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7 December 2021<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n Ladies and gentlemen,<\/p>\n Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this discussion.<\/p>\n My appreciation to the Permanent Mission of Thailand and to the Food and Agriculture Organization for hosting today\u2019s event in recognition of World Soil Day.<\/p>\n While an essential component for life on Earth, it is fair to say that we take soil for granted.<\/p>\n What seems both infinite and infinitely simple, is in fact quite finite and complex.<\/p>\n We depend on soil for our food, for the quality of our water, for forestation, for carbon capture… I could go on.<\/p>\n Yet, for all its benefits to us, our soil is threated by excessive and unsustainable land use, by climate change, by deforestation, and by chemical pollutants, to name a few.<\/p>\n As is so often the case, it is those most vulnerable who suffer the most.<\/p>\n Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States are amongst those who have seen their soil quality diminish the most.<\/p>\n This has far reaching implications on livelihoods, on food security, on health and education, and on overall economic growth.<\/p>\n Yet, hope remains.<\/p>\n We have seen the incredible benefits of soil restoration. They are promising.<\/p>\n We have seen communities rehabilitate lands \u2013 tree by tree \u2013 that were once dismissed as inhospitable.<\/p>\n We have seen water conservation fuel land restoration and vice versa.<\/p>\n We have seen agriculture adapt to new conditions and thrive.<\/p>\n Ladies and gentlemen, we must not give up hope on something where solutions are so plentiful and so affordable.<\/p>\n As the world moves to recover from COVID-19 and simultaneously recalibrate its relationship with the natural world, we would be wise to invest in soil conservation and rehabilitation.<\/p>\n This approach not only offers climate friendly benefits, but boosts livelihoods, combats poverty, puts food on tables, alleviates water stress, and enables a number of social and economic indicators to thrive.<\/p>\n Truly, the entirety of the 2030 Agenda can be strengthened with healthy soil.<\/p>\n Support from the international community and from the private sector is essential to this.<\/p>\n Together we can help alleviate the socio-economic and environmental stresses of soil degradation and boost progress on the SDGs during this Decade of Recovery.<\/p>\n The Guidelines for Sustainable soil management, as laid out by FAO, are of high value in that regard, as they help with science-based decision making required to achieve success.<\/p>\n Ladies and gentlemen, I look forward to addressing this issue in earnest in July, during the \u2018Moment for Nature\u2019 event that I will convene to take stock of environmental issues this year.<\/p>\n In my five rays of hope – my priorities for this Presidency – I have emphasized the need to recover sustainably, and to respond to the needs of the planet. Support to rehabilitate soil is very much in line with those priorities.<\/p>\n I thank you again for the opportunity to contribute and I wish you a fruitful discussion.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Remarks of H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid – Celebration of World Soil Day 2021. Event hosted by the Permanent Mission of Thailand and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":353,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[],"committee-meeting":[],"class_list":["post-253880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-speeches","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n