It is with enormous sadness that we hear of the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. In addition to his outstanding leadership of Thailand, he was globally recognised as a leader in the promotion of sustainable soil management.
Following the World Congress of Soil Science held in Bangkok in 2002, the International Union of Soil Sciences proposed, in recognition of the outstanding leadership provided by King Bhumibol in promoting practices of sustainable soil management to ensure Food Security, the international celebration of World Soil Day on December 5th, His Majesty’s birthday. It was through King Bhumibol’s enthusiastic encouragement that the United Nations formally adopted December 5th as World Soil Day and furthermore pronounced 2015 to be The International Year of Soils. Through his leadership soil scientists globally and in particular in South East Asia were provided with encouragement in the development of soil management strategies which are both sustainable and relevant to the farmers who use them. The passing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej is a great loss for Thailand, but also to Soil Science. The IUSS Secretariat has dispatched a letter of condolences to the! Royal Fa mily, the Land Development Department of Thailand and the Soil and Fertilizer Society of Thailand.