Conscious Planet – Save Soil is a unique global movement, uniting world leaders, visionaries, influencers and 3.5 billion people behind a common purpose – to Save Soil. Across the globe, soil is dying.

The United Nations says the world only has about 60 years of harvests left before cultivable soil becomes desert.

Conscious Planet – Save Soil is an effort to address this degeneration of soil, by inspiring at least 3.5 billion people (60% of the world’s electorate), to support long-term government policies to revitalize soil.

In democracies, governments craft policies based on what the majority of people want. Currently, 5.26 billion people in the world live in democratic countries, i.e., they have the right to vote and elect their governments. If a majority of the population in each of these nations demands policies to revitalize soil, governments cannot ignore the issue. If 3.5 billion people (60% of 5.26 billion) voice their concerns, it will lead to policy changes around the world, in turn, setting the stage for a comprehensive solution to revitalize soil.

Millions of people, including hundreds of scientists, celebrities, policy experts, and spiritual leaders, have joined this movement to save soil. Some of the global influencers who have shown their support are:

● Jane Goodall, English natural scientist & primatologist

● His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

● Marc Benioff, Founder and CEO, Salesforce

● Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum

● Tom Brady, Seven-time Super Bowl champion, American Football

● Deepak Chopra, Author & Founder of Chopra Global

All of the greatest ecological and social challenges of our time – biodiversity loss, food and water scarcity, global warming, poverty – are intimately linked to the health of soil. Without revitalizing soil, none of these issues can be holistically addressed.

Dying soil is responsible for 86% of biodiversity loss on the planet. Water scarcity is a result of degraded soil being unable to absorb water. Food of course, cannot grow unless soil is healthy.

Unhealthy soil is one of the largest contributors to climate change. Whereas healthy soil can actually absorb and remove almost 40% of humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions. And 74% of the global poor live in rural areas, mostly dependent on agriculture. There poverty is tied to the soil dying out.

But despite soil extinction being one of the greatest ecological threats that humanity faces, it is also the most ignored. Supporting this movement is a way to ensure that global citizens and governments turn their focus and efforts to revitalizing soil, and therefore solving several ecological and social

crises in the process. With the participation of 3.5 billion citizens, or 60% of the world’s voting population, together we can make this happen.

Worldwide, 52% of agricultural soil is already degraded, and an acre of soil turns into sand every second. According to the UN Food & Agricultural Organization, the world could run out of cultivable soil in 60 years. For soil to be able to support healthy crops, it must have at least 3% organic content. But here are some statistics from across the world:

● 62% of the land in India has less than 0.5% of organic carbon.

● The US has lost 50% of its topsoil.

● 74% of the soil in southern European agricultural nations has less than 2% organic carbon.

● Up to 65% of land in Africa that could have been used for agriculture is degraded, while desertification affects 45% of the continent’s land area.

● 45% of croplands in South America and 74% in Mexico and Central America are degraded.

Many scientists and concerned organizations have been talking about the crisis of soil extinction over the past several years. To read more about what they have said, visit: https://www.consciousplanet.org/what-science-says/

However, the issue has not entered the public consciousness as yet. The Save Soil movement seeks to ensure that a large segment of the public becomes aware of how severe the soil situation is, and what they can do to make the needed government action happen.

Conscious Planet will be focusing on the ‘Save Soil’ movement for the next several months, given how crucial this issue is.

To make a meaningful contribution to the Conscious Planet – Save Soil movement, you can join us as an Earth Buddy.

This is a commitment to spend as little as 10 minutes a day and contribute towards a global impact.

You can do this by:

● Sharing facts and insights about soil with your friends and family

● Participating in on-the-ground and online events

● Coming up with your own creative ideas to engage people in the conversation about soil

Register as an Earth Buddy by visiting our Join the Movement page on www.consciousplanet.org

You can also join the Save Soil Community on the website. If you have any creative ideas, please share them on the Ideas portal of the website.

The fundamental requirement is to increase organic matter in soil to at least 3%. There are several solutions to achieve this. The solutions depend on several factors such as soil type, latitude, climate, traditional practices and much more. Accordingly, an array of solutions will be presented through a

draft policy document that will be made available to all nations of the world.

It would be wonderful to have your organization come on board. Please email us at corporate.apac@consciousplanet.org. A volunteer will get in touch with you to guide you on how to take this forward.

Sadhguru has launched several initiatives over the years, which are powerful examples of bringing together all segments of society to create lasting, sustainable solutions for ecological and social issues. These initiatives have garnered the support of millions of people, as well as governments, global bodies, grassroots organizations and eminent public figures.

Some of these initiatives are:

Isha Foundation

• 11 million volunteers, 300 centers worldwide

• Observer Status at UN Environment

• UNCCD Accredited

• Consultative status at UN Economic and Social Council

Rally for Rivers

• Supported by 162 million people

• Largest ecological movement of its kind

• Part of UN Climate Action Compendium of Nature-based Solutions

Cauvery Calling

• On-ground action with 125,000 farmers so far

• Facilitated planting of 62 million saplings

Isha Outreach

• Free medical support for 11.3 million rural people

• Education for over 9000 underprivileged rural students

• India’s highest environmental award – Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar

• Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar from President of India

The Conscious Planet movement aims to take the proven model of mass citizen participation that Sadhguru has pioneered, to a global level.