Background

Our common soils are ´per excellence´ very important for sustainable development, ever since the World Summit for Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, where Agenda 21 was adopted and the Framework Convention on Climate Change was signed. The trend towards uncontrolled sealed surfaces and damage of an asset that is extremely short and cannot be reproduced, is continuing. The targeted reduction in the growth rate of permanently sealed surfaces is to be achieved by looking for concrete measures and solutions.

The present evolution of international climate policy will definitely influence within a reasonable space of time all questions of land use and soil cultivation. The climate convention is going more than ever to convert into a Meta-process. The special announcement of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for land use and forestry is combining in an emphatic way all issues of land use, climate protection and economic development of the regions. There exists a huge demand not only for developing and checking methods and also delivering realistic estimations about potential and storage length, but much more than up to now to clarify the interrelationship of facts beyond the scientific community, i.e for getting more influence within the political processes.

In the year 2002, 15 European Environmental ministers have outlined first steps towards a strategy to protect soils, on a level with cleaning up our water and air. The European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication `Towards a Thematic Strategy for soil Protection´ (COM(2002) 179)is targeting to conserve land use, for example preventing sealing the soil next to other protected goods. Within the IP we intend to integrate the strategic goals of soil protection and to implement it on a regional basis.

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