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NARRATOR: Imagine this a world without forests, flowers, trees, or grain.
No kangaroos or cattle.
No monkeys or pandas.
No lions, tigers or bears.
Inconceivable!
Fact is, there's a precious natural resource
that all these plants and animals need that's vital for their survival.
And it's being degraded daily.
We humans also rely on this precious resource.
We grow food in it and build, walk, and ride on it every day.
But as a society, we give little attention to taking care of it.
Which natural resource are we talking about?
Soil.
Soil for life.
Soil is one of our most important natural resources.
We, and all land-based plants and animals,
can't survive without its critical support.
Healthy fertile soil doesn't only support food production,
it also stores and purifies water.
And it's vital for biodiversity.
Did you know that soil plays host to 25% of all our plants' biodiversity?
Soil also contains more organic carbon than there
is in all our land-based vegetation and atmosphere combined.
So soil can hold mega amounts of CO2 and play a vitally important role
in offsetting the effects of climate change.
But all these benefits depend on healthy soil.
Unfortunately, poor land management around the world
is making soil susceptible to water and wind erosion,
loss of nutrients and biodiversity, increased salinity,
and various other threats that make them unhealthy.
With soil degradation occurring every day,
the soil's ability to support our ever-growing population and life
on Earth is being significantly reduced.
Because soil degradation happens much faster than soil formation
or regeneration, it is vital that we do more now
to protect soil for future generations before it's too late.
Sound like a good idea to you?
Join us in the Soil4Life MOOC and learn about sustainable soil management
for the future.
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