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Towards a Towards a Thematic Strategy Thematic Strategy for Soil Protectionfor Soil Protection

Lieve Van Camp

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History

1998 - Soil Forum: Bonn, Berlin, Naples 2001 - 6th Environmental Action Programme 2001 - Sustainable Development Strategy

Communication adopted 16 April 2002

Environment Council: June 2002 Economic and Social Committee : October

2002 Committee of Regions: end 2002 European Parliament - debate started

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Existing policies Air Water

New policy soil

Objective: sustainable use + soil

protecting

Objectives

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Soil versus Land

Soil = upper layer of land

Land-use

Communication “Planning and Environment - the Territorial Dimension”

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Main functions of soil

Food and biomass production

Storage, filtering and transformation

Habitat and gene pool

Cultural environment

Source of raw materials

SOIL FEATURES RELEVANT FOR POLICY MAKING

Soil feature

Local perspective

Non renewable resource

Prevention and precaution

Storage/buffer capacity Anticipation

Variable medium

Soil policy requires...

Source of biodiversity Protection

Subject to property rights

Agricultural soils - bothprecious and limited

Sustainable use

Degradation and remediation of local pollution

Environmental liability

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Threats to soil

Erosion Decline in organic matterContaminationSealingCompactionDecline in biodiversitySalinisationFloods and landslides

Council: linkages to water

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Erosion

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Decline in organic matter

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Contamination

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Sealing

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Compaction

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Decline in biodiversity

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Salinisation

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Floods and landslides

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Conclusions from these threats

Soil degradation processes: Largely driven by human activity. Currently taking place in the EU and

candidate countries.

Lack of policy relevant information on the extent and the significance.

No evidence of any trend reversal.

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Soil as a global issue

Climate change : soil as a carbon sink

Food security

Poverty alleviation

Biodiversity

Key element in land use

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International ConventionsThe wider discussion

Framework Convention on Climate Change (CCC) (1992)

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (1992)

Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) (1994)

Council recognises sustainable soil use for poverty alleviation worldwide

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The way forward - Thematic strategy for soil

protection - 2004

Proposal for soil monitoring legislation Related to the threats Knowledge base for action

Communication dealing with Erosion Decline in organic matter Soil contamination - linkage to health

issues

Council also sees sealing as an issue

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Community policies

Environmental Policy Common Agriculture PolicyRegional PolicyResearch PolicyTransport PolicySingle Market implications of

protection and remediation (competition)

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The way forward - from 2002 onwards

Environmental policy initiatives Sewage sludge revision Compost directive Mining waste directive

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Advisory Forum (Expert Group)

Chair DG ENV

Member States /Stakeholders meetings

Chair DG ENV

TWG 1Monitoring

TWG 2Erosion

TWG 3Organic matter

TWG 4Contamination

Soil Policy Development - Organisational Set-up

ISWG = Interservice Working GroupTWG = Technical Working Group

Commission ISWG Chair DG ENV

Technical co-ordination group and secretariat Chair DG ENV