Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on ‘Implementation of the Soil Thematic Strategy’
Date: 2012-11-30
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: biodiversity, climate change, desertification, land use, local authority, principle of subsidiarity, regional authority, soil pollution, soil protection, soil resources, sustainable development








C_2013017EN.01003701.xml










19.1.2013   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 17/37





Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on ‘Implementation of the Soil Thematic Strategy’
2013/C 17/08
THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS






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considers that soil type, land management and climate differ widely across the regions of Europe and this means specific management guidance and protection strategies are required to ensure soil protection is carried out in a proportionate way, based on regional priorities, but under an overarching framework to ensure EU policies are also met;










—


notes that tackling soil risks and threats is urgent, particularly with regard to climate change;










—


stresses that climate change can have a range of impacts on soil, mainly as a result of changes in soil wetness, soil temperature and also rainfall patterns, which can result in soil degradation, including loss of organic matter and an increase in erosion, compaction and run-off;










—


stresses that local and regional authorities can play an important role in monitoring soil degradation and in contributing to an inventory of contaminated sites;










—


believes that soil policy needs to strike the right balance between European-level action balanced with the principles of subsidiarity and better regulation in order to avoid unnecessary additional administrative burdens and disproportionate costs. EU regulations on soil should therefore be designed to intervene only where action is required;










—


believes that gaps in soil protection measures are best dealt with on a common basis across the EU through a general framework and common principles that all countries need to adhere to. A Soil Framework Directive would therefore be supported although it is essential that the policy is not unnecessarily prescriptive, such as with quantitative provisions and limits.










Rapporteur


Corrie McCHORD (UK/PES), Member of Stirling Council




Reference document


Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – The implementation of the Soil Thematic Strategy and ongoing activities
COM(2012) 46 final




I.   POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
A.   
General comments








1.


The Commission's report provides an overview of the implementation of the Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection since its adoption in September 2006 and also considers current soil degradation trends, as well as future challenges to ensure protection.










2.


The strategy identified four key pillars for implementation: awareness raising, research, integration, and legislation. An integral part of the strategy was a proposal for a Soil Framework Directive (COM(2006) 232 final) which was structured along three themes: Preventative measures, Identification of the problem and Operational measures.










3.


The CoR has previously published Opinions in relation to soil protection as follows:






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A Resource-Efficient Europe – Flagship Initiative under the Europe 2020 Strategy (Michel Lebrun, CdR 140/2011 fin);










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The Role of Local and Regional Authorities in Future Environmental Policy (Paula Baker, CdR 164/2010 fin);










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Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection (Cor Lamers, CdR 321/2006 fin);










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Towards a Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection (Corrie McChord, CdR 190/2002 fin).














4.


Soil is an integral part of our environmental, social and economic systems, underpinning food production, controlling the quality and quantity of water flow, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and biodiversity, amongst other environmental services. Ensuring that soils are in a good state to deliver its essential functions is vital for the sustainability of Europe's environment and economy.










5.


A key report issued by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the EC's Joint Research Centre (JRC) in 2012 on the State of Soil in Europe (1) highlighted the importance of ten major threats to soils in Europe: organic matter decline, erosion, compaction, sealing, salinisation, acidification, biodiversity, desertification (for southern Europe), landslides and soil contamination. An outlook on soil carbon and global climate, erosion, water retention, acidification and biofuels was also discussed. The report stated that soil degradation in the EU is continuing to occur and is worsening in some parts of Europe. The report demonstrates that existing policies and legislation, at EU, national or regional level, have not been sufficient to fully protect soils.










6.


Mineral and organic soil type, land management and climate differ widely across the regions of Europe and this means specific management guidance and protection strategies are required to ensure soil protection is carried out in a proportionate way, based on regional priorities, but under an overarching framework to ensure EU policies are also met.










7.


