海角大神

The聽International Year of Soils聽came to a close on December 4, but that won鈥檛 be the end of the work for many soil projects. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 鈥渟oils are the foundation聽of food systems鈥� and 鈥渁re critical to achieving food security and nutrition.鈥� Without governance and investment in measures to promote sustainable soil practices, further soil degradation could have enormous implications.

Land degradation鈥攚hich includes water erosion, salinization, and loss of biodiversity鈥斺�渃osts an estimated US$40 billion聽annually worldwide,鈥� as by the UN聽Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Thirty-three percent聽聽is degraded, and 50,000 square kilometers of soil are lost each year. Soil is not a renewable resource and 鈥渋s not recoverable聽within a human lifespan,鈥� but sustainable soil management could increase the world鈥檚 food production by 58 percent.

Professor John Crawford, a soil expert at the University of Sydney, advises that ignoring this issue will cause :听a loss of soil productivity聽and a water crisis, 鈥淸hitting] the poorest countries hardest.鈥�

Thankfully, farmers and scientists are finding ways to improve soils and increase food security.聽Here are seven influential projects and programs helping to restore the world鈥檚 soil:

1. The African Conservation Trust (ACT): ACT runs a聽聽in southern Africa, where 鈥減oor agricultural practices聽and overgrazing have resulted in massive losses of topsoil, the creation of huge dongas, and a loss of income earning potential to the local people.鈥� After a successful gully rehabilitation project in 2010, which served to stabilize the soil in the Upper uThukela region of South Africa, ACT is beginning a project to model soil erosion for preventative action and subsequent protection of soil and livelihoods.
2. The Hummingbird Project: Founded in 2010 by a husband and wife team, The Hummingbird Project聽uses education and permaculture principles for its聽聽program, which trains rural farmers across India to use natural and organic farming techniques. This program specifically targets farmers in the so-called Suicide Belt, where the suicide rate among farmers is notoriously high. The Hummingbird Project has directly trained about 2500 farmers,聽and believes 鈥渟trongly in聽the 鈥榯rain the trainers鈥� model,鈥� co-founder Chris Kennedy.
3. Kiss the Ground: An innovator in the battle against drought in California, Los Angeles-based聽聽uses media campaigns, community gardening, and networking to affect change for soil preservation. Their recent video,聽, encourages people to sign a petition asking the California legislature for an allocation of US$160 million for聽. Co-founder Finian Makepeace urges participation, that 鈥渉ealthy soil is something聽that everyone can support.鈥� Kiss the Ground emphasizes the potential for healthy soil to sequester carbon, curbing climate change, as well as leading to better water supplies, improved farming, and restored habitats.
4. RECARE: Funded by the European Union,聽聽is a project conducting 17 case studies on soil degradation and conservation across Europe. The goal of RECARE is to create measures for restoration of soil and degradation prevention for a variety of threats to soil health: desertification, soil erosion, salinization, soil compaction, flooding, contamination, and others. The project began in November of 2013 and is scheduled to come to a close in November of 2018. one soil scientist on the RECARE project, Artemi Cerda, 鈥渘ew farmers are聽not the same as those a few decades ago. They do not know the importance of soil within nature conservation.鈥� Preserving fertile land and increasing the sustainability of productive agricultural soils is key to this project.聽 聽
5. The Red Soil Project: Based in Canada,聽聽educates rural Ugandan farmers in sustainable agriculture techniques, including soil building, composting, and mulching, using demonstrations and workshops in partnership with local organizations.
6. The Rodale Institute: An independent agricultural research organization,聽聽conducts a variety of projects with the aim of identifying the ideal soil conditions for farming.聽Current projects 聽research on soil and carbon sequestration, the role of particular fungi in soil health and crop growth, and a long-term Farming Systems Trial, which has demonstrated many benefits of organic systems. Jeff Moyer, Executive Director of The Rodale Institute, farmers and consumers that 鈥渉ealthy soils equal聽healthy food. And healthy food equals healthy people.鈥澛�
7. SOIL Haiti:听聽aims to increase access to dignified sanitation, but is transforming Haiti鈥檚 depleted soil in the process. While using the rich organic compost produced through an聽, SOIL鈥檚 compost聽聽and water retention, bringing yields as many four times those of farmers operating without SOIL鈥檚 compost. An innovative attempt at revitalizing soil and eliminating unwanted waste, SOIL鈥檚 founder Sasha Kramer that stakeholders 鈥渓ove that, by tackling聽one problem, the solution also benefits public health and the growing of food and other crops.鈥�

This article first appeared in .