The world population is currently increasing at a fast rate. It has gone from about 1 billion people in 1800, to 3 billion by 1960, to 6 billion by 2000 and is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050. All these people will be relying on the soil to provide all those useful functions mentioned above and ultimately for their survival. This means that we need to look after our soils to ensure that they can support this growing population.