Soil Governance

Action Area 2: Strengthen Soil Governance

The strengthening of soil governance in Europe requires cooperation between many stakeholders and the implementation of coherent policies.

2.1 Policies

National Soil Laws (EU + non-EU) see Soil Wiki (EU Login required)
Governance of UN bodies (incl. FAO). The SoilEX database managed by the FAO provides an overview of soil legislation existing around the world
EU Soil Law (Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience)
- Update European Parliament 2025 (version as voted in the ENVI committee on 4 June 2025)
- Directive Proposal July 2023
- Update European Council June 2024

2.2 Cooperation

Citizens (Soil Alliances exist in Germany, Italy, Austria, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary - see more on ELSA website)
Soil Science Societies (list of members on ECSSS website)
National and EU research programmes / projects
EU Soil Strategy 2030 (Coalition4HealthySoils)
Networks (Common Forum, Nicole, farm advisors, land owners, etc.)
European Soil Oberservatory (Stakeholders forum)

The graphik shows the connections between existing structures for soils. The proposal for the EU Soil Monitoring law was submitted on July 5, 2023. On April 10, 2025, a provisional deal between the Council and European Parliament was reached. The Soil Monitoring Law and other EU laws on soil are advised by an EU Soil Expert Group (see EU Soil WIKI). The Expert Group in turn works on the basis of national legislation (EU and non-EU). Furthermore, EIONET (National Focal Points and soil experts), including ESP Focal Points provide technical support. International conventions, resolutions and partnerships (Ministerial Conferences) support the governance of UN bodies (including FAO) and are influenced by National Soil Laws and working groups or networks on soil, such as EIONET. — Soil Governance, May 2025

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