Local and Regional authorities have a crucial role to play in the protection of European soils. This includes responsibility for ensuring that land use legislation, where it exists, achieves the objective of protecting soils and is implemented properly, in their capacity as land planners and as the bodies in charge of granting construction and land use permits. Such authorities may have powers to prevent urban sprawl and soil sealing, incentivise brownfield and urban residential site rehabilitation and protect and promote greenfield sites.










8.


The CoR supports that any future European provisions on soils follow approaches with adequate flexibility for differences in national and regional circumstance. A common EU-wide soil framework will contribute to ensuring that soil protection obligations of land managers (in the widest sense) across Member States are similar, thus reducing the potential for a distortion of competition in the internal market.




B.   
Current and upcoming challenges








9.


The Commission's report (Section 4) provides an assessment of current and upcoming challenges. The CoR agrees with the Commission's analysis that soil degradation has increased in the past decade in the EU and also worldwide, and that this trend is likely to continue unless land use and management, organic matter and carbon, and resource efficiency are effectively addressed.










10.


It is clear that the predicted growth in world population, the rising consumption of meat and dairy products, the increased use of biomass for energy, in conjunction with climate change mitigation and adaptation, desertification risks and land take will all lead to increased competition for land and water resources and the risks of degradation.










11.


Tackling soil risks and threats is urgent, particularly with regard to climate change. Agriculture has a particularly strong impact on carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from soil. EU soils contain more than 70 billion tonnes of organic carbon, which is equivalent to almost 50 times our annual greenhouse gas emissions. Organic matter loss from soils and therefore increased CO2 emissions is an especially serious issue, due to the fact that it contributes to climate change. There is evidence (2) suggesting that organic matter is in decline in UK, France, Belgium and Austria. As well as negatively impacting upon soil quality, the loss of soil organic matter can result in carbon emissions to the atmosphere and so have a negative impact on EU targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.










12.


Climate change can have a range of impacts on soil, mainly as a result of changes in soil wetness, soil temperature and also rainfall patterns, which can result in soil degradation, including loss of organic matter and an increase in erosion, compaction and run-off. Land management policies do not currently afford protection of soil carbon in all European countries.










13.


There are calls for urgent action to restore damaged peatlands to stop carbon loss, and to revitalise the multiple ecosystem services of a healthy peatland. While peatlands represent only 2% of cultivated land in the EU, they are responsible for more than 50% of the CO2 emissions of this sector. In recent years, concern has also grown with regard to the impact of exploiting peatlands to supply commercial peat for horticultural purposes.










14.


Maintaining soil carbon stocks (and minimising nitrous oxide emissions) will make an important contribution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to mitigate climate change. The Commission project (3) called "Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation" (SoCo) produced a useful set of case studies and recommendations.










15.


Efficient use of resources is crucial. Agriculture is highly dependent on soil fertility, especially nutrient availability. The majority of phosphorus fertilisers used in the EU are imported. The EU also produces large amounts of manure, bio-waste and sewage sludge every year. A way forward to address security of supply of nutrients and to improve soil conditions and limit pollution from potentially toxic elements is to ensure a proper collection, treatment and use of these materials. The CoR recommends that the Sludge Directive is revised to control the use of other organic materials used on land which are not currently controlled under this Directive.










16.


Current land take trends (soil sealing) are highly unsustainable throughout the EU and this is an important cause of soil degradation in the EU. Soil sealing often affects fertile agricultural land, puts biodiversity at risk, increases the risk of flooding and water scarcity and contributes to global warming. Guidelines (4) on best practice to limit, mitigate or compensate soil sealing were published by the Commission in April 2012. The CoR strongly recommends use of these Guidelines.










17.


Atmospheric deposition of acidifying substances to soils can cause negative effects due to acidification and nitrification. Nitrogen oxides and ammonia are now identified as the main acidifying agents, while sulphur dioxide emissions have generally decreased in recent years as a result of regulation. It will be essential to ensure that emissions of acidifying species across Europe continue to decrease, to reduce the land area exceeding critical loads of acidity.




