To FAO Of The UN, Soil Is Important – But Not That Important!

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Above is the Facebook sharing by Zia Ul Hassan Shah with an image. Above the image is the come-on, “Creativity invited. Give it a try guys.” Below the image is this entry:

Soil is a living resource, home to more than 25% of our planet’s biodiversity.

So, the Food & Agriculture Organization, FAO, of the United Nations is sponsoring a photo contest as well as a video contest on soil biodiversity because it is crucial to lives on earth, including ours.

Special note: Sorry, but the entry “Photo and video contest on soil biodiversity” is grammatically incorrect – it should read, “photo and video contests…”

My Facebook comment was:

Is this a joke? Prize is only $500!

It is not a FAO joke, but it is a joke! You call for creativity in photography and videography and you reward the winner each with only $500?! You are like saying:

Soil biodiversity is not that much important anyway! We just wanted the world not to forget about it, if only visually.

FAO, you are saying as an explanation for the visual contests (plural) these:

Soil biota constitutes the greatest concentration of biomass of any part of the planet, and is composed of an immeasurable amount of mega, macro, meso and microorganisms. This diverse community of living organisms keeps the soil healthy and fertile. This vast world constitutes soil biodiversity and determines the main biogeochemical processes that make life possible on Earth.

“Processes that make life possible on Earth” – now then, FAO, soil biodiversity is most important of all! The more reason to give a reward 50 or even 100 times higher than $500!

For the contests: The soil organisms expected in any photograph or video include toads, moles, rabbits, earthworms, termites, ants, millipedes, and woodlice (bigger & big), and bacteria, mites, insects, fungi and nematodes (smallest & small).

Contestants are required to submit high definition pictures; for the video contest, contestants are expected to submit short videos/time-lapses taken through any device, including a microscope.

The deadline for submission of entries is Tuesday, 30 June 2020, Manila time.

I was thinking of taking photographs of the soil, and then submitting them for the FAO photo contest – but FAO’s treatment of the soil keeps disturbing me.

FAO treats the soil’s biodiversity as important
but not important enough!

Here are wise words from the Soil Science Society of America[1]:

Soil provides ecosystem services critical for life: soil acts as a water filter and a growing medium; provides habitat for billions of organisms, contributing to biodiversity; and supplies most of the antibiotics used to fight diseases. Humans use soil as a holding facility for solid waste, filter for wastewater, and foundation for our cities and towns.

Says Sanjel J Parikh about the soil (Knowledge Project[2]):

Throughout human history, our relationship with the soil has affected our ability to cultivate crops and influenced the success of civilizations. This relationship between humans, the earth, and food sources affirms soil as the foundation of agriculture.

Without soil, FAO can only be FO!@517

 


[1]https://soils.org/files/science-policy/sssa-marketing-2013.pdf

[2]https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/soil-the-foundation-of-agriculture-84224268/


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