IOGP input to the consultation on the new EU Soil Strategy

This document provides IOGP’s input to the EU public consultation (questionnaire) on the new EU soil strategy and an accompanying written submission with explanatory remarks.

Context

Part of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, this initiative will update the current strategy to address soil degradation and preserve land resources (‘land degradation neutrality’).

IOGP recognizes the central role of soil protection in reducing pollution in Europe. More broadly, IOGP supports the strategic direction of the Zero Pollution Ambition to reduce the environmental footprint of our societal activities while caring for European citizen’s well-being and restoring biodiversity.

Key Points

To achieve further pollution reduction, IOGP would recommend as general principles to:

• Employ a risk- and science-based approach for soil protection, built on the principle of legal subsidiarity
• Strengthen the implementation, enforcement, and harmonization of the existing EU legislation among Member States
• Conduct thorough impact assessments on all the legislative and non-legislative future proposals
• Ensure stable and predictable regulatory framework that is necessary for long-term investments

• Introduction
• The importance of soil and land
• Causes of soil and land degradation
• How to address soil and land degradation effectively