World Soil Day

  Projectant futurs possibles en un món urbanitzat . Bellaterra (Espanya), 09/12/2025 - 09/12/2025 Cinefòrum Film: The Martian Round-Table: Mariona Ferrandiz (CREAF-UAB), Maria Sisternas (Hàbitat3-Ajuntament de Girona), Vicenç Carabassa (CREAF-UAB). Chair: Andrea Vidal (ICGC-UAB)

Cities are centres of traffic and sources of industrial pollution, waste and wastewater. As a result, urban soils can become easily polluted, posing serious health risks for residents. Actions are needed to identify, manage and restore such polluted urban soils .  Integrating green spaces, tree pits and green corridors can help filter pollutants . Healthy soils in turn enable greater green coverage, which absorbs less heat than concrete and asphalt, lowers surface temperatures, absorbs rainwater and reduces landslides and floods. As we build more roads and buildings, more urban soils are sealed.   Preventing and reversing soil sealing through city greening, on the other hand, can keep cities cool and mitigate extreme weather by sequestering carbon, retaining water and fostering biodiversity.

 The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today marked World Soil Day 2025 with a global celebration in Rome under the theme “ Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities. ” The Day underscores the crucial role that soil health plays not only in agriculture but also in shaping more resilient, greener and healthier urban environments . With two-thirds of the world’s population projected to live in cities by 2050, urban soils are under increasing pressure from sealing, pollution and unplanned expansion . These trends threaten the soil's ability to produce food, regulate temperature, filter water, store carbon and support biodiversity. Rapid urban growth is also consuming fertile peri-urban croplands—some nearly twice as productive as the global average—placing additional strain on agrifood systems. This year’s World Soil Day carries special significance as it coincides with FAO’s 80th anniversary —eight decades of partnership, innovation and action for better produc...

 Em comemoração ao Dia Mundial do Solo, o grupo GESolo organiza um Dia de Campo repleto de aprendizado e prática sobre a importância do solo na sustentabilidade urbana! Será realizada uma apresentação interativa com apresentação de amostras que caracterizam o solo da fazenda, demonstração de utilização dos aparelhos usados pelo GESolo na caracterização do solo e apresentação de resultados de Pesquisa. Dia Mundial do Solo Brazil (Brazil), 05/12/2025 - 05/12/2025

The event will consist on talks relating themes such as soil health, city health, urban soils , soil management and city water supplies, and green drainage systems for resilient cities, closing with a roundtable-like session. The event will be carried out in an one-morning meeting on December 5th , at Agronomic Institute (IAC), Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. Technical Panel: Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities Campinas (Brasil), 05/12/2025 - 05/12/2025 Registration

World Soil Day 2025, Holding a painting competition for students entitled "Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities" in the city of Kharwana Varzeqan (Iran), 14/12/2025 - 14/12/2025 Holding a painting competition for students entitled "Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities" in the city of Kharwana with multiple prizes awarded. Register!

World Soil Day 2025 focuses on the vital role that soils play in shaping sustainable, productive, and climate-resilient urban environments. As cities grow and climate challenges intensify, healthy soils are increasingly recognised as a critical resource for securing food, protecting water, regulating temperatures, and supporting biodiversity. This year marks six years of Malaysia’s ongoing collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in advancing the World Soil Day movement — a commitment to raising national awareness on soil stewardship and empowering communities to safeguard this foundational ecosystem. To deepen this understanding, the 2025 celebration features a special dual-site farm immersion programme at Oasis Herbal Farm and Sky Ladder Pineapple Farm in Port Dickson. This hands-on experience allows participants to learn directly from soil scientists, regenerative agriculture practitioners, and farm leaders who are actively restoring soil ecosystems and streng...

  World Soil Day 2025, Meeting to prevent unauthorized construction on fertile lands in Varzagan County Varzeqan (Iran), 16/12/2025 - 16/12/2025. Meeting to prevent unauthorized construction on fertile lands in Varzagan County with the participation of department heads. Register!

