Coimbatore: Combining traditional and modern dance forms, students of Isha Samskriti held a public awareness program on the Save Soil Movement today at the Coimbatore Railway Station.

Forty Isha Samskriti students drew public attention to soil degradation and the Save Soil Movement’s efforts to reverse and halt the phenomenon in a two-and-a-half hour event from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. It included Kalari, a traditional martial art form and a flash mob sequence that drew curious onlookers.

Speaking about the importance of soil conservation, the students said, “Soil resources are rapidly declining worldwide. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) has warned that if we do not take action now, the world’s surface soil resources will disappear completely within the next 60 years. Moreover, international scientists have warned that the world population will increase to 9.3 billion by 2045, while food production is at risk of declining by 40 percent. If that happens then civil unrest and hunger will increase. Therefore, we must take action now to protect the soil. Isha volunteers around the world are raising awareness about the movement in various ways.”

The Movement to Save Soil is a global movement initiated by Sadhguru to prevent soil extinction. It aims to urge and support governments in formulating policies that will address soil health in their country and halt and reverse soil degradation. On 21 March, Sadhguru embarked on a lone motorcycle journey of 30,000 km that will cover 27 nations in 100 days to raise awareness about soil extinction and build global consensus for urgent action to prevent soil extinction.

The Movement has thus far received an overwhelming global response with 6 Caribbean Nations signing MoUs with the Save Soil Movement and the 54-member Commonwealth also pledging its support. As of the 17th day of his 100-day journey, Sadhguru has met several heads of state, ministers, ambassadors, representatives of environmental bodies celebrities and media in several European countries where the Movement has also been received with great enthusiasm by ordinary citizens.

The Save Soil Movement is supported by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Food Programme (WFP), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Commonwealth Nations.