A study requested by the European Commission and published on Thursday 4 February makes suggestions to improve “the design and implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) regarding sustainable soil management”.
Its authors advise the establishment of a “ European framework” to ensure the adoption of common definitions of soil concepts, threats to soil quality, sustainable soil management and soil conservation agriculture.
Another recommendation is to set binding requirements for Member States to achieve the objectives set out in soil-related EU legislation. These requirements should be accompanied by quantified targets.
The study calls on the Commission to carry out “mapping of vulnerable soil areas”, in particular in relation to sensitivity to soil erosion and the loss of soil organic carbon.
This mapping could be used to set requirements at EU level as part of the framework of cross compliance, thus ensuring that soil degradation is tackled in hot spots. This has already been implemented for soil erosion in some Member States (Czech Republic).
This study complements those already made public on the impact of the CAP on biodiversity and water. The Commission will publish a report on these issues in the autumn of 2021.
Link to the study: http://bit.ly/3awM0Il (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)