When rain hits natural ground, much of it seeps down, replenishing groundwater reservoirs. However, sealed surfaces send rainwater rushing off into drains, rivers, and eventually seas. This dramatically reduces groundwater recharge, putting entire communities at risk of water shortages. Urban sealing creates multiple environmental issues:Reduced groundwater recharge: Impermeable surfaces drastically lower groundwater replenishment rates. Increased flood risk : Rapid runoff from sealed surfaces leads to frequent and intense flooding in urban areas. Water pollution : Stormwater runoff from sealed surfaces picks up pollutants and debris, affecting water quality. Urban heat islands : Sealed surfaces retain heat, raising city temperatures significantly above surrounding areas. Between 2012 and 2018, urban soil sealing in the EU and UK led to an estimated loss of  approximately 670 million cubic meters of potential water storage capacity  in Functional Urban Areas (FUAs). To put th...

  Fortunately, solutions exist. Urban areas across Europe are testing innovative ways to limit or reverse soil sealing, enhance groundwater recharge, and build sustainable cities. We picked 5 of these solutions, that go hand in hand. Implement Green Infrastructure Green infrastructure, like parks, green roofs, and urban forests, can absorb rainfall effectively. For example, green roofs alone can retain 50-80% of rainfall, significantly reducing urban runoff. Use Permeable Pavements Switching from impermeable materials to permeable paving in parking areas, sidewalks, and residential streets allows rainwater to infiltrate directly into the ground. Permeable surfaces also reduce flooding and improve groundwater recharge rates. Rainwater Harvesting Systems Encouraging buildings to install rainwater harvesting systems reduces the demand for groundwater. This water can be reused for gardening, flushing toilets, and even cleaning, significantly decreasing the strain on groundwater sources...

  Europe continues to urbanize, and this will not change, especially with rural zones becoming less and less inhabited . Managing urban soil sealing will therefor become ever more critical. Policymakers, urban planners, and communities must collaborate on sustainable solutions to protect groundwater resources . Urban areas can – and should – transform from groundwater depletion zones into examples of sustainable water management. Cities that tackle soil sealing effectively can ensure sufficient water supplies for future generations, reduce flood risks, and enhance urban living quality. Groundwater security begins beneath our cities’ surfaces. By implementing strategic measures, Europe can shift towards sustainable urban living , effectively addressing groundwater depletion through smarter urban design and greater public awareness.

Q1: What is urban soil sealing? Urban soil sealing occurs when natural land surfaces are covered with impermeable materials like asphalt and concrete. This process blocks rainwater from infiltrating the ground, disrupting groundwater recharge.​ Q2: How does urban soil sealing affect groundwater levels? By preventing rainwater from soaking into the soil, urban soil sealing reduces the replenishment of groundwater reserves. This leads to decreased availability of groundwater for drinking, agriculture, and ecosystems.​ Q3: Why have farmers been blamed for groundwater shortages? Farmers have been historically blamed due to visible water usage in agriculture and the ease of tracking agricultural water consumption. However, urban areas, despite occupying only about 2.5% of Europe’s land, have a disproportionately high impact on groundwater depletion due to soil sealing.​ Q4: What measures have farmers taken to mitigate their impact on groundwater? Farmers have adopted practices such as reduc...

Urban soils provide essential ecosystem services: they support food production, filter water, store carbon, regulate temperatures, and sustain biodiversity. However, soil sealing , Soil pollution , and urban expansion threaten these benefits, increasing flood risks, intensifying heat islands and threatening food production in peri-urban land. Solutions exist. De-sealing, green roofs, urban vegetation and agriculture, composting, and sustainable urban planning can turn soil into opportunities to strengthen climate action, improve public health, reduce disaster risks, and foster inclusive and greener cities. Groundwater is vital. It’s the hidden resource fueling Europe’s drinking water, irrigation, and ecosystems. Yet today, cities – and not farmers like often is claimed – pose the biggest threat to groundwater availability. How? The answer lies in urban soil sealing: covering natural land surfaces with asphalt, concrete, and other impermeable materials resulting in groundwater shorta...