Soil and Land Use Policy Context in Ireland

EPA STRIVE Soils and Land Use Research Planning WorkshopSeptember 10th 2013

Brendan O’NeillDECLG

Why the Need for Soils

and Land Use Policy?

• Soil is practically a non renewable natural resource –providing food, biomass and raw materials.

• Soil functions crucial for human activities & ecosystems.

• Pressures on soil include inappropriate agricultural and forestry practices, industrial activities, tourism and urban development.

• Soil degradation impacts on water quality, human health, climate change, nature & biodiversity protection, food safety etc., while poor environmental performance retards economic investment.

• Soil degradation costs are very high - mainly borne by the public purse and society rather than land users.

SOIL DEGRADATION - TYPES OF COSTS

*EU 2006

Types of costs borne by land users Types of costs borne by public

purse and society

Contamination � Land property depreciation

� Insurance costs

� Exposure protection measures

� Increased health care needs

� Treatment of contaminated water

� Increased food safety controls

Erosion � Fertility and crop yield losses

� Property damage

� Income losses (e.g. tourism)

� Increased dredging

� Infrastructure damage

� Treatment of water

Organic

matter decline

� Yield and fertility losses

� Higher production costs

� Release of GHGs from soil

� Treatment of water

Salinisation � Fertility and crop yield losses � Damage to water supply

infrastructure

Landslides � Damage to property and

infrastructure

� Losses of human lives and well-

being

� Interruption of transport routes

Costs of Soil Degradation in EUErosion €0.7 – 14 billion

Organic matter decline €3.4 – 5.6 billion

Compaction no estimate possible

Salinisation €158 – 321 million

Landslides up to €1.2 billion per event

Contamination €2.4 – 17.3 billion

Sealing no estimate possible

Biodiversity decline no estimate possible

*EU 2006

Soil Legislation within EU• No specific Soil Protection Legislation at EU level –

Proposal for Soil Framework Directive tabled in 2006 but has not received the support of Member States.

• Fragmented soil protection provisions exist in EU legislation e.g. water quality, waste, chemicals, industrial pollution protection, pesticides and Common Agricultural Policy (cross-compliance).

• Nine Member States have specific legislation on soil protection but in most of these cases legislation is directed at specific threats (e.g. contamination) and it does not amount to a comprehensive and coherent soil protection framework.

• No specific Soil Protection Legislation in Ireland.

The 4 Pillars of the 2006 EU Soil Strategy

LEGISLATION

Proposal for a Soil Framework Directive COM(2006)232

RESEARCH

INTEGRATION

OF SOIL PROTECTION ASPECTS

AWARENESS RAISING

Awareness Raising Activities

• Soil Atlas of Europe

• European Atlas of Soil Biodiversity

• JRC – State of Soil in Europe

Research

• RAMSOIL– Risk Assessment Methodologies for Soil Degradation

processes

• LUCAS– Survey on Land Cover/Land Use and Agro-

Environmental Indicators

• ENVASSO– Soil Monitoring Activities & Policy-relevant Soil

Indicators

• BIOSOIL– Forest Soils

Integration

• Common Agricultural Policy

• Industrial Installations – IED Provisions on Soil Protection

• Cohesion Policy – Funding of Site Rehabilitation Activities

• State Aids – Contaminated Land

Soil Framework Directive Proposal (1)

• Objective: Protection of Soil Functions

• Prevention:

�Integration in Sectoral Policies,

�Precautionary Measures,

�Prevention of Contamination,

�Measures to Limit or Mitigate Soil Sealing.

Soil Framework Directive Proposal (2)

• Identification: Identify risk areas for “Agricultural” Threats within 5 years:�Erosion,

�Organic Matter Decline,

�Compaction,

�Salination,

�Landslides

• Actions:

�Programme of Measures on “Agricultural Threats”

�National Contaminated Land Remediation Strategies.

“Agricultural” Threats

Contamination

Where to now on Soil Framework Directive? (1)

• “Agreed” Text of Seventh Environment Action Programme (7 EAP)�On Rio + 20 Outcome call for a ‘Land Degradation

Neutral World’ - “EU and Member States should reflect on how best to make this commitment operational within their respective competencies”;

�“EU and Member States should also reflect as soon as possible on how soil quality issues could be addressed using a targeted and proportionate risk-based approach within a binding legal framework”; and

�“Targets should also be set for sustainable land use and soil.”

Where to now on Soil Framework Directive? (2)• Achievement of Soil Protection and Sustainable Land

Management Objectives set out in the 7 EAP will require �“Increasing efforts to reduce Soil Erosion and

increase Soil Organic Matter, to Remediate Contaminated Sites and to enhance the Integration of Land Use aspects into Co-ordinated Decision-Making involving all levels of Government, supported by the adoption of Targets on Soil and on Land Use and on land as a resource, and Land Planning Objectives”.

�Adopting a systematic and integrated approach to Risk Assessment.

�Sharing and promoting Research efforts at EU and Member State levels.

Future Challenges

• Acquisition of the necessary Facts & Figures

• Analysing the Issues

• Raising Awareness of the Pressures and Impacts

on Soil

• Appropriate policy development and effective

implementation, informed by the availability of

robust data

• Integration across the wide range of policy makers

• Optimising Research Work at National Level

– Role of Research to Date?

Irish Soils Information System

(ISIS)• Teagasc, Cranfield & UCD

• 2008-2013

• 1:250,000 soils map & Soil Info System

• Research papers

• Common framework

• Baseline – emerging policy

Future Requirements for Ireland

• Develop and Implement a Soil Protection Strategy for Ireland. This will require �Involving the wide range of relevant actors

within the different Sectors in order to ensure the coherent integration of Soil Protection Considerations across the various Policy areas.

�Improving the knowledge and evidence base for Soil Protection Policy in order to provide a more informed basis for its development and implementation.

Thank you…

Brendan.O’Neill@environ.ie