World Soil Day 2021: Halt Soil Salinization, Boost Soil Productivity

Mohamed Hassona World Soil Day goes back to the year 2002, when it initially started off as a recommendation by the International Union of Soil Sciences. I...

Mohamed HassonaWorld Soil Day goes back to the year 2002, when it initially started off as a recommendation by the International Union of Soil Sciences. In 2013, it was unanimously endorsed by the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and designated by the UN General Assembly as an official international day on December 5, 2014.Aimed at increasing awareness of the importance of keeping ecosystems healthy and encouraging societies to improve soil health, the theme of this year’s World Soil Day was ‘Halt Soil Salinization, Boost Soil Productivity’. There is a pressing need to address global soil health, particularly as, according to the UN, soil salinization takes away up to 1.5mln hectares of farmland per year from production. Given rising global populations - with FAO projections that the global population will exceed nine billion by 2050 - and their accompanying pressures on food supplies and other resources, it is imperative that policymakers begin to pay closer attention to these issues. Soil is a non-renewable resource. Its loss and degradation are not recoverable within a single human lifespan. When soil is used for crop production purposes and the organic matter and nutrient contents are not restored, soil fertility declines, and delicate ecosystem balances are affected. Soil is the basis for food, feed, fuel, and fiber production. Soil degradation, therefore, threatens the ability to feed the world’s population, increases carbon emissions, and serves as a warning sign to forthcoming mass migration. A change in farming practices is crucial. In the Middle East, a region characterized as highly susceptible to degradation and desertification, the need to address and implement changes in farming soil practices is even more pressing. Improving soil health is the foundation of sustainable agriculture and a crucial element in eliminating food insecurity. One of the biggest challenges to sustainable soil management is soil erosion, which is the displacement of the upper most fertile layer of soil. Among the main causes of soil erosion are deforestation, overgrazing, the use of agrochemicals and construction, and recreational activities. All of which are common occurrences in the Arab region. To address these issues, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia has suggested a series of actions, including: the adoption of integrated soil, crop and water management techniques and investing in climate smart agricultural practices.An additional challenge in the region is soil salinity, the concentration of salts in soil. If the level of salt in the soil water is too high, water may flow from the plant roots back into the soil, causing dehydration of the plant and yield decline. According to the Arab Horizon 2030 Report: Prospects for Enhancing Food Security in the Arab Region, salinity alone is estimated to have caused $1 billion in lost crop yields across the region. An effective method of allaying its effects is the use of nuclear techniques to support crop production, such as the use of a stable nitrogen isotope to optimize water and fertilizer use.Plant diversity is a key component of healthy soils. It maintains the natural water cycles that enables soil, plant, and water systems to recover from environmental stresses by improving the entry and storage of water and resistance to erosion. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), soil biodiversity, which is the variety of organisms that live in the soil, is a major determinant of the fertility and productivity of land. This can be boosted by the efficient use of soil water and nutrients, erosion control and maintaining ground cover by planting more trees. Planting more trees also addresses the issues of desertification and land degradation. In addition, it enhances food security.In line with Qatar National Vision 2030 and the UN’s Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, Qur’anic Botanic Garden (QBG) – a member of Qatar Foundation – supports local and global healthy soil efforts, and ecosystem preservation. It achieves this through environmental awareness campaigns and educational programs on food security, botany, and planting, as well as on-the-ground restoration and conservation projects through the rehabilitation of endemic plants and planting wild trees in their natural habitats, which reduce carbon emissions and limit desertification.Global reforestation efforts and tree planting also contribute to healthy stable soils. Our annual Ghars tree-planting campaign aims to plant 2,022 trees in the leadup to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. As part of the initiative, QBG recently planted its 2000th tree with the US Embassy in Qatar, as part of the Year of Culture Qatar – USA 2021. It also signed an agreement with the Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) to donate 2.5 million trees for the latter’s volunteers to plant over a period of 10 years around Qatar, as part of a wider initiative by the Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Organisation across the Arab world and in line with Qatar’s pledge to plant 10 million trees by 2030 under the Middle East Green Initiative.We work closely with the community and local and global stakeholders, such as the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, QRCS, Royal Botanic Garden of Jordan, Botanic Gardens Conservation International, and the IUCN to protect our environment. These efforts will continue, so that we ensure that our planet is green, abundant, safe, and habitable for the generations to come.