The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself

शाश्वतम्, प्रकृति-मानव-सङ्गतम्,

सङ्गतं खलु शाश्वतम्।

तत्त्व-सर्वं धारकं

सत्त्व-पालन-कारकं

वारि-वायु-व्योम-वह्नि-ज्या-गतम्।

शाश्वतम्, प्रकृति-मानव-सङ्गतम्।।

Meaning:- The relation between nature and man is eternal.Water, air, all the elements of the sky, fire and earth are actual pillars and sustainers of living beings basically earth and environment provides all the things which can sustain the life so the relationship between living beings and nature is eternal.

The quote states that the Earth’s soil is a vital indicator of the planet’s health. Our soil does not only directly or indirectly gives us most of our food, but it’s also central to our planet’s life-support system. Soil is an integral component of the carbon, water and nutrient cycles, which helps organisms of all sizes to thrive. When plants and animals decompose and release nutrients into the soil for subsequent generations of organisms to use and recycle. Soils store, filter and purify our water and helps in preventing flash flooding by absorbing the rain water. And soils are significant for carbon storage, enables to buffer our climate against the effects of human-driven carbon emissions. There is an estimated three times more carbon in our soils than in Earth’s atmosphere. 

The fate of our planet’s environment depends on the state of its soil. Being fragile in nature, and mistreatment by humans has turned these critical sources of life to deterioration, which is hampering our planet to the worst.

Taking for granted - 

As most of natural resources, we constantly taking soil for granted. To be more precise, it requires thousands of years to create a thin layer of soil and we are losing the rich, deep soil, which took hundreds of thousands of years to form, at an alarming rate. The damage we are causing to the soil and how can this damage be cured must reach out to the ears of common man. 

Soil is tolerating living beings since ages,

Real reforms have to be taken not only on pages,,

Reasons for desertification - Soil is neither a commodity nor an infinite resource. Soil is loosing from the crust of earth by desertification means getting deficient of minerals. Desertification of land mainly involves loss of biological soil crust which in turn leads to a decrease in soil stability, loss of productivity of the soil, loss of biodiversity, lack of nutrients in the soil, dust formation, etc. Desertification results in making that specific land deprive of flora and fauna. Mentioning the reasons for increasing desertification are heaps of single use plastics without proper treatment are filling the landfills, maximising of concrete jungles thus decreasing the soil area exposure to sunlight, rain etc., deforestation the most important reason, expansion and intensive use of agricultural lands, poor irrigation practices, overgrazing. 

Save Soil Initiatives and how can Soil be saved?

Plants maintain the integrity of the soil - 

The roots of a plants are helpful in holding the soil firmly thus not letting soil erodes away when a rough and turbulent stream of water flows through them. The roots hold the soil tightly. Leguminous plants like pea have nitrogen fixing bacteria RHIZOBIUM in their root nodules. This RHIZOBIUM coverts free atmospheric nitrogen in to nitrogen compounds which is then taken in by plants and some are left behind, the left behind nitrogen compounds increases the fertility of soil.

The Mitti Bachao Andolan was started in the year 1977. The movement was against waterlogging and salinity caused by the Tawa Dam in Madhya Pradesh. The Campaign mobilized local farmers to demand compensation for the lands. 

#Savesoil - 

The 'Save Soil' movement is urging nations to mandate 3-6 per cent organic content in agricultural soils around the world through policy driven initiatives. The average organic content in India's soil is 0.68 per cent, but nearly 60 per cent of the land has below 0.5 per cent.The Save Soil Movement was started by Sadhguru in March 2022, who embarked on a 100-day motorcycle journey passing through 27 countries.

Conclusion -Sadhguru says Soil is neither a commodity nor an infinite resource.Researchers have found that childhood exposure to microbes in soil and outdoors is linked to a more robust immune system. If we destroy it, Life will cease on this planet.When we are in touch with the soil, it is not just an intellectual reminder – our body is reminded in a very fundamental way that it is just a piece of earth. Soil is the source of water for 90% of the world's agriculture.All of the world's topsoil could be gone within 60 years, according to UN.