Land take in the EU Soil Policy

Ample attention has been given in recent years to the concept and implications of the planetary boundaries for human activities. Research has made it clear that we have exceeded the boundary of the land system through our ever-growing competition for land and soil needed for various human activities such as building homes and growing food. The demand for space is greater in the areas of the European Union that are more densely populated.

Land taken extends today approximately over 4 % of the EU, about half of which is soil sealed. Locally the proportion of land taken can be much higher, as can the related impacts.

There is no doubt that we need land for settlements, and soils provide the foundation needed for buildings and infrastructure. However, when we seal soil, we are losing its capacity to provide key ecosystem services: to absorb, store, infiltrate and filter water and transform nutrients and substances; to provide the basis for biodiversity, including habitats, species and genes; to produce food and other biomass; to absorb and stock carbon to mitigate and adapt to climate change by absorbing carbon or avoiding heat island effects.

Land take, of which soil sealing is the most extreme form, is often driven by economic development needs, and transforms natural and seminatural areas (such as forests, grasslands, peatlands and agricultural land) into artifThis issue of TerritoriALL focuses on the concept of "no land take objective" and "sustainable land use". And although there is a lot of discussion about these topics, defining those terms is not an easy task. We asked the ESPON Research and Policy Manager, Marjan Van Herwijnen to help us explain them in simple words.

Marjan, what is the no land take objective and why is it important?

It is supposed to ensure that that there is no land take taken anymore after 2050 and this means that the soil and the land remains in a good condition for ecological functions, for biodiversity, for nature and agriculture.

So if for example we want to build a new road, we cannot do it anymore?

You can do it in such a way that another part of the land is given back. So to construct a road, we can dismantle an industrial area that is not being used anymore and return the soil in a such a condition that nature can be restored in that area. This is still a bit vague concept at the European level as the definition of no net land take is still not coherent at all the Member States and definitions as well as measurements vary. This is why we need to address this topic and create a common European approach.

What is the ESPON doing about this?

Currently ESPON supports the Belgian Presidency with a number of initiatives such as the present issue of TerritoriALL magazine but mainly with the development of a new policy paper on "No net land take" policies and practices in European regions?. This paper will address some key policy questions on the topic such as the definition and monitoring of the "no land take objective" in different EU countries, the tools, policies and governance mechanisms that are involved in the process of optimizing land use and the obstacles and proposed solutions to ensure an effective implementation of the "no land take" objective.

Do we have other ESPON projects that provided evidence in the recent past about sustainable land use?

A flaghship ESPON project that provides evidence and recommendations on how sustainable land use can be promoted and how unsustainable urbanisation can be avoided or reduced is the ESPON SUPER project. SUPER provides an overview of land-use changes in Europe since the year 2000 and land-use modelling up to 2050, as well as an overview of over 230 interventions (e.g. strategies, plans, fiscal measures, and investments) and their impacts on urbanisation. Eleven of these were examined as in-depth case studies.

It has been estimated by the EEA that about three fourths of the land take in the EU occurs on agricultural land. Cities have been built on the most fertile soils.

The project resulted to a detailed study, a practical step by step guide to sustainable urbanization and land use, but also two spin off projects about sustainable urbanization and land-use practices in Croatia and Lithuania.icial land development (such as buildings and infrastructures, including roads and airports, or open-pit mining).

Land taken extends today approximately over 4 % of the EU, about half of which is soil sealed. However, locally the proportion of land taken can be much higher, as can the related impacts. Land take also continues at a pace of more than 400 km² per year in the EU.

It has been estimated by the EEA that about three fourths of the land take in the EU occurs on agricultural land. Cities have been