Life on Earth depends on healthy soils

EU Mission: a Soil Deal for Europe

Soils are a scarce, non-renewable resource. It takes hundreds of years to generate a centimeter of topsoil which can be destroyed in couple of years or less. Soils are the basis for nutritious and safe food but they also deliver vital and interconnected ecosystem functions such as water regulation, hosting biodiversity, nutrient cycling, climate mitigation and adaptation benefits, supporting landscapes and cultural aspects of life.

Achieving our Green Deal targets on climate, biodiversity, sustainability of food systems and zero pollution heavily depend on healthy soils. However, 60-70% of all soils in Europe are unhealthy due to poor management practices, pollution, climate change and urbanization.

Why we need to act today

• There are 2.8 million potentially contaminated sites posing major health risks
• Between 65-75% of agricultural soils with high nutrient levels at risk of eutrophication and potentially affecting biodiversity
• Cropland soils losing Carbon at a rate of 0.5% per year while 50% of peatlands are drained and losing Carbon, both processes negatively contributing to the climate crisis
• 24% of land presenting unsustainable water erosion rates
• 25% of land at high and very high desertification risk, in Southern, Central and Eastern Europe in 2017
• The costs associated with soil degradation in the EU exceed 50 billion Euros per year
• Climate change is further exacerbating the pressure on soils and accelerate soil degradation

Why an EU Mission – A Soil Deal for Europe

EU Missions are a novelty in the research framework programme Horizon Europe. They are new instruments designed to solve major societal challenges through a portfolio of actions across disciplines, intended to achieve a bold, inspirational, and measurable goal, within a set timeframe.

A soil deal for Europe is one of the five mission areas, and is part of Cluster 6 ‘’Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture & Environment’’ under pillar II ‘’Global Challenges & European Industrial Competitiveness’’ of the Horizon Europe Programme.

The Mission’s added value is in its innovative approach to research and innovation and the involvement of various actors across the EU in ways that would otherwise not be possible. Together with the New Soil Strategy and the European Soil Observatory, the Mission is helping to build an effective framework for soil protection and restoration.

The Soil Deal Mission supports the Green Deal!

The Mission is highly relevant in the context of the Green Deal and its ambitious policy targets.

It is integrated in a wide range of EU strategies and policy documents, notably the: Farm to Fork Strategy; EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030; Climate Adaptation Strategy; Zero Pollution Action Plan for air, water and soil; Forest Strategy; Long-term Vision for Rural Areas; Organic Action Plan; new EU Soil Strategy and the EU Soil Observatory.

The Mission will contribute to the following Green Deal Targets:

By 2030

• 25% of land under organic farming
• Reduce the overall use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50% and the use of more hazardous pesticides by 50%
• Reduce fertilizer use by at least 20%
• Reduce nutrient losses by at least 50%
• Reduce by 30% microplastics released into the environment
• Reduce net GHG emissions by at least 55% compared to 1990 levels

By 2035

• The EU should aim to reach climate neutrality in the land use, forestry and agriculture sectors

What are the Mission’s objectives?

The Mission’s overall goal is to setup 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030

The following specific objectives apply to all types of land use and are backed by quantified targets and measurable indicators:

• Reduce desertification
• Conserve soil organic carbon stocks
• Stop soil sealing and increase re-use of urban soils
• Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration
• Prevent erosion
• Improve soil structure to enhance soil biodiversity
• Reduce the EU global footprint on soils
• Improve soil literacy in society

How will the mission be implemented?

The Mission will be a joint endeavour by researchers, land managers, farmers, foresters, businesses, special planners, citizens and public authorities at all levels. The implementation is based on four building blocks:

1. An ambitious research and innovation programme, including a very strong social science component to fill the existing knowledge gaps
2. Developing a network of 100 real life testing sites also known as ‘’Living Labs’’ and Lighthouses Living labs are a core element of the mission, they are real life places for experimentation, demonstration and upscaling of solutions that will improve soil health. They are also a reflection of the ambition to do research in new ways: participatory, interdisciplinary and intersectoral. Networks of Living Labs are to be gradually established through consecutive calls under various Horizon Europe Work Programmes. Lighthouses are individual places to showcase good practices, they can be from within or outside Living Labs.
3. Soil monitoring – currently there is no legal requirement for Member States to report on soils and not many soil monitoring programmes are active at national level. The Mission aims at developing a harmonised framework for soil monitoring and reporting in the EU, to better track the impact of soil related measures and policies overall and enhance collaboration with the European Soil Observatory.
4. Enhance awareness and citizen engagement on the importance of soil health and changing the way citizens value this vital resource, strengthen citizen participation in soil related activities, reward best practices and promote tailor-made education and training related to soils.

Examples of activities carried for enhancing awareness and citizen engagement:

• 3 World Soil Day celebrations
• 2 major EIP-AGRI campaigns
• Articles, press releases, newsletters, social media, videos
• More than 160 Co-creation and engagement events, including two international fairs (international Green Week 2020, Salon de l’Agriculture 2020)
• Survey for which more than 2500 contributions have been received

The Mission A Soil Deal for Europe establishes a solid link with Carbon farming as complementary initiatives of the Farm to Fork strategy that reinforce each-other and create synergies.

The Soil Mission’s specific objective 2: Conserve soil organic Carbon stocks is based on one of the indicators of soil health: Soil Organic Carbon. The analysis of the indicator points to an ‘’unhealthy’’ status for 60-70% of European soils which means soil functions on these areas, including agricultural productivity, water filtering and Carbon stocking are negatively affected. Moreover, cropland soils are losing Carbon at a yearly rate of 0.5% and 50% of peatlands are being drained and losing Carbon.

The Mission includes two targets that are directly addressing these challenges:

• Current Carbon concentration losses on cultivated land are reversed to an increase by 0.1 – 0.4% per year.
• The area of peatlands and wetlands losing Carbon is reduced and the natural sink is significantly increased to help meet GHG reduction targets by 2030 and the Climate Law goal by 2050.

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