In an effort to protect land around the globe and help farmers, FAO warned Wednesday that the equivalent of a football field is eroded, every five seconds.
It also takes about a thousand years to create a topsoil of just a few centimeters and help restore the soil. Now, the UN agency is calling on countries and partners that have signed up to the Global Land Partnership (GSP) to do more over the past decade.
Fields of action
The five main actions that FAO has called for, civic duty, governments and international organisations, to take more action to monitor and take care of the soil.
So far, one GSP achievement has been to work with farmers and local governments to promote soil health.
The FAO says programs have been initiated to improve soil organic matter, “by adopting measures such as cover crop use, crop rotation and agroforestry”.
Costa Rica and Mexico signed up for these pilot programs and trained farmers to use best practices including the use of so-called “cover crops” to prevent erosion, crop rotation, and crop rotation. plant tree.
Digital map
Furthermore, GSP has extended data collection in the form of digital land mapping.
This technology informs policymakers of relevant soil conditions and empowers them to make informed decisions about land degradation management.
FAO has also called for coordination and integration of sustainability practices through investment in development and education.
These carefully planned programs facilitate the transfer of information and technology related to soil health. These networks harmonize the methods, units and information relevant to soil analysis.
Include more
Similarly, the highly technical nature of the topsoil policy debate can alienate constituencies from those who might be interested in and involved in such an important social and environmental issue, FAO said.
Campaigns, such as International year of land and World Earth Day designed to raise youth awareness of land and increase participation in preventing further degradation.
While the work of the GSP represents the efforts of non-State partners to promote sustainable land practices, Government policymakers are essential actors in policy implementation. sustainable land.
Valuable guide
Produce materials such as Amended world land charter, the Voluntary Guide to Sustainable Land and International Code of Conduct on Sustainable Use and Management of Fertilizers, Valuable guidance contributions from the GSP, to national governments.
The five achievements described above represent an important strategy existing within the United Nations system to prevent land degradation and support sustainable farming worldwide.
