WEBINAR: SOIL IS LIFE, IS FOOD, IS FUTURE
The European Parliament, the only elected body of the EU and expression of the voice of EU citizens, has clearly called for a binding law on soil.
In a recent Resolution on Soil protection adopted on 22 April as well as in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 adopted on 9 June, the Parliament made it clear: we need a legislative framework to protect soil and address all the main soil threats, including loss of soil biodiversity, organic matter, contamination, salinisation, acidification, desertification, erosion and soil sealing.
Soil biodiversity is under increasing pressure and soil is a common resource. We cannot think to address this crucial resource without an EU framework. We need common definitions, clear targets and a monitoring system. I would like to recall that the costs of inaction on soil degradation in the Union exceeds EUR 50 billion per year.
The Common Agricultural policy, accounting for a third of the EU budget, could have been a powerful tool to move away from the current intensive agricultural practices, such as synthetic fertilizer and pesticides application, monocropping and intensive livestock farming, which degrade soil over time and cause a cascade of problems for which even more man-made inputs are needed.
We could have used these resources to enable the transition of the agricultural sector towards sustainable and regenerative agriculture that seeks to improve soil health and its capacity to sequester carbon and store water.
Instead, on Friday last week, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission struck an agreement on the CAP post-2022, which confirms the status quo, meaning that until 2027 the EU will continue financing (with public money) industrial agricultural practices which further endanger soil.
GUARDA IL WEBINAR COMPLETO QUA (MIO INTERVENTO DAL MINUTO 26):