In 1993, the Platform for a Responsible and United World , the fruit of collective consideration on the challenges of the 21st century, initiated by the Charles L opold Mayer Foundation for the Progress of Humankind, underlined the need for a major action campaign on soils. Recent massive damage to the soil has led to a serious decrease in the fertility of environments and hence to desertification. Soil permits the production of biomass, the foundation of life. Soil harbors biological diversity, from microscopic to macroscopic, both plant and animal, much of which remains undiscovered.
Soil contributes to the balanced functioning and stability of food chains and of the water cycle.
Soil stocks atmospheric carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, in the form of organic matter. It is a raw material which human societies use in their construction and craft activities and it contains mineral reserves. Soil even carries out a cultural function since it contains numerous archaeological treasures and is the record of human evolution. All this shows how important soil is for life on Earth. When inventing agriculture, human societies started by exploiting the productive function of soil.