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Book (stand-alone)Global assessment of soil pollution
Summary for policymakers
2021Also available in:
Soil pollution is invisible to the human eye, but it compromises the quality of the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe and puts human and environmental health at risk. Most contaminants originate from human activities such as industrial processes and mining, poor waste management, unsustainable farming practices, accidents ranging from small chemical spills to accidents at nuclear power plants, and the many effects of armed conflicts. Pollution knows no borders: contaminants are spread throughout terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and many are distributed globally by atmospheric transport. In addition, they are redistributed through the global economy by way of food and production chains. Soil pollution has been internationally recognized as a major threat to soil health, and it affects the soil’s ability to provide ecosystems services, including the production of safe and sufficient food, compromising global food security. Soil pollution hinders the achievement of many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including those related to poverty elimination (SDG 1), zero hunger (SDG 2) and good health and well-being (SDG 3). Soil pollution hits the most vulnerable hardest, especially children and women (SDG 5). The supply of safe drinking water is threatened by the leaching of contaminants into groundwater and runoff (SDG 6). CO2 and N2O emissions from unsustainably managed soils accelerate climate change (SDG 13). Soil pollution contributes to land degradation and loss of terrestrial (SDG 15) and aquatic (SDG 14) biodiversity, and decreased security and resilience of cities (SDG 11), among others. The report addresses the extent and future trends of soil pollution, considering both point source and diffuse soil pollution, and describes the risks and impacts of soil pollution on health, the environment and food security – including land degradation and the burden of disease resulting from exposure to polluted soil. The process to develop the report involved in-depth regional assessments of soil pollution, and the regional chapters provide an overview of soil pollution issues at the global scale that is long overdue (Figure 1). The Editorial Board comprised over 30 international experts representing the ITPS, the Regional Soil Partnerships, relevant international fora and expert groups, and the private sector. The Summary for Policymakers presents the main findings of the report, together with options for action to facilitate global policy considerations in the UNEA process. The main report is a comprehensive publication which is available on the FAO website. -
MeetingIdentifying One Health priorities in Asia and the Pacific region
Thirty-sixth Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC36)
2022Human, animal, plant and environmental health are intimately connected through the ecological realities governing life. Our health depends on the health of the environment, which provides us, at a minimum, with the food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink. With rapid population growth, as well as globalization and environmental degradation, health threats have become more complex. Solutions cannot be found by one sector alone. The problems affecting human health, terrestrial and aquatic animals, plants, and the environment can be effectively resolved only through improved coordination, communication and collaborative actions across disciplines and sectors, and that these are sustainable solutions. This has come to be called the One Health approach. To date, One Health has primarily engaged the public health sector and veterinary services and largely focused on addressing zoonotic diseases, Antimicrobial Resistance, food safety, and an occasional focus on emerging infectious diseases. One Health has yet to properly engage the Ministries responsible for wildlife, biodiversity, ecosystems, natural resource management and the environment. One Health programming has yet to be applied to protecting or restoring biodiversity and ecosystems from anthropogenic drivers of degradation known to contribute to the emergence of zoonotic pathogens, and transmission of diseases among wildlife and livestock. It is these upstream interventions that are also needed to prevent spillover events and mitigate health threats. This paper provides an overview on One Health, technical areas where One Health is being applied, and current gaps in One Health programming. FAO has long-standing experience in supporting Ministries of Agriculture and Livestock and national veterinary services in the region. -
Brochure, flyer, fact-sheetHow to clean up pesticide contaminated soils
Promising option: Bio- and phyto-remediation technologies
2024Also available in:
No results found.Around half the obsolete pesticides in the world can be found in the former Soviet Union, according to estimates, with a large portion currently sitting in Central Asia. Due to the mandatory application and oversupply of pesticides during the Soviet period – including pesticides that are banned today – there remain numerous landfills and agricultural land in the region contaminated with obsolete pesticides above safe health and use levels. The numbers and sizes of landfills differ from country to country, but what has remained the same throughout the years is that pesticides have been spread widely, leading to large-scale soil contamination in vast regions – including areas that contain villages and farmlands. The key to addressing this large-scale soil contamination by pesticides in the region is the soil remediation. However, considering the large areas and volumes involved, cleaning solutions must be economic.Soil remediation is a method used to remove, immobilize or transform pollutants from contaminated soils for the protection of human and animal health and the environment. Untreated contaminated soil poses numerous risks, depending on the contaminant, such as human health risks, ecosystem service disruptions, water resource pollution and biodiversity loss. Older pesticides were often based on a chemical group called persistent pollutants, which tend to accumulate in the food chain and cause serious long-term impacts. Through remediation processes, various soil pollutants – heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, persistent pollutants, pesticides and others – can be removed or transformed by certain microorganisms and plant species. Since bioremediation and phytoremediation are more environmentally friendly, sustainable and cost effective than other soil cleaning methods (e.g. excavation and incineration), they are among the best and cheapest options for addressing lightly polluted soils, especially in Central Asia.This leaflet is to introduce the concept of bio- and phyto- remediation technologies for the pesticide contaminated soils in Central Asia. These remediation technologies are very cost-effective methods for restoring contaminated soils compared to physical or chemical remediation methods. Its use case is mainly for low-contaminated soils where a short remediation time is not important. It can be implemented worldwide, especially when it relies on locally existing microorganisms. This leaflet aims to introduce these novel technologies for further implementations across the Central Asia.
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