EUROPEAN SOIL PARTNERSHIP

Elena Havlicek Federal Office for the Environment CH

European Soil Partnership

• ESP launch: 31.10.2013 (Berlin – Global Soil Week)

• ESP governance Partners :

- about 90 European organizations

- 33 national FP

Steering committee

- 1 chair and 2 vice-chairs (Switzerland, Turkey, Italy), EASP secretariat (Russian Federation)

- Secretariat (JRC)

- 5 Working Groups

- 1 ITPS member, GSP secretariat

European Soil Partnership

European context • Main threats

Soil sealing and land take

Source: Le Temps (November 2016)

European context • Main threats

Contamination

European context • Main threats

Contamination

Cd-Pb : Modelled final maps of MTE concentration in topsoil [mg kg-1] Lado et al. 2008

European context • Main threats

Agricultural soils (erosion, compaction)

European context • Main threats

Soil organic carbon, loss of biodiversity

Map of change in soil carbon due to land use change and land management from 1860 to 2010 from three vegetation models. Pink indicates loss of soil carbon, blue indicates carbon gain.

• The primary driver of loss in soil organic

carbon is land use change.

• When land is converted from native forest to crops, soil carbon decreases by about 40%. When

• When pasture is converted to crops the reduction in soil carbon is even greater – about 60%.

GSP

European context • Main threats

Soil organic carbon, loss of biodiversity

Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas 2016

European context • Main challenges

Sustainable soil management (not only protection)

European context • Main challenges

Sustainable soil management (“biological factory”)

European Soil Biodiversity Atlas 2010

European context • Main forces

Knowledge

Practices

Experience

European context

• One question remaining…

we know the threat

we know the solution

where is the problem???

• Main forces

Knowledge

Practices

Experience

> Morning session: answers & open issues!

Paradigm shift Soil is a complex system (interactions, feedbacks, etc.)

Soil is a biological system

Soil provides ecosystem services

Soil has multiple functions

agriculture and forestry

Waste disposal

Contaminated sites

SPATIAL

PLANNING element cycles

Biodiversity

aboveground

belowground

Water cycle

Climate change

URBANIZATION

SOIL

PROTECTION

THREATS

REACTIVE

MANAGEMENT

FUNCTIONS

PROACTIVE

PROTECTION AGAINST THREATS

Precautionary measures eg. reduction of emission of

pollutants (air pollution control, waste recycling)

GLOBAL SOIL MANAGEMENT

eg. direct payment (agricultural policy)

PROTECTION MEASURES

eg. soil use restriction or prohibition (indirect) or soil

protection measures (direct)

SOIL STRATEGY

Production (food, fiber)

Regulation (C cycle, water, nutriments)

Habitat (biodiversity)

Support (human activities, construction)

Archive (human and natural history)

Raw material (eg. sand or gravel)

QUALITATIVE THREATS

eg. contamination, erosion, compaction

PROTECTION OF FUNCTIONS

Function-based decision-making

Integration in spatial planning

Paradigm shift

European context

AGRICULTURE and forestry

Waste disposal

Contaminated sites

SPATIAL

PLANNING element cycles

Water cycle

CLIMATE

CHANGE URBANIZATION

SOIL

Biodiversity

aboveground

belowground

Food security (SDG’s)

Climate change

Soil organic matter management

GLOBAL

LEVEL

European context

AGRICULTURE and forestry

Waste disposal

Contaminated sites

SPATIAL

PLANNING element cycles

Water cycle

CLIMATE

CHANGE URBANIZATION

SOIL

Biodiversity

aboveground

belowground

Food security (environmental and social soil security)

Climate change

Soil organic matter management

Urbanization

Spatial planning

EUROPEAN

LEVEL

European context

> What is / should be the added value of the European Soil Partnership?

European network of networks

RESEARCH GOVERNMENT NATIONAL LEVEL

IMPLEMENTATION LEVEL

ESP

SOIL SOCIETIES / NGOs

INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

INTERNATIONAL MONITORING

NATIONAL MONITORING

WG Pillars

WG SOC

WG xxx

Working groups

AGENCY

UNCCD SDG’s

FAO

JRC

IMPLEMENTATION

European network of networks

RESEARCH GOVERNMENT NATIONAL LEVEL

IMPLEMENTATION LEVEL

ESP

SOIL SOCIETIES / NGOs

INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

INTERNATIONAL MONITORING

NATIONAL MONITORING

WG Pillars

WG SOC

WG xxx

Working groups

AGENCY

UNCCD SDG’s

FAO

JRC

IMPLEMENTATION

European network of networks

RESEARCH GOVERNMENT NATIONAL LEVEL

IMPLEMENTATION LEVEL

ESP

SOIL SOCIETIES / NGOs

INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

INTERNATIONAL MONITORING

NATIONAL MONITORING

WG Pillars

WG SOC

WG xxx

Working groups

AGENCY

UNCCD SDG’s

FAO

JRC

IMPLEMENTATION

SOIL PROPERTIES

SOIL FUNCTIONS

SOIL USE

© Brändle, Zimmermann / Chervet

Agroscope / LANAT BE

SOIL USE LAND USES

SOIL PROPERTIES CHEMICAL, PHYSICAL AND

BIOLOGICAL STATE

SOIL FUNCTIONS POTENTIAL TO PROVIDE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

SOIL USE AFFECTS

SOIL PROPERTIES

SITE SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTICS

Integration of soil functions into spatial planning policy

Example of a map including total soil functions

Ricarda Miller «Bodenfunktionsbewertung für die Raum- und Bauleitplanung in Hessen und Rheinland-Pfalz» September 2012 (https://umweltministerium.hessen.de/umwelt-natur/boden/veranstaltungen/bodenschutzforum-2012)

Soil protection on construction sites

Soil protection on construction sites > Techniques

> Policy, regulations, guidelines

> Specialists of SPCS certification

European Soil Partnership • Main objectives

Coordination

Sustainable soil management practices and systems (urban, forest, agriculture)

Identification of SSM adapted to European context

• Main objectives

Coordination

Sustainable soil management practices and systems (urban, forest, agriculture)

Establishment of networks > scientific knowledge

European Soil Partnership

• Main objectives

Coordination

Sustainable soil management practices and systems (urban, forest, agriculture)

Establishment of networks > practitioners, advisors, etc.

European Soil Partnership

• Main objectives

Coordination

Sustainable soil management practices and systems (urban, forest, agriculture) «…soil protection legislation is a preventive medecine applied to a frail patient who suffers from an orphan disease »

C. Guy-Ecabert 2008 Remarques liminaires ad art. 33-35

European Soil Partnership

Coordination

Cooperation

Communication

Make our soils great again…

European Soil Partnership