Dear Soil, We Heard You: From Damagers to SoilMates

Fig 1: An earthworm and plant roots illustrating the living biodiversity beneath the soil surface.

Source: https://www.fao.org/interactive/soil-biodiversity/en/

Introduction

Beneath our feet lies one of the most important foundations of life, yet it is one of the resources humans often take for granted. Soil is more than dirt beneath our shoes or the medium in which crops grow. It is a living system that supports food production, biodiversity, water regulation, nutrient cycling, carbon storage and human livelihoods.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that about 95% of the food we consume is directly or indirectly produced on soils (FAO, 2018). This simple statistic reveals an uncomfortable truth: our relationship with soil is inseparable from our relationship with survival.

Yet, while we continue to take from the soil, our actions are increasingly placing its health at risk. Deforestation, unsustainable farming, excessive tillage, overgrazing, poor waste disposal, pollution and poorly managed chemical inputs are contributing to land and soil degradation.

The question, therefore, is no longer simply what does soil give us. It is: what are we giving back?

Soil: The Foundation Beneath Our Lives

Soil is a living ecosystem. Beneath its surface exists a complex community of microorganisms, fungi, insects, plants and other organisms that contribute to the functioning of ecosystems.

Healthy soil supports plant growth, contributes to water filtration and storage, cycles nutrients, stores carbon and provides habitats for biodiversity. FAO describes soil as essential to food production while also providing ecosystem services connected to water regulation, climate regulation, biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration (FAO, n.d.).

This means that soil health is connected to much more than agriculture. It affects the food on our plates, the quality of our environment, the livelihoods of farmers and communities, and the resilience of ecosystems.

Soil is also home to an extraordinary diversity of life. Soil organisms drive nutrient cycling, influence soil structure and contribute to carbon sequestration and plant health (FAO, n.d.).

Protecting soil, therefore, means protecting an ecosystem that works largely beyond what the human eye can see.

When the Relationship Breaks

The relationship between people and soil becomes dangerous when extraction is not matched by restoration.

Fig 2: Severe soil erosion and land degradation

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Erosion_of_soil.jpg

Deforestation removes vegetation that protects soil from erosion. Overgrazing can reduce vegetation cover and expose land to degradation. Unsustainable agricultural practices, excessive tillage and poorly managed chemical inputs can disrupt soil structure and biodiversity. Poor waste disposal can introduce pollutants into land and water systems, while urban development can seal soil beneath concrete and other surfaces.

The consequences extend far beyond the ground itself.

Land degradation can contribute to declining agricultural productivity, food insecurity, economic pressure and human suffering. According to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), up to 40% of the world's land is degraded, affecting nearly half of humanity (UNCCD, 2024).

The scale of the problem is even more concerning when considered alongside future food demands. FAO estimates that agriculture may need to produce about 50% more food, feed and fibre by 2050 compared with 2012 levels, while more than 1.6 billion hectares of land have already been degraded through unsustainable land-use and management practices. More than 60% of this degradation occurs on agricultural land (FAO, 2025).

These figures are not simply environmental statistics. They represent pressure on the systems that feed, employ, and sustain people.

From Taking to Giving Back

Changing our relationship with soil begins with recognising that environmental responsibility cannot end at avoiding damage. We must also restore what has already been damaged.

Fig 3: Sustainable land management practices can help protect and restore degraded soils

Source: https://www.fao.org/land-water/land/land-restoration/en

This requires a shift from being merely consumers of natural resources to becoming responsible custodians.

Protect

Protection means preventing further damage to forests, soils, water resources and biodiversity. This can involve preserving vegetation, reducing unnecessary land disturbance and adopting practices that keep soil covered and protected.

Restore

Where land has already been degraded, restoration becomes necessary. Degraded ecosystems can be rehabilitated through appropriate interventions that rebuild vegetation, improve soil conditions and restore ecological functions.

Regenerate

Regeneration goes beyond repairing immediate damage. It seeks to rebuild the natural capacity of land to support life and livelihoods over time.

Practices such as planting trees, maintaining vegetation and reducing unnecessary soil disturbance can help strengthen soil systems. Integrating trees and shrubs into agricultural landscapes can also help reduce wind and water erosion while contributing organic matter to the soil.

Monitor

Environmental action must be accompanied by accountability. Monitoring allows communities, organisations and governments to determine whether interventions are actually producing results.

Data and evidence can help track changes in land condition, identify emerging problems and guide better decisions.

Educate

Perhaps one of the most powerful forms of environmental action is education. People cannot effectively protect what they do not understand.

Environmental education can help communities understand the connection between everyday activities and ecological outcomes. It can also encourage people to adopt sustainable practices and inspire others to participate.

Practical Actions Begin With Us

Restoring soil health does not always require extraordinary actions. Sometimes, meaningful environmental change begins with ordinary decisions repeated consistently.

One practical area is waste management. Communities can move away from indiscriminate dumping towards structured waste sorting, reuse and recycling. Community recycling hubs can provide practical alternatives to disposal practices that contaminate land and water.

Agricultural communities can also adopt practices that minimise soil disturbance and protect vegetation. Planting trees and maintaining cover crops can help reduce erosion, while responsible use of fertilisers and pesticides can reduce unnecessary pressure on soil ecosystems.

The principle is simple: small actions today can protect the soil tomorrow.

No One Can Do It Alone

Soil protection is too large a challenge for one group to solve independently. It requires cooperation across different sectors of society.

Governments have a role in developing and enforcing environmental policies. Farmers can adopt sustainable land-management practices. Scientists can provide research, technology and evidence-based solutions. Businesses can support sustainable production and responsible environmental investment. Communities can lead local action, while young people can contribute advocacy, creativity and innovation.

This collaborative approach is important because soil degradation is not only an environmental issue. It is also an economic, social and food-security issue.

When these different actors work together, environmental responsibility becomes more than an individual choice; it becomes a shared system of action.

The Future Depends on the Soil

There is a temptation to think of environmental problems as distant issues that belong to governments, scientists or environmental organisations. Soil reminds us otherwise.

Every meal connects us to the land. Every agricultural product connects us to the soil. Every community that depends on farming connects its future to the condition of the land.

Healthy soils support healthy food systems, biodiversity, water and livelihoods. Degraded soils, on the other hand, weaken the ecological foundations upon which these systems depend.

Fig 4: Healthy soil supports food production, biodiversity and ecosystem functions

Source: https://www.fao.org/land-water/Land/sustainable-land-management/en/

The choice before us is therefore clear: continue taking without giving back, or change the relationship.

We have taken from the soil. We have damaged it. But understanding the consequences gives us an opportunity to do better.

Conclusion

Dear soil, we heard you.

You have given us food, water, biodiversity, livelihoods, and the foundation upon which life depends. Yet for generations, we have taken more than we have returned.

Now, the relationship must change.

We must protect the soil we still have, restore the land we have damaged and regenerate the ecosystems that sustain us. We must reduce waste, practise responsible land management, support sustainable agriculture, educate our communities and hold ourselves accountable for the choices we make.

Being good custodians of the earth is not about perfection. It is about recognising our responsibility and acting on it.

The soil has always been giving.

Now, it is our turn to give back.

AUTHORS

Green Switch Academy (GSA) XXXIV – Soil Mates

Green Switch Academy Group (GSAG): The Damagers

Green Switch Academy Master (GSAM): GSAM Rodney

GSAG MEMBERS:

1. Akintan-Ralph Maria

2. Ezimadu Faith Uchechukwu

3. Olawale Ramat

4. Afolabi Zainab