Thailand celebrates World Soil Day

9 December 2018
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Bangkok, Thailand – The World Soil Day (WSD) celebration was held on 5 December 2018 under the theme “Be the Solution to Soil Pollution.” Over 800 participants gathered for the event jointly organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative Land Development Department, Soil and Fertilizer Society of Thailand and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

At the morning session, representatives from several countries shared success cases in sustainable soil management and land degradation neutrality (LDN), and a Bangladesh-based NGO working in soil care became the first recipient of the “King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award.”

During the ceremony held in the afternoon, the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand H. E. Mr. Grisada Boonrach shared the land treatment measures implemented in Thailand and highlighted the importance of achieving the SDG15 "Life on Land" and SDG 2 "Zero Hunger."

The next day, the new Center of Excellence for Soil Research in Asia (CESRA) was launched at the Pak Chong Soil and Water Conservation Research Center in Nakhon Reatchasima Province. The work of the center will be focused on soil pollution threats and sustainable management of soil resources.