In 2002, the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) made a resolution to propose the 5th of December as the World Soil Day to honour His Majesty the King of Thailand for his promotion of soil science and soil resources conservation. The 5th of December is the birthday of His Majesty. Since then the IUSS has initiated various activities to proclaim the 5th December as the World Soil Day.

According to IUSS: "The World Soil Day will be used to advocate the use and need of soils for human survival and its sustainable management. We aim to draw more attention for the natural resource on which all life depends: the soil!"

Organisations around the world celebrate the day for example the British Society of Soil Science and Australia's science agency CSIRO.