C 67/38
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
8.2.2022
Wednesday 9 June 2021
Changes in land and sea use
44.
Highlights that soil biodiversity provides vital ecosystem services and mitigates climate change, making it one of the most important elements of terrestrial carbon sinks; notes with concern the increase in soil degradation and the lack of specific EU legislation on this topic; acknowledges that there are some provisions in different laws that indirectly contribute to soil protection, but considers that this has resulted in partial protection and highly fragmented governance in the EU; calls, therefore, on the Commission to submit a legislative proposal for the establishment of a common framework, with full respect for the subsidiarity principle, for the protection and sustainable use of soil and for the effective integration of that protection in all relevant EU policies;
45.
Stresses that this common framework on soil should address all the main soil threats, including loss of soil biodiversity, loss of soil organic matter, contamination, salinisation, acidification, desertification, erosion and soil sealing; emphasises the need to include therein common definitions, clear targets and a monitoring framework; also supports the establishment of a specific decontamination target;
46.
Underlines that healthy soil, including fertility and structure, is crucial for the agricultural sector; points out the negative impact that unsustainable farming and forestry practices, land use change, construction activities, sealing and industrial emissions, among others, have on soils; stresses that forest harvesting and agricultural methods that are less damaging for soils should be implemented;
47.
Invites the Commission to review Directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions (69) and Directive 2006/21/EC on the management of waste from extractive industries (70) in order to better address soil degradation caused by industrial and mining activities; recalls its call for a material recovery target for excavated soils (71);
48.
Urges the Member States — on the basis of the precautionary principle and the principle that preventive action should be taken, and taking into account the risks and the negative climate, environmental and biodiversity impacts involved in hydraulic fracturing for the extraction of unconventional hydrocarbons — not to authorise any new hydraulic fracturing operations in the EU and to halt all existing operations;
49.
Recalls that the EU has committed to achieving land degradation neutrality (72) by 2030 under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), but that this target is unlikely to be achieved, as concluded by the ECA special report (73); regrets that despite the threat that desertification poses to biodiversity, soil fertility, the land’s natural resilience, food production and water quality, and despite the fact that 13 Member States have declared themselves to be affected by desertification under the UNCCD, the Commission is not effectively addressing it; calls on the Commission, therefore, to be more ambitious and present without delay an EU-level strategy on desertification and land degradation;
50.
Notes that in the EU, urbanisation and leisure activities account for 13 % of all reported pressures on nature and 48 % of all marine pressures (74); highlights that green urban areas and green infrastructure can provide ecosystem services to support biodiversity and contribute to the physical and mental well-being of the population;
51.
Supports the intention of the Commission to set up an EU platform for urban greening; calls on the Commission to set specific ambitious binding targets on urban biodiversity, nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based approaches, and green infrastructure, benefiting both humans and wildlife and contributing to the overall biodiversity targets; stresses the
(69) (70) (71) (72) (73) (74)
Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (OJ L 334, 17.12.2010, p. 17).
Directive 2006/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the management of waste from extractive industries and amending Directive 2004/35/EC — Statement by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission (OJ L 102, 11.4.2006, p. 15).
European Parliament resolution of 10 February 2021 on the New Circular Economy Action Plan (texts adopted, P9_TA(2021) 0040).
Land degradation neutrality has been defined by the Parties to the UNCCD as: A state whereby the amount and quality of land resources, necessary to support ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security, remains stable or increases within specified temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems.
ECA special report of 18 December 2018 entitled ‘Combating desertification in the EU: a growing threat in need of more action’.
State of Nature in the EU — Results from reporting under the nature directives 2013-2018.