In a world where 60-70% of Europe’s soils are classified as unhealthy, there is an urgent need for tools and initiatives designed to protect and enhance soils. Soil health, biodiversity, and climate are linked: healthy bio-active soils can sequester carbon, retain water during flooding events, and produce higher agricultural yields. The EU Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ is committed to increasing soil health by 2030. Steps include funding research, establishing pilots, developing a monitoring framework, and increasing soil literacy. Change requires information, motivation, and ability. Soil literacy is thus essential if we are to build a foundation for long-term and effective soil management.

The ICLEI Europe Biodiversity and Nature-based Solutions team is committed to raising soil health awareness among policy makers and practitioners, and is in the planning process for a soil based capacity building programme, delivered by their flagship programme UrbanByNature. This training programme, targeting 17 pilot regions in 10 EU member states, will focus on integrating soil health into spatial planning tools and processes in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas. Spatial planning tools can be used to address a wide range of soil degradation challenges such as soil sealing, pollution, land take, and erosion, testing methods to promote healthier and more resilient soils within each unique context. This work could play a key role in supporting member states in restoring land ecosystems by at least 20%, as per the EU’s Nature Restoration Law.

This work will be conducted within the Horizon Europe project SPADES, where ICLEI will lead soil literacy and capacity building efforts. Stay tuned to learn more about how ICLEI Europe will partner with others in the SPADES consortium to help make soil health a core component of spatial planning across Europe.