How Policies Address Soil Degradation Processes in European Agriculture. Findings of the Project: Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation (SoCo).

SoCo conducted a stock-taking throughout the EU on soil degradation processes, soil-friendly farming practices, and relevant policy measures in agriculture; ten case studies across the EU and a series of regional workshops further clarified the link between these three elements. The policy stock-taking was based on: a review of relevant EU policies, along with impact assessments, evaluations and research projects related to these policies; and a survey monitoring national and regional implementation.

Six of the soil degradation processes that are recognised at EU level are closely linked to agriculture: erosion due to wind, water or tillage; declining soil organic matter; declining soil biodiversity; compaction; salinisation and sodification; and contamination. To date, soil protection is not a specific objective of any EU legislation but soils may benefit from targeting other environmental issues (e.g. water quality in the Nitrates Directive). Parallel, environmental objectives are to be integrated into EU sectoral policies, including the Common Agricultural Policy; cross compliance and rural development measures are important instruments here. Reviewing existing policies from a soil protection, maintenance or improvement point of view requires considering all stated objectives and, in addition, expected effects of these policies on soil quality.

As policy measures are implemented at the Member State and regional levels, policy implementation involves adaptation to local conditions. The measures can be either action- or result-oriented, meaning that either the farming practices, or the required soil quality objective(s) are prescribed. In the latter case, the farmer still has to select appropriate farming practices to reach the objectives. The presentation will focus on the effects of farming practices on particular soil degradation processes (and related environmental issues), and indicate the policies that encourage such practices. The synthesis of these links highlights the potential of the existing EU policies (through its national or regional implementation) for soil conservation.