Policy measures for agricultural soil conservation in the European Union and its member states: policy review and classification

Agricultural soils are increasingly targeted by European Union (EU) policy measures including measures within the Common Agricultural Policy. Member states have implemented a variety of measures at the national and regional level that regulate the use of soils or offer incentives for the adoption of soil conservation practices. However, information on the specific purpose and implementation of these measures is difficult to access. Up to date, no comprehensive policy overview exists for the EU-27, which would allow a comparative analysis. For this purpose, a policy survey was conducted based on a classification system for agricultural policies that allows the analysis of their impact concerning soil conservation. Policies were categorised as 'mandatory measures', 'voluntary incentive-based measures' and 'awareness-increasing measures and private initiatives'. Each policy was defined as a set of singular policy measures. Policy measures were described with their attributes such as the soil quality objectives within the policy and the technical measures required. This classification system was used for a policy inventory on the regulatory framework concerning agricultural soil conservation in the EU-27. Data were gathered by a voluntary online survey among experts in national and regional ministries and administrative bodies. More than 50 actors and agencies from 24 EU member states participated in the survey and more than 400 policy measures were entered in the database. The survey enabled a detailed and comparative analysis of the interrelationships between soil conservation practices, soil degradation processes and policy measures across member states at the national or regional level.

JRC.DDG.J.5 - Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Economy