TEHRAN – Iran is facing threats to food security, but a specialized team proceeds seriously with programs to maintain soil fertility and prevent erosion, Claudio Providas, the UNDP Representative in Iran, has said.

He made the remarks at the National Conference on Soil Protection, Industry and Food Security, held on Monday in Bushehr province.

More than one billion people on earth have been threatened by food contamination and climate change has also affected their lives, he stated.

He further noted that soil erosion has also caused threats to water resources and if we are going to eliminate threats to food security, we must pay serious attention to soil protection, IRIB reported.

[Like other parts of the world] Iran also faces these threats to food resources, but the specialized soil protection team follows serious programs to maintain soil fertility and prevent depletion, he highlighted.

According to the United Nations Development Representative, these programs have been implemented for several decades in different parts of Iran, such as Hamoun and Urmia.

Iraj Heshmati, the deputy head of the Department of Environment, announced that more than 1500 notices were issued to industries for soil protection last year.

December 5 is observed as World Soil Day (WSD), to highlight the value of healthy soil and to promote the sustainable management of soil resources. World Soil Day enjoins individuals to consider sustainably managing soil resources. 

“Soils: Where food begins” is the theme of World Soil Day this year, highlighting soil protection.

The rate of soil erosion in Iran is four to five times the world standard; In fact, 16.7 tons per hectare per year, Ladan Razi, caretaker of the environmental protection and water management office of the DOE said.

In Iran, due to the severe erosion, it takes an estimated 800 years to produce a centimeter of soil, so the attention of the people and the government should be on average twice the global average.

Each ton of soil is valued at $28 in terms of metal ores, so the loss of two billion tons of soil annually means an annual loss of $56 billion, which is more than revenues from the sale of oil and agricultural products, gardens, livestock, poultry, and fisheries.

FB/MG