World Soil Day: Environmental Celebration Honours Thailand’s Late King

Global EAT - World Soil Day: Environmental Celebration Honours Thailand’s Late King
Instructor showing a child how potatoes grow in soil and how to harvest them. (Nikao Media/fao.org)

World Soil Day falls on December 5th each year. The event coincides with Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s birthday, Thailand’s National Day and Father’s Day.

World Soil Day is a United Nations’ global awareness-raising platform launched in 2014. Our survival depends on the soil. Whether it’s the food we eat or the home we live in. The proper management of soil resource is critical for our food security, healthy ecosystems as well as human and animal health.

The event sanctioned by Thailand’s late King Bhumibol Adulyadej promotes the importance of healthy soil and advocating for the sustainable management of soil resources.  The occasion also pays tribute to the late king and his lifelong work on sustainable soil management.

Soil Advocate and Conservationist

The world’s longest-reigning monarch passed away in October 2018. He played an instrumental role in the promotion of soil science and conservation. The late king was also a leader in sustainable land resource management.

Global EAT - World Soil Day: Environmental Celebration Honours Thailand’s Late King
Consul General Nontawat Chandrtri of the Royal Thai Consulate General in Vancouver.  Chandrtri was speaking at Thailand’s National Day celebration in Vancouver on December 4th, 2019. The portrait on his left is Thailand’s late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. (Nikao Media)

Speaking at Thailand’s National Day celebration in Vancouver on Wednesday, Consul General Nontawat Chandrtri said, “the birthday anniversary of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej is an exceptional day for Thai people to remember His Majesty’s devotion and dedication” to improve the living standard of the people.

Chandrtri said the late king was the “main pillar for the nation’s stability.”  He introduced development to the country and was “truly a working monarch and soul of the nation.”

“His Majesty initiated more than 4,000 royal development projects, in areas such as irrigation, farming, drought alleviation, and soil erosion prevention.”

His projects lead to the betterment of Thai living standards and the country’s sustainable development.

His teaching on sufficient economy philosophy has been “adopted as the guiding principle in Thailand”, a “precious heritage” Thais proudly share with friends around the world, said Chandrtri.

Happy World Soil Day!