TEHRAN – World Soil Day 2025, held every December 5, focuses on urban landscapes with the theme “Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities”.
World Soil Day aims to highlight the importance of healthy soils and advocate sustainable management of soil resources.
According to IRIB News Agency, National Soil Week is being held in Iran with the theme “From Soil and Health to Soil and Culture.”
The conference will be held to coincide with World Soil Day on Monday. This includes organizing international scientific symposiums with local and international scientists, and educational workshops that detail soil function and the effects of soil degradation.
An international day to celebrate soils was recommended by the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) in 2002. Under the leadership of the Kingdom of Thailand and within the framework of the Global Soil Partnership, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has supported the formal establishment of this day as a global awareness platform.
The FAO Conference unanimously approved World Soil Day in June 2013 and requested formal adoption at the 68th United Nations General Assembly. In December 2013, the United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 5 December 2014 as the first official World Soil Day.
The survival of the planet Earth depends on our precious connection to the soil. More than 95 percent of our food comes from soil. Additionally, it provides 15 of the 18 naturally occurring chemical elements essential to plants.
However, due to climate change and human activities, soils are being degraded. Erosion disrupts the natural balance, reducing water infiltration and availability to all forms of life, and reducing the levels of vitamins and nutrients in food.
Sustainable soil management practices reduce erosion and pollution and enhance water infiltration and storage. It also maintains soil biodiversity, improves fertility and contributes to carbon sequestration, playing an important role in the fight against climate change.
But when we think of soil, we most often think of the countryside and nature. We rarely stop to consider that the soil of our cities is also fundamental.
Beneath asphalt, buildings, and roads is soil that, when permeable and full of vegetation, helps absorb rainwater, regulate temperature, store carbon, and improve air quality. However, once sealed in cement, these functions are lost, making cities more vulnerable to flooding, overheating, and pollution.
This day therefore calls on everyone, from policymakers to citizens, to fundamentally rethink urban spaces and build greener, more resilient and healthier cities.
MT/MG