TEHRAN – Held annually on December 5, World Soil Day 2025 focuses on urban landscapes with the theme Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities.

World Soil Day aims to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources.

In Iran, the national soil week is being marked with the theme ‘from soil and health to soil and culture’, IRIB reported.

A conference is scheduled to be observed on the occasion of World Soil Day on Monday. It will include holding an international scientific symposium with the participation of local and global scientists, as well as educational workshops on elaborating soil functions and the consequences of soil degradation.

The international day to celebrate soil 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, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has supported the formal establishment of the day as a global awareness-raising platform.

The FAO Conference unanimously endorsed World Soil Day in June 2013 and requested its official adoption at the 68th UN General Assembly. In December 2013, the UN General Assembly responded by designating 5 December 2014 as the first official World Soil Day.

The Earth planet’s survival depends on the precious link with soil. Over 95 percent of our food comes from soil. Besides, they supply 15 of the 18 naturally occurring chemical elements essential to plants.

However, in the face of climate change and human activity, soils are being degraded. Erosion disrupts the natural balance, reducing water infiltration and availability for all forms of life, and decreasing the level of vitamins and nutrients in food.

Sustainable soil management practices reduce erosion and pollution, and enhance water infiltration and storage. They also preserve soil biodiversity, improve fertility, and contribute to carbon sequestration, playing a crucial role in the fight against climate change.

But when we think about soil, we almost always associate it with the countryside and nature. We rarely stop to consider that urban soil is also fundamental.

Beneath asphalt, buildings, and streets lies soil that, if permeable and vegetated, helps absorb rainwater, regulate temperature, store carbon, and improve air quality. But when it’s sealed with cement, it loses these functions, making cities more vulnerable to flooding, overheating, and pollution.

Therefore, the day invites everyone—from policymakers to citizens—to rethink urban spaces from the ground up, to build greener, more resilient, and healthier cities.

MT/MG