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Soil provides food, biomass and raw materials. It serves as a basis for human activities and landscape, and as an archive of heritage, and plays a central role as a habitat and gene pool. It stores, filters and transforms many substances, including water, nutrients and carbon. In fact, it is the biggest terrestrial carbon store in the world (1,500 gigatonnes)²⁶. Soil thus performs a number of functions for humans and ecosystems; the Commission identified the following as important: biomass production, including in agriculture and forestry; storing, filtering and transforming nutrients, substances and water; biodiversity pool, such as habitats, species and genes; physical and cultural environment for humans and human activities; source of raw materials; acting as carbon pool; and archive of geological and archaeological heritage. These functions must be protected because of both their socio-economic and environmental importance.

Soil is also subject to a series of degradation processes, including erosion, decline in organic matter, local and diffuse contamination, sealing, compaction, decline in biodiversity, salinisation, floods and landslides. A combination of some of these degradation processes can ultimately lead to desertification under arid or sub-arid climatic conditions. There are an estimated 115 million ha, or 12% of Europe’s total land area, that are affected by water erosion, and 42 million ha are affected by wind erosion, of which 2% severely affected;

around 45% of soils in Europe have a low or very low organic matter content (meaning 0-2%

organic carbon) and 45% have a medium content (meaning 2-6% organic carbon)²⁷. This is particularly worrying because soil organic matter is very important for maintaining soil fertility and plays a major role in the carbon cycle of the soil. Due to more than 200 years of

26 Summary of the impact assessment of the Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection: SEC(2006)620.

27 Summary of the impact assessment of the Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection: SEC(2006)620.

industrialisation, 3.5 million sites across the EU may be potentially contaminated, with 0.5 million sites being really contaminated and needing remediation²⁸.

Recalling the crucial functions soil performs for European society and its ecosystems, and the need to prevent further soil degradation, and additionally recognising legislative differences among Member States in dealing with soil problems that may distort competition within the single market, the Sixth Environment Action Programme called for the development of a Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection. Consequently, the European Commission thus published the Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection in September 2006.

This Strategy revolves around a proposal for a Soil Framework Directive (COM(2006) 232), which aims at striking the right balance between EU action and subsidiarity. The proposal is accompanied by a communication from the Commission to the other European Institutions (COM(2006) 231), laying down the principles of Community soil protection policy, and an impact assessment according to Commission guidelines (SEC(2006) 1165 and SEC(2006) 620), which provides an analysis of the environmental, economic and social impacts of the different options that were considered in the preparatory phase of the Strategy and of the measures finally retained by the Commission.

Objective of the Strategy

To reverse the above-mentioned unsustainable trends, the Commission has adopted the Soil Thematic Strategy, which explains why EU action is needed to ensure a high level of soil protection and what kind of action must be taken. It stresses that soil is a fundamental and irreplaceable natural resource that performs a number of fundamental functions, which ought to be protected. It takes into account all the different functions that soils can perform, their variability and complexity and the range of different degradation processes to which they can be subject, while also considering socio-economic aspects.

The overall objective of the Strategy is protection and sustainable use of soil, which can be achieved through the following:

(1) preventing further soil degradation and preserving its functions, and;

(2) restoring degraded soils to a level of functionality consistent at least with current and intended use, thus also considering the cost implications of the restoration of soil.

To achieve these objectives, the Commission considers it important to have an overarching EU framework legislation (Proposal for Soil Framework Directive (COM(2006) 232)), despite existing initiatives at national and local level (e.g. nine Member States have specific legislation on soil protection, albeit often addressing only one specific degradation process).

In parallel, it suggests integrating soil protection in the formulation and implementation of national and Community policies. Being fully aware of the need to respect the principles of subsidiarity, action is thus required at different levels: local, national and European. Soil is a prime example of the need to think globally and act locally. Research and awareness-raising complete the list of four pillars of action.

In essence, the proposal for a Soil Framework Directive (COM(2006) 232) requires Member States to preserve soil functions, to identify where degradation is already occurring and to set their own level of ambition and their own timetable to combat such degradation. Erosion, organic matter decline, salinisation, compaction and landslides are soil degradation processes that are of particular relevance to agricultural activities. They are addressed by the sequence

28 Summary of the impact assessment of the Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection: SEC(2006)620.

set out in Figure 4.9. Within five years of the Directive becoming binding in a Member State, risk areas have to be identified at the appropriate level using common criteria (like soil type, textures, density, hydraulic properties, topography, land cover, land use and climate) as defined in Annex 1 of the Directive (Articles 6 and 7). Either empirical evidence (monitoring data) or modelling (preferably validated) should be used.

Figure 4.9: Procedure for addressing erosion, organic matter decline, compaction, salinisation and landslides

Within eight years of the Directive becoming binding, targets should be established and programmes of measures applied, containing at least risk reduction targets, appropriate measures for reaching those targets, a timetable for implementation, and a draft allocation of private or public funds (Article 8). The levels of risk acceptability, the level of ambition regarding the targets to be achieved and the choice of measures to reach those targets are left to Member States. Risk acceptability and measures will vary in response to the severity of the degradation processes, local conditions and socio-economic considerations. Programmes can build on measures already implemented in national and Community contexts, such as cross compliance and rural development under the CAP. Member States will be free to combine approaches to combat concurrent threats.

A slightly different approach is suggested for contamination, including the setting up of a national inventory of contaminated sites (with so-called dangerous substances), and a national remediation strategy. Soil sealing will have to be limited or its effects mitigated. However, soil contamination with dangerous substances and soil sealing are only of marginal relevance to the agricultural sector.

Both the European Parliament and the Council have to agree on a common text on the basis of the Commission proposal, taking into account the opinions of the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee. The Committee of the Regions (13 February 2007) and the European Economic and Social Committee (25 April 2007) formulated favourable opinions. The European Parliament has adopted its first reading opinion on 13 November 2007, endorsing with a large support (two thirds) the proposal and call for a directive on soil protection, maintaining all the key elements of the Commission proposal, while providing more flexibility in some provisions and strengthening others.

However, despite amendments introducing additional flexibility for the Member States, the Council of Environment Ministers did not reach political agreement on the European

Commission proposals for an EU Soil Framework Directive at the EU Environment Council meeting on 20 December 2007. From 22 Member States, there were five Member States (France, Germany, United Kingdom, Austria, the Netherlands) that voted against the compromise text prepared by the Portuguese Presidency, thus creating a blocking minority.

The proposal is still under discussion in the Environment Council.