1 towards a thematic strategy for soil protection lieve van camp
TRANSCRIPT
1
Towards a Towards a Thematic Strategy Thematic Strategy for Soil Protectionfor Soil Protection
Lieve Van Camp
2
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
3
Existing policies Air Water
New policy soil
Objective: sustainable use + soil
protecting
Objectives
4
Soil versus Land
Soil = upper layer of land
Land-use
Communication “Planning and Environment - the Territorial Dimension”
5
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
7
Threats to soil
Erosion Decline in organic matterContaminationSealingCompactionDecline in biodiversitySalinisationFloods and landslides
Council: linkages to water
16
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.
17
Soil as a global issue
Climate change : soil as a carbon sink
Food security
Poverty alleviation
Biodiversity
Key element in land use
18
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
19
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
20
Community policies
Environmental Policy Common Agriculture PolicyRegional PolicyResearch PolicyTransport PolicySingle Market implications of
protection and remediation (competition)
21
The way forward - from 2002 onwards
Environmental policy initiatives Sewage sludge revision Compost directive Mining waste directive
22
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