RIYADH: Soil pollution underpins some of the most urgent threats to human health, food security and climate resilience. From oil spills and mining to poor waste management and overuse of agrochemicals, contamination is eroding ecosystems and livelihoods worldwide.

Environmental agencies have long warned about the consequences — biodiversity loss, degraded farmland, polluted groundwater and higher disease risks — and are intensifying efforts to turn awareness into action.

“We depend, and will continue to depend, on the ecosystem services provided by soils,” Abdelkader Bensada, a soil expert at the UN Environment Programme, said about the risks of soil pollution on food security and health.

The warning is stark: When soils fail, crops falter, water quality declines and public health inevitably suffers.

According to the European Environment Agency, more than 500,000 premature deaths are linked to soil pollution globally. UNEP estimates that almost 40 percent of the global population — more than 3 billion people — are affected by soil degradation.

Behind those figures lies a wide array of contaminants. Heavy metals, hydrocarbons and industrial and agricultural chemicals can accumulate in soil, reduce fertility, infiltrate aquifers and ultimately enter the food chain.

Recognizing the scale of the problem, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and its Global Soil Partnership convened the Global Symposium on Soil Pollution in 2018, alongside the World Health Organization, the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention, and UNEP.

The aim was to bring together science and policy to assess the status, causes, impacts and solutions — and to move the issue from technical papers into concrete action plans.

Science is clear about where much of the pollution originates. In terrestrial ecosystems, soils are the dominant sink for heavy metal contamination.

An FAO/UN assessment in 2018 highlighted fundamental sources, including chemicals associated with industrial byproducts, domestic and livestock uses, municipal wastes, agrochemicals and oil-derived products.

Contaminants can enter soils accidentally — as with oil spills — or intentionally through human activity, including the application of fertilizers and pesticides and the use of untreated wastewater for irrigation, as outlined by UNEP.

Urban expansion and desertification compound these pressures, sealing soils under concrete, stripping vegetation and accelerating erosion.

Saudi Arabia, with its expanding industrial base and rapid urban development, has been mapping and managing these risks more aggressively in recent years.

Heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic have been detected in soils across industrial regions including Yanbu, Riyadh, Jubail and Al-Ahsa. These materials can impair plant growth by triggering oxidative stress and disrupting enzyme activity. More worrying still, contaminants can move through the food chain, posing hazards to human health.

A growing body of local research is helping to target interventions. In 2023, Khaled Al-Kahtany of King Saud University’s Department of Geology and Geophysics published “Ecological risk assessment of heavy metals contamination in agricultural soil from Al-Majma’ah, central Saudi Arabia.”

The study identified increased levels of potentially toxic elements, including arsenic, mercury and uranium. Reassuringly, most were below global risk thresholds. Even so, the findings underscore the need for early interventions that prevent hotspots from becoming health emergencies.

Policy has moved in tandem with science. Guided by Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is weaving environmental protection into its economic transformation.

A key step came in 2020 with the adoption of the Executive Regulation for Soil Pollution Prevention and Remediation, issued by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture.

The regulation sets protection standards, remediation requirements, site monitoring protocols, and penalties for violations — giving regulators and industry a clear rulebook for preventing and cleaning up contamination.

Institutions have been retooled to enforce those rules. The establishment of the National Center for Environmental Compliance signaled a shift toward continuous monitoring and rapid response.

As of May this year, 16 mobilization exercises have been carried out, with NCEC overseeing operations implemented by Marine Operations for Environmental Services (SAIL), which operates the largest environmental emergency fleet in the Middle East.

These exercises pair advanced satellite remote sensing with ship-based pollution control equipment and mechanisms — an important capability in a country with a vast coastline, busy ports and critical marine ecosystems.

The operational emphasis is twofold — prevent pollution at source through standards, audits and permits, and be ready to contain incidents quickly when they occur.

Remote sensing helps pinpoint anomalies over wide areas. Ground teams then prioritize inspections, deploy containment booms, or initiate soil and water sampling.

In industrial zones, authorities are tightening requirements for hazardous waste tracking, storage infrastructure and emergency preparedness.

In agriculture, the focus includes better guidance on fertilizer and pesticide use, promotion of treated wastewater standards and incentives for soil-health practices that build organic matter and reduce runoff.

Saudi officials also stress that remediation is not the end of the story. Sustainable land management — from re-vegetation and erosion control to improved drainage — reduces the chance of re-contamination and strengthens climate resilience.

The broader push aligns with global efforts catalyzed by GSOP18: Treat soil as natural capital that underwrites food systems, not as an infinite sink for waste.

The public message is growing sharper as well. Soil pollution has never been so critical and threatening. The planet nowadays seems to be suffering a significant number of environmental issues, making international cooperation all the more urgent.

That urgency was echoed by UNEP chief Inger Andersen on Zero Waste Day last year.

“Metal, minerals, food, water, now we know that such resources are essential, but the truth is that, day in and day out, we waste them. Our planet cannot keep endlessly giving up resources and receiving pollution in return,” he said.

“Remember that nature doesn’t waste. And nor should we.”