the global carbon cycle through atmosphere, vegetation, soil, rivers and ocean. It is the main component of soil organic matter and as such constitutes the fuel for any soil. Loss of this vital soil component negatively affects not only soil health and food production, but also exacerbates climate change as organic matter decomposes releasing carbon based green house gases to the atmosphere. The map notes that globally, the current estimate of carbon stock (up to 30 cm from the surface) is 680 billion tones.