Soils play a fundamental role in food security, climate action, biodiversity, and pollution control, making them a central element of environmental policy under the European Green Deal. The recent Ad-Hoc Policy Analysis on Soils highlights the growing policy attention to soil health at global, EU, and national levels.
Key Findings
- Global frameworks: While no UN treaty focuses solely on soils, several international agendas—such as the SDGs, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and the Global Soil Partnership—highlight the importance of soil conservation, restoration, and sustainable management.
- EU leadership: The EU Soil Strategy for 2030 and the proposed Soil Monitoring Law mark a step-change in Europe’s soil governance, aiming to restore soil ecosystems, set monitoring frameworks, and harmonise soil data across Member States.
- Cross-sectoral integration: Soil is embedded in major policy areas, including the Common Agricultural Policy, the EU Biodiversity Strategy, the Zero Pollution Action Plan, and the Carbon Removals Certification Framework—underlining its critical role in climate neutrality and sustainable land use.
- Earth Observation (EO): EO technologies, particularly through Copernicus and the EU Soil Observatory, are increasingly recognised as essential tools for monitoring soil health, supporting carbon farming, and tracking progress toward policy targets.
Recommendations & Implications
- Strengthen harmonised soil monitoring across Member States through the forthcoming Soil Monitoring Law.
- Leverage EO-based solutions to bridge data gaps and provide reliable soil health indicators.
- Foster stronger connections between soil policy and related domains—such as biodiversity restoration, carbon farming, and pollution prevention—to maximise synergies.
- Support stakeholder engagement across farmers, industry, policymakers, and researchers to ensure soil protection measures are practical and widely adopted.
Next Steps
The analysis underscores that while progress has been made, soil monitoring remains uneven, and greater uptake of EO technologies will be key. Upcoming policy milestones—including the adoption of the Soil Monitoring Law, implementation of the Nature Restoration Regulation, and development of methodologies under the Carbon Removals Certification Framework—will shape the future of soil governance in Europe.
Explore the full report: here
Image: Soil sealing over Barcelona (Credit: ESA - Data source: ULYSSES, Soil Sealing Assessment and Monitoring Project)
