We've all heard about the 'Soil Movement' or 'Save Soil' and we've all read about it on social media.
The 'Save Soil Movement' was born out of Sadhguru's (Founder, Isha Foundation) Conscious Planet project, which attempts to raise awareness about dying soil and global desertification. Sadhguru, riding a BMW K1600 GT, embarks on a 30,000-kilometer journey to raise awareness for his "Save Soil Awareness Campaign." He plans to return to New Delhi in 75 days to commemorate India's 75th anniversary of independence, following a series of events in significant cities along the route.
Soil is the most diverse & very important natural resource available and in this soil almost zillions of species are living. The soil provides human & other living being's food, supports the cultivation of vegetation for feed, fiber and fuel, and it has the potential to help combat and mitigate climate change. The soil food web involves many trophic levels with microorganisms, plants and animals interacting and contributing to water, nutrient and nitrogen cycling & eventually, all life depends upon the soil. However, soil across the Globe is being threatened & damaged by human activities. The population growth, food shortage and agricultural escalation with pesticides uses are leading to widespread soil degradation in many regions.
This degradation can take many forms.
Soil erosion – Topsoil plays a significant role in crop production that also affects the transport of agricultural inputs and pollutants to waterways. Top soil is usually worn away by the natural processes of winds/ rain/ drought or other weather changes & by human actions such as deforestation, land conversion, modern farming etc. The rate of soil erosion is significantly higher than the rate of soil production. This represents a substantial long-term threat to the world's soil & global food security. Over the last 150 years, 50% of the planet’s topsoil has been lost widely across different regions. For example, 8% in North Africa and 75% in Australia, & recently in Tanzania.
Soil sealing – A physical process, most often associated with the spread of urban land, which leads to a loss of soil fertility and agricultural potential. Sealing occurs when soil is covered by an impenetrable material during construction of roads, buildings or other constructional work that effectively causes it to become ‘non-soil’. Estimates place the current rate of global soil sealing at 250-300km2/ day. However, this rate is likely to increase given ongoing trends of rural migration into urban areas.
Compaction - Another form of soil degradation that occurs when soil is compressed by the use of heavy agricultural equipment. Compaction reduces the amount of water and air present in soil and it can impair crop emergence, root penetration and nutrient and water uptake by crops.
Physical processes - Over-farming, land clearance and deforestation also drastically disrupt the activities and diversity of soil microorganisms, reducing the microbial habitats and food sources.
Soil Acidification – One more factor taking place by inappropriate accumulation of certain fertilizers, organic matter, and usage of alkaline agricultural products affecting the pH of the soil.
Chemical fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides, pesticides – those substances on which we have staked our food security – have all been shown devastating effects on indigenous microbial communities within soil. Worldwide, 3×109kg of pesticides are applied to crops each year. Amazingly, only 0.1% of the applied chemical reaches the target organism. The remaining 99.9% will remain in the soil until it’s degraded.
Soil contamination - Driven by a range of factors like Industrial work, waste disposal, mining, and military tests where soil contaminants such as heavy metals, organic & inorganic pollutants facilitate the spread of infectious diseases and reduce soil fertility.
Urbanization, pollution, insufficient rainfall, unsustainable land use and climate change are among others that negatively impact soil.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has highlighted soil as a serious cause for concern. They now advocate for the promotion of sustainable soil practices. National and local governments are also placing a growing awareness and action on the importance of soil. Similarly, charities and NGOs working at the grassroots level demonstrate that there is hope for healthier soils worldwide.
However, there is still more to be done individually too. Let’s share the Awareness and make this movement successful as much as we can.
Illustrated By
Tumpa Datta Gupta
Founder & Educator (ECCE)
Green Wings Pre-school Educational Network
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