Brussels, 22/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - COPA-COGECA, the agricultural and cooperative organisations in the EU, gave a welcome, on Monday 20 February, to some parts of the recent European Commission report (see EUROPE 10552) on efforts to protect the soil, but were critical of the administrative costs the new directive would impose.
COPA-COGECA argues that a new EU soil directive would “result in far more costs and administrative requirements than benefits.” “In fact, the EU already has in place both a framework of EU environmental legislation (water, air, nature and biodiversity inter alia) and the CAP which contains soil protection measures”, it states in a press release.
The organisation also warned against some aspects of the report, particularly the fact that the Commission will also propose accounting for land use, land use change and forestry emissions (LULUCF) as part of the EU's climate change commitment for 2020. It recommends further analysis of the consequences of including LULUCF in the EU commitments and also highlights the need for both the accounting methods and the MRV (monitoring, reporting and verification) rules to be “clarified before deciding whether to include LULUCF in the EU commitments”.
The two reports published last week by the Commission highlight the need for measures to be taken to prevent continuing soil degradation in the EU. They show that, every day between 1990 and 2006, 275 hectares at least were lost in the EU through soil sealing (covering fertile land with impermeable material). This amounts to 1,000 km² per year. In addition, soil erosion is estimated to affect 1.3 million km² in Europe. It is also noted that, although a thematic strategy for soil protection was adopted five years ago, there is still no systematic monitoring and protection of soil quality across Europe. “Existing measures are not sufficient to ensure an adequate level of protection for all soil in Europe”, the Commission says. (LC/transl.rt)