C.   
The European Commission's ongoing activities








18.


The Commission's report (section 5) identifies five ongoing activities and the CoR would make the following comment on each of these as follows:





Awareness raising







19.


There is considerable importance in raising awareness with regard to the Soil Thematic Strategy and the need to protect soil in the EU. Land managers need to be fully aware of the sustainable soil management practices that maintain the ecosystem services delivered by soil. The CoR therefore strongly commends the work of the Commission since 2006 in raising soil awareness. This includes the Commission's publication of Atlases on European soils (5) and soil biodiversity (6), as well as major soil conferences. The CoR also commends the Commission's work in establishing a working group on Awareness Raising and Education in the context of the European Soil Bureau Network.










20.


Awareness raising amongst land managers and other stakeholders, as well as education and awareness of the public on the importance of soils will play a key role in promoting sustainable use of soil. However awareness raising on its own will not achieve the required level of soil protection, rather a combination of measures is required, in which education and economic incentives should be as important as regulatory measures. Using awareness to improve the implementation of sustainable soil management practices will continue to have an important role to play in minimising soil degradation. The CoR therefore encourages local and regional authorities to act as ambassadors in this field and one possible example to follow is the European Land and Soil Alliance (ELSA e.V.).





Research







21.


Research is crucial to ensure better understanding of soil protection priorities and to ensure that policy development continues to be based on sound science. The CoR therefore strongly welcomes the work of the Commission since 2006 in funding around 25 research projects (7) such as ENVASSO, RAMSOIL and SOILSERVICE to address soil issues. It will be important to ensure that knowledge gained from these research projects continues to be adequately disseminated to end users of this research, including ultimately land managers. Additional soil research and soil monitoring data are required to fill the current knowledge gap, but this must always be carried out while bearing in mind proportionality of costs and reciprocal exchange between all the bodies involved. The identification of assessment methodologies, mitigation measures and minimum requirements for the harmonisation of soil monitoring activities are critical.










22.


The CoR notes that the Commission is continuing with funding research, particularly on landslides, soil sealing, soil functions, the soil carbon and nitrogen cycles (with a focus on peatland restoration), soil fertility and nutrients recycling in agriculture. The CoR supports the need for all this research, which will also require adequate knowledge exchange to stakeholders.










23.


The CoR calls for an updated overview of the extent of soil contamination in the EU and what Member States are doing to tackle it. This exercise should in particular focus on the link between soil contamination and groundwater contamination, as groundwater is a key source of drinking water in many countries.





Monitoring







24.


Environmental standards for protecting key soil processes and functions do not currently exist and Europe does not have an overarching soil monitoring scheme. Tackling the lack of systematic EU-wide soil data, understanding what information is already available, identifying gaps and making recommendations for future soil monitoring is required. The CoR agrees there is a need for more soil monitoring, e.g. to support appropriate regional soil protection approaches. There is a need to improve the access of European, national and regional policymakers and decision makers to relevant soil data and information at appropriate scales. In addition across Europe as a whole, there is inadequate long term monitoring of soils at a network of sites to address issues, particularly including the interactions between soils and climate change. The CoR therefore welcomes the continuation of the European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC).










25.


Even though the strategy is in the sixth year, the EU is still devoid of any form of systematic or harmonised soil monitoring systems across Europe and research methodologies vary. There is large disparity in forms of soil protection and soil quality throughout the EU and the proposed Soil Framework Directive sought to tackle this. In this context, the CoR welcomes research projects such as LUCAS, aimed at providing data for ESDC. The CoR supports the Commission proposals to consolidate harmonised soil monitoring by repeating its soil investigations and also by testing new remote-sensing techniques.










26.


Local and regional authorities can play an important role in monitoring soil degradation and in contributing to an inventory of contaminated sites. A targeted and efficient soil protection policy should be based on the knowledge of where degradation is likely to be occurring.










27.


Monitoring of soil quality is done in many different ways across Member States. The Commission proposed a harmonisation of monitoring activities in order to obtain a clearer picture of the state of European soils. The JRC has already collected a considerable amount of data but more could be done with clear and comparable reports from Member States. Harmonised monitoring should be implemented in synergy with the Monitoring Mechanism Decision, which is currently undergoing revision.





Integration







28.


The CoR welcomes the active engagement of the Commission with Member States in developing the soil-related measures, including in the Resource Efficiency Roadmap, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and in Regional Policy. The cross-cutting nature of soils means that the EC proposals for soil protection will need to be integrated across a number of policy initiatives and delivery mechanisms (e.g. Water Framework, Nitrates, Floods, Sludge, the Habitats and Birds Directives for biodiversity protection, Directives on the Environmental Impact of projects, plans and programmes, Rural Development Regulation and CAP).










29.


The CoR calls on the European Commission to entrench the soil thematic strategy as a joint action plan so as to put Member States and local and regional authorities in a better position to apply soil policy and implement European rules. At the moment, soil proposals and measures are spread out across many EU proposals. The soil thematic strategy could provide an overall view of existing and new measures. It could detail:






—


which soil problems are solved by sectoral environmental legislation and which problems remain;










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what possibilities exist for solving remaining soil problems by adjusting sectoral environmental legislation; and










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an overview of soil projects carried out with EU funds. The CoR urges the European Commission to accommodate soil projects in EU funds.














30.


The proposed "Greening" of CAP is to be welcomed. Reform is needed to provide measures to make CAP more attractive for regional solutions in issues such as soil protection. This includes considering the use of EU Rural Development funds to set up Rural Development Contracts to finance land managers to protect soil, restore peatlands, create wetlands, convert arable land into grassland, prevent soil erosion and protect organic matter. The CoR therefore strongly supports the Commission's comments on increasing the uptake of measures through Rural Development funds to improve soil quality and extend the surface area covered by such measures.










31.


The EEA/ JRC 2012 report indicates that existing CAP Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC) measures have not been fully adequate for soil protection purposes. The current proposals for "greening of CAP" therefore need to be better geared towards improved soil protection outcomes, without increasing the administrative burdens on Member State authorities. This includes an assessment of whether there is scope to further develop GAEC measures to improve soil protection.










32.


It should also be recognised that, CAP measures only cover agricultural soils which receive farm payments. The CoR supports the Commission's proposals to further clarify and specify soil-related standards in the context of the overall CAP reform. In particular, the CoR welcomes the current proposal for a new GAEC on organic matter protection, including a ban on arable stubble burning and a ban on the first ploughing of wetlands and carbon-rich soils.










33.


The CoR supports the on-going work of the Commission to better integrate soil protection across other relevant policy areas. This includes developing a European Innovation Partnership on Agriculture Productivity and Sustainability with a particular focus on land and soil management, Blueprint to Safeguard Europe's Water and the implementation of Cohesion Policy.










34.


There are clear links between soil management and diffuse pollution and this is an important and urgent issue in relation to water quality across Europe. There are risks to water quality from soil erosion, loss of pesticides and nutrients from farmland. The Nitrates Directive 91/676/EEC, Groundwater Directive 2006/118/EC and the Water Framework Directive have no direct requirement for legislation specifically on soil despite the importance of diffuse pollution. Once contaminated, groundwater can take many hundreds of years to be decontaminated and therefore the CoR calls for the introduction of adequate measures to combat soil degradation and diffuse pollution risks to groundwater, as well as other watercourses.










35.


While prevention of soil degradation should remain the priority, the current state of some European soils will require soil remediation measures to be taken. The CoR welcomes the Commission's proposal for continued support from Cohesion Funds and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for the regeneration of brownfield sites in the next programming period 2014-2020. Local and Regional authorities should continue to be aware that considerable Cohesion fund resources remain available for eligible regions that wish to tackle soil degradation.










36.


The CoR calls on the European Commission to provide extra possibilities for soil projects under the LIFE+ support programme. In the upcoming period, financing arrangements can be placed on a broader basis. Under current requirements, projects which come under "Environment Policy and Governance" should set an example and/or be innovative. However, for tackling soil problems there is no specific need for innovation in many cases, but more a need for repeating activities or for continuing ones already started.





Legislation







37.


The CoR welcomes that the Commission proposes to review the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, which will provide an opportunity for better integrating soil concerns at an early stage of project planning. It will be important for the Commission to consider how to devise incentives to reduce carbon emissions and maintain soil organic matter by accounting for the land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector as part of the EU's climate change commitment for 2020.





International level







38.


Soil damage can have transboundary effects (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions diffuse pollutants, eroded sediments, loss of soil carbon, spreading of contamination across borders). Europe's soils are a major sink and also a potential source of greenhouse gases (GHG), including N2O emissions.










39.


The CoR welcomes the Commission's constructive efforts at the Rio+20 conference and the inclusion of land degradation concerns in the final text (8), and would encourage the Commission to maintain soil policy amongst its priorities at international conferences such as the UNFCCC meetings and other relevant Forums including the Convention on Biological Diversity. The CoR also commends that the Commission and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), is actively supporting an initiative on the economics of land degradation to set out incentives for investment in sustainable land management policies. The CoR is also pleased that the Commission will work at the international level to promote the establishment of an inter-governmental panel on soils.




D.   
Subsidiarity, proportionality and better regulation








40.


The Commission's report does not raise any subsidiarity or proportionality issues in itself, it being a report on the implementation of the Soil Thematic Strategy. It does indirectly refer to possible EU legislation on soil protection which, however, would raise such issues.










41.


Those Member States that object to the 2006 proposal for a Framework Directive and have blocked the passage of legislation in the Council in 2010, invoke the argument of subsidiarity. The problem is that while certain Member States have already advanced legislation on soil protection, other Member States have no legal framework or a far less developed one. The CoR urges Member States to take measures at national level and immediately calls for:






—


Member States which already have a soil policy to expand it as far as is necessary;










—


Member States which have already a well-developed soil policy to act as a bridge for those Member States which do not have any policy, by sharing their expertise. The Committee of the Regions would ask the European Commission to monitor such a process;










—


Member States which do not yet have a soil policy to introduce one in the foreseeable future, while waiting for progress at European level.




The CoR supports Commission measures that enable Member States to formulate and implement soil provisions within their own remit.










42.


Soil degradation including greenhouse gas losses, contamination, compaction, diffuse pollution and sealing all have transboundary effects and therefore warrant (at least) coordination of policy at European level. Examples include compacted or deteriorated soil which is unable to store rainwater can increase flooding in neighbouring countries. Water pollution and eutrophication also happen as a consequence of soil pollution and are not limited by country borders. Sediments washed away by soil erosion in one country can block dams or damage infrastructure such as harbours in other countries; contaminated soil can pollute the groundwater in a neighbouring country. European legislation is thus seen as a way to protect land users in a given country from the harmful consequences of practices in another country for which they are not responsible (9). Where transboundary effects occur, cooperative initiatives between regional and local authorities are essential to tackle this issue.










43.


In view of the fact that Europe is still seeing detrimental soil effects six years after publication of the Soil Thematic Strategy, it is difficult to see how even a revised Thematic Strategy without a Soil Framework Directive will be sufficient to achieve a high level of soil protection across all EU Member States and to overcome the above-mentioned problems. Greater efforts are needed on the part of the Commission and the Member States to ensure soil protection.










44.


To ensure proportionality, future EU legislation on soil protection must leave enough room for Member States to identify the most appropriate measures at the most appropriate geographical and administrative level. This would be crucial to ensure that the regional and local specificities as regards soil variability, land uses, local climate conditions and socio-economic aspects can be properly taken into account.




E.   
Conclusions








45.


The CoR commends the Commission's work in the implementation of the Soil Thematic Strategy. The soils of Europe are fundamental to our livelihoods and need protection. The importance of soil as a non-renewable resource essential to a sustainable environment should be recognised by overarching soil protection policy and measures.










46.


Soil needs to be protected to:






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Ensure both present and future supplies of safe and good quality food;










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Help keep surface and groundwaters clean;










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Store carbon, mitigate GHGs emissions and adapt to climate change;










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Contribute to natural flood management and the mitigation of its effects and those of other natural disasters;










—


Sustain biodiversity and its components;










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Maintain healthy recreational areas;










—


Maintain geodiversity, cultural and archaeological heritage.














47.


In all European countries, a range of soil problems can occur, sometimes with severe, irreversible and costly consequences. This is mainly caused by soil contamination, landslides, loss of organic matter, erosion, salinisation, desertification and sealing. Further soil protection policies and regulations are required at EU level, and at Member State level measures and – if not yet in place – regulations, because of the crucial functions and ecosystem goods that soils provide for the European economy, society and environment. The cost of regulatory action should be compared to the costs of inaction in terms of indirect costs arising from climate change, water pollution, flood management, public health etc. The Commission estimated in 2006 that total costs of soil degradation in the EU-25 could be EUR 38 billion/ year.










48.


Soil quality is strongly related to other environmental aspects of EU relevance (e.g. air, water quality, flooding risk, biodiversity, climate change, renewables etc.). Future soil policy must recognise its links to other EU environmental goals (e.g. the Water Framework Directive). There are many existing EU provisions which have some elements of soil protection although no overarching soil specific legislation is in place. Existing provisions are generally restricted to specific land uses or management and do not cover the whole land and soil cover.










49.


Local and Regional authorities need to assess land take in their areas and consider what can be done if trends are unsustainable. This work can be supported by using the Commission's Guidance on Sealing and also by ongoing implementation of the Soil Thematic Strategy's four pillars. Local and Regional authorities should also continue to pro-actively contribute to this strategy by for example supporting the development of local Codes of Practice on soil protection.










50.


Gaps in soil protection measures are best dealt with on a common basis across the EU through a general framework and common principles that all countries need to adhere to. A Soil Framework Directive would therefore be supported although it is essential that the policy is not unnecessarily prescriptive, such as with quantitative provisions and limits. The principle of subsidiarity is particularly important because soils differ widely across the regions of Europe. Soil protection strategies should therefore be risk based and depend on the situation, be proportionate and take regional circumstances into account. Tailor-made measures are necessary to ensure protection of soil. Implementation of soil policy is primarily carried out at local and regional level, which is why regulation in this area needs to be introduced at this level. We need better soil monitoring to help develop, support and assess regional approaches on soil protection.










51.


Soil policy needs to strike the right balance between European-level action balanced with the principles of subsidiarity and better regulation in order to avoid unnecessary additional administrative burdens and disproportionate costs. EU regulations on soil should therefore be designed to intervene only where action is required.





Brussels, 30 November 2012.


The President of the Committee of the Regions

Ramón Luis VALCÁRCEL SISO





(1)  http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/downloads/jrc_reference_report_2012_02_soil.pdf

(2)  European Environment Agency/ European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), 2012: State of Soil in Europe, http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/downloads/jrc_reference_report_2012_02_soil.pdf

(3)  See http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu/projects/SOCO/

(4)  Report on best practices for limiting soil sealing and mitigating its effects (April 2011).

(5)  See http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu/projects/soil_atlas/index.html

(6)  European Atlas of Soil Biodiversity.

(7)  JRC Soil Projects.

(8)  http://www.uncsd2012.org/thefuturewewant.html

(9)  European Environmental Bureau (EEB) (2011), "Soil: Worth Standing your ground for. Arguments for the Soil Framework Directive".