Did you know… that it can take up to 1.000 years to produce just 2-3 cm of soil? In high Alpine altitudes even much longer. Today, at the World Soil Day 2019 we invite you to take a closer look at the resource below our feet.
“Everything comes from land – food, feed, clothes..” stated Ibrahim Thiaw (Executive Secretary of the UNCCD) at a soil conference in Brussels last month. The European Court of Auditors outlined desertification and land degradation in the EU as a growing threat in need of more action. However, there is no EU-level strategy on this issue yet.
Meanwhile, with the adoption of the Soil Conservation Protocol of the Alpine Convention, the Alpine states are setting an example. In response to a likely increase in soil erosion due to the topographical conditions of the Alpine region, specific measures are stipulated in Article 11 of the Protocol. In addition, the Working Groups on Natural Hazards and on Soil Protection exchanged on the issue of soil erosion last October. Due to the high relevance of moorlands for the carbon cycle, the Soil Protection Working Group of the Alpine Convention also exchanges knowledge on agriculturally used moorlands.
Our food production, clean water and – on a global scale – also peace depends on intact soils! Healthy soils are needed in pursuit of the goals of:
- zero hunger (#2)
- health and well-being (#3)
- clean water (#6)
- sustainable communities (#11).
We cannot live without healthy land and soil, is stated in the EEA Signals 2019: so stop soil erosion, keep soil where it belongs!