TORONTO: One third of the world’s arable land has been lost to soil erosion or pollution in the last 40 years, and preserving topsoil is crucial for feeding a growing population, scientists said in research published during climate change talks in Paris.
It takes about 500 years to generate 2.5 cm (one inch) of topsoil under normal agricultural conditions, and soil loss has accelerated as demand for food rises, biologists from Britain’s Sheffield University said in a report published on Wednesday.
Preserving valuable topsoil is crucial if the world is to produce enough food for more than 9 billion people by 2050, the scientists said.
“Soil is lost rapidly but replaced over millennia, and this represents one of the greatest global threats to agriculture,” Sheffield University biology Professor Duncan Cameron said in a statement with the report.
He recommends that farmers engage in “conservation agriculture” where crops are rotated more frequently, organic matter is restored to the soil and less energy is spent on nitrogen fertilizers.
At present, intensive farming maintains crop yields through the heavy use of fertilizers, made by an industrial process that consumes five percent of the world’s natural gas production and two percent of the world’s annual energy supply, the report said.
On Tuesday French officials launched a plan to raise soil carbon levels in order to take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, presenting the scheme at international climate change negotiations in the French capital.
The French-led plan, backed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), aims to increase soil carbon stocks by 0.4 percent annually to boost soil fertility while combating global warming.
Global soil loss a rising threat to food production
Global soil loss a rising threat to food production
British tourists ordered to leave India over ‘free Palestine’ stickers
- Pushkar, an ancient temple site, has lately gained popularity among Israelis
- British nationals whose visas were canceled are still in town, police say
NEW DELHI: Two British nationals have been ordered to leave India after their visas were canceled for pasting Palestine stickers in a popular temple town in the western state of Rajasthan.
Ajmer district police, who oversee Pushkar, one of the oldest Hindu pilgrimage sites, issued on Feb. 2 “leave India” notices to a British man and woman for violating tourist visa regulations “by pasting stickers against another country.”
Photos of the stickers, which were shared by the local media, read: “Free Palestine,” “Boycott Israel,” and featured the Palestinian flag.
According to the police, they were plastered at “two or three locations” in Pushkar, and on Jan. 21 a complaint was filed with the local police.
“In Pushkar lives an Israeli religious guru, and they have a prayer house. Pushkar is a tourist place and if people start indulging in such activities, then the message goes wrong,” Additional Superintendent of Police Rajesh Meena, who issued the “leave India” notice, told Arab News on Thursday.
The couple were still in Pushkar, but the police had given them a deadline to leave the country.
“They have one and a half months’ time, they have booked their return tickets, and they will leave,” Meena said.
Abhishek, a journalist in Pushkar who documented the stickers, said that the town had gained in popularity among Israeli tourists over the past few years.
“They prefer this place because of the cost-effective hostels and accommodation. In 2019, they opened a religious place for themselves, and they worship there,” he said.
“In 2019-20, they played loud music and there was resistance from the locals initially, but later on the locals adjusted.”
