Dubai’s iconic Burj Khalifa lights up in support of Sadhguru’s Save Soil Movement

Dubai: The world’s tallest skyscraper, the iconic Burj Khalifa in Dubai lit up in support of the Save Soil movement on Tuesday to further bring the world's attention towards the critical need to address rapid soil degeneration. The 2-minute light and laser show projected Sadhguru’s Save Soil message, voices of support from global leaders, scientists, celebrities; and glimpses from Sadhguru’s historic lone motorcycle journey from London to India for 30,000 km across 27 nations to activate support towards Save Soil. 

Sadhguru joined the event virtually and addressed the people who gathered to celebrate the culmination of the Sadhguru’s 100-day Save Soil journey. His journey touched 3.9 billion people in the last 3 months, with 74 nations agreeing to actively work towards soil regeneration. 

Sadhguru expressed his gratitude and commended the UAE government for its vision towards soil regeneration. 

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Thanking the people for their support, Sadhguru noted that “the work has just begun” and pointed that the real challenge is the speed at which the implementation of policies will happen. He highlighted that the movement has been successful in changing the narrative as “today literally across the world, people are talking about soil, governments are discussing about soil regeneration programs, budgets are being allocated” and asserted that “the mission is not over” till we ensure the policies are implemented.

Taking to Twitter, Sadhguru said, @BurjKhalifa, iconic fulcrum of UAE lighting up to #SaveSoil is a symbolic expression of commitment of the visionary leadership. The wonderful people & the sensitive leadership can make UAE an ecological leader in the region. Congratulations & Blessings to everyone of you.-Sg”

.@BurjKhalifa, iconic fulcrum of UAE lighting up to #SaveSoil is a symbolic expression of commitment of the visionary leadership. The wonderful people & the sensitive leadership can make UAE an ecological leader in the region. Congratulations & Blessings to everyone of you.-Sg pic.twitter.com/juqtJc7hRe — Sadhguru (@SadhguruJV) July 7, 2022

To honour this mammoth feat, 1Digi Investment Management, the family office of Raghu Subramanian, Founder and Global CEO of Actyv.ai, sponsored the light show on the Burj Khalifa.
Raghu Subramanian said, ”Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is at the core of our business and actyv.ai is proud to associate with the Save Soil movement spearheaded by Sadhguru and Isha Foundation."

H. E. Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, who has wholeheartedly supported the movement, expressed, "Our collaboration with Conscious Planet is a new step in our ongoing efforts to safeguard our precious soil for the next generations."

Burj Khalifa joined 50 other iconic locations that have showed support for Save Soil including The Niagara Falls, the Jet D’eau in Geneva, The Montreal Olympic Stadium, Toronto’s TV Tower and the Piazza del Campo (Sienna). 

In India, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) building in Mumbai, Chennai and Hubli Railway Stations, Atal Setu in Goa, Howrah bridge in Kolkata, Durgam Cheruvu Bridge and Buddha Statue in Hyderabad are among the few prominent locations that earlier lit up in support of the movement. 

The Save Soil movement aims to address the soil crisis by bringing together people from around the world to stand up for soil health and supporting leaders in developing and implementing national policies to save soil. The movement is backed by UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN World Food Programme, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Earlier this year in May, when UAE hosted Sadhguru during his Save Soil journey, the country signed an MoU with the movement committing to establishing a policy for soil health.

The Save Soil movement is urging nations across the world to urgently legislate to save the planet’s agricultural soils, 50% of which are already said to be degraded and incapable of yield. The objective of the Movement is to urge nations to mandate 3-6% organic content in agricultural soils around the world. This is the minimum organic content required to keep soil fertile and capable of yield and prevent it from turning into sand.

Sadhguru’s Journey for Soil began on 21st March in London and has passed through 27 nations in Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. Sadhguru also addressed the 15th session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP15) in Ivory Coast in May. Representatives of 197 nations were in attendance. In the same month, Sadhguru also spoke at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. At both events, Sadhguru urged political, business and cultural leaders to facilitate urgent and decisive policy-driven steps to halt rapid desertification of the Earth. UNCCD predicts that at the current rates of soil degradation, 90% of the earth could turn into desert by 2050 – less than three decades from now.

Till date, 74 countries have pledged to Save Soil from extinction, and 8 Indian states have signed MoUs with the movement to work towards soil regeneration in their states.