Policies for a sustainable use of soil resources

Abstract

AbstractSoil protection policies have been developed at National level in a number of countries. The US Soil Conservation Act, the German Federal Soil Protection Act, and the Soil Action Plan for England are just some examples of such policies. International policies for a sustainable use of soil resources have been developed both at regional level and at global level. The Alpine Convention and the upcoming EU Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection are two examples of regional policies addressing soil protection. No specific binding global policy exists for soil protection. Nevertheless, a number of environmental protection policies address soil-protection aspects, like the climate-change convention, the biodiversity convention and the desertification convention. Further development of the EU Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection will make it possible to explore new methods of international cooperation in this field.