Soil deterioration can be addressed in a number of ways, including the use of responsible farming techniques, active forestation, and the prevention of soil erosion and pollution. Furthermore, soil degradation can be avoided by developing responsibly in urban and residential areas

The first responsibility would be to find out the cause-effect relationship of soil degradation. Such basic scientific knowledge will help in devising specific management protocols to halt the degradation.

They should avoid throwing different debris on soil, toxic chemicals. avoid heavy ploughing, never water plants with saline water, keep land with natural or artificial vegetation.....etc.

Scientific research of the causes of soil degradation is an important staring point. However, we already know the causes of soil degradation: we know that agriculture that is based on monoculture has been driven by the motive of profit, rather than sustainability. The soil is dying as a result of insensitive farming.

Taking responsibility for the frighteningly bad condition of the soil means to raise more general awareness that we have no time to lose. The general public is ignorant of how serious the situation is. I believe that academics have a duty to inform the general public about the causes and implications of soil degradation. It is time to take responsibility.

Taking responsibility means to implement the solutions which have already been developed: to plant trees, to cover the soil under vegetation, to expand organic farming practices, to expand tree-based agriculture, to find a better balance between architecture and green spaces in urban areas, etc.

Dear Christa,

I think behind the soil degradation and desertification the reason is lacking of awareness. Only a farmer knows the value of soil. Other professionals are so busy in their life style that they literally don't know the value of a pinch of soil. As a academic community we should spread the awareness among all the people step wise. We have to make them understand that to build up a gram of soils it takes many years. And ultimately our food is coming from soil only. "No soul without soil".

Christa Knellwolf King

Respected Madam, Academicians and researchers, particularly those with in-depth understanding of the subject (for example, individuals from biotech, agriculture-based studies, and chemists), must develop a well-structured range of management strategies, training methods, and tools that farmers can use to minimize soil and fertilizer runoff, effectively manage animal waste, and preserve water and air quality on one‘s farms. This is absolutely necessary these days, due to a lack of traditional agricultural wisdom among contemporary farmers (I'm speaking in the Indian context, since many people here want to brag about being a modern farmer while destroying the soil). Farmers lack in soil conservation methods because they cannot easily assess such data. To develop a better understanding of the coverage of soil conservation measures, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison employed advanced data science approaches to collect and analyse web articles on soil conservation that may help farmers using soil management and conservation. The researchers focused on ten distinct soil conservation methods and discovered that tillage agriculture, manure management, and grazing were the most often documented soil conservation strategies globally. Chemists, in my opinion, must develop an equivalent alternative to synthetic fertilizers and pesticides (although natural goods such as bio waste are nice, they are not suitable for a planet that is speeding in its wheel rather than strolling leisurely). Furthermore, with the assistance of the aforementioned academics and researchers, the government must work collaboratively to enforce stringent policies and schemes, particularly in the area of Rural Infrastructure Development.

Let us hope for a healthier sustainable future. Thank you and best wishes, Dinesh.

Having a deeper connection and care for nature and future of our wellbeing is the most benevolent thing one possess.

But the sad reality is that we are all in a race for publishing papers , generate more PhD scholars with just degree (not thinkers).

there maybe few only who really cares for nature and working for the sustainable development, while majority are only on the status quo and big fish collaboration/Industries

i guess expertise from various field is important and in need of the hour to tackle the issue sooner as the problem of soil degradation is moving at a faster pace.

(for any kind of development/initiation for human wellbeing we need social scientist )

and nicely spoken/written by Dinesh Kumar Madheswaran

Thank you, Akito I Sema for your moving response. You are putting your finger on one of the things that is wrong with academia.

Academics are under such pressure to perform that they are no longer able to care about the aspects of life that are really important.

Academics are constantly ranked, assessed and judged. In the short term, this improves productivity. But is productivity the right goal of a university?

Institutions do not explore the side-effects of procedures that create a CULTURE of FEAR. They do not realize that society has to pay a price for the savage competition that exists between academics. When academics are caught in a struggle for survival (retaining their temporary position, getting tenure or promotion), they lose sight of the broader picture.

As a result, academics have no time and are completely drained. So they do very little towards the creation of a sustainable society. And only a small number of academics have enough energy to do something against the tragic degeneration of the quality of the soil.

What is more, only a small number of academics recognize that a vast number of colleagues and students are struggling with depression, burnout, low self-esteem, and a sense of meaninglessness.

We urgently need a more nurturing attitude towards our intellectual environment (e.g. universities) and our physical environment (the soil we walk on).

I invited all academics who follow me to respond to this question. This means that I asked them to take issue about the worrying condition of the planet. I am connected to a lot of senior academics who have a lot of power and influence. None of them responded.

Still, I feel honored that a few colleagues whom I have never met responded.

I am not surprised but I am disappointed that none of my established colleagues (and friends?) demonstrate any concern about the distressing condition of the soil, which suggests that human life may be limited to the next 50-60 years.

I continue to dream my dream: that one day academics will realize that the goal of life is NOT to collect research points.

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We are in a serious crisis about the state of the soil at the moment. The saddest thing is that we know what has to be done but the majority of people behave as if the survival of homo sapiens was none of their business.

I believe that the most important task of academics at the moment is to engender responsibility for the soil in the general public.