2015 is The International Year of Soils

Friday, December 5th was designated as World Soils Day and marked the kick-off of the 2015 International Year of Soils. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations will be spearheading this effort, which has been in development for the past two years.  It is hoped that by educating about and promoting the importance and value of soils that the following objectives will be met:

• Raise full awareness among civil society and decision makers about the profound importance of soil for human life;
• Educate the public about the crucial role soil plays in food security, climate change adaptation and mitigation, essential ecosystem services, poverty alleviation and sustainable development;
• Support effective policies and actions for the sustainable management and protection of soil resources;
• Promote investment in sustainable soil management activities to develop and maintain healthy soils for different land users and population groups;
• Strengthen initiatives in connection with the SDG process (Sustainable Development Goals) and Post-2015 agenda;
• Advocate for rapid capacity enhancement for soil information collection and monitoring at all levels (global, regional and national).  

 The United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service with it's global partners have identified monthly themes to accomplish these objectives. To see what these themes are and to read about the resources that are available for January's theme "Soils Sustain Life" go to the Soil Science Society of America's page at https://www.soils.org/IYS. For more information on the first World Soil Day, including a link to a complimentary screening of the video Symphony of Soil go to http://www.fao.org/globalsoilpartnership/world-soil-day/en/. Finally, to get you in the mood for the upcoming year watch Ed Norton is The Soil.