The EU Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive implementation

Now the EU Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience is adopted and has entered into force. This is good news for everybody because healthy soils can be essential allies for addressing our challenges and ensuring our quality of life. But the difference will be made, or not, by the implementation of the law together with the other soil-related elements of NRR. This is a major challenge to which everyone is called to contribute and cooperate.

The text of the law sets a close cooperation between Member States and the Commission and the EEA. Another essential cooperation needed is between soil competent authorities, policymakers and science: indeed, there are several knowledge gaps still to be filled in that are key for an effective implementation.

So it is strategic and urgent to reach a common understanding between science and policy of which are, in very concrete terms, the specific knowledge elements needed for an effective implementation and how science and research can timely contribute. As examples, just consider the expected knowledge repository on the effects of soil management practices on soil health; the refinement of soil health criteria and descriptors; the wealth of supporting tools and documents to be developed to support Member States; the capacity building that will be needed in Member States among others to make fruitfully sense of all the data that will be produced. And the open question is: how to best realise this?