Careers in soil conservation

Ranjan K Baruah *

Many of us might hear about government departments like Soil Conservation. It is one of the important departments of the government and other agencies. The importance is such that many programmes have been launched around the world for soil conservation. There are special agencies of the United Nations that deal with soil conservation.

One of the important event related to soil is World Soil Day which is observed on 5th December every year and this year’s campaign is "Halt soil salinization, boost soil productivity" which aims to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the growing challenges in soil management, fighting soil salinization, increasing soil awareness and encouraging societies to improve soil health.

WSD is held annually on 5 December as a means to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources. An international day to celebrate soil was recommended by the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) in 2002.

Under the leadership of the Kingdom of Thailand and within the framework of the Global Soil Partnership, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has supported the formal establishment of WSD as a global awareness raising platform.

The FAO Conference unanimously endorsed World Soil Day in June 2013 and requested its official adoption at the 68th UN General Assembly. In December 2013, the UN General Assembly responded by designating 5 December 2014 as the first official World Soil Day.

Let us talk and discuss careers related to soil conservation. Well, this area is a vast area as there are ample opportunities to work for the conservation of soils and other research purposes which helps mostly in agriculture. Soil conservationists are responsible for ensuring a healthy state of the soil.

They spend a large proportion of their time working in the field alongside farmers and other land users, offering conservation planning and technical help. They monitor the condition of land and develop ways to enhance sustainability, conserve soil and counter erosion.

They might work in construction where they survey land and advise builders on preventative measures regarding ero-sion, or they may consult with farmers, suggesting which crops to grow and promoting crop rotation Bachelor's degree or master degree in agricultural science or related discipline is required to find work in this field.

The government is a major employer of soil conservationists; agriculture corporations and mining companies are other employers in this field. Leading agricultural universities offer courses related to soil. There are few special programmes which can be also chosen by interested individuals who want to make their careers related to soil conservation.

There is no doubt that successful agriculture de-pends on healthy soil and water. Life needs a continual source of water for sustenance, and soil is essential for plant growth, providing nutrients, water, physical support, and biological interactions with roots.

Fertile soil and clean water are both renewable resources in natural systems, and can also be renewable resources in the context of agri-cultural production. This shows the importance of trained and qualified people related to soil science. Apart from being involved in government depart-ments or other agencies, one may also become self-employed and start their own enterprises like consultancy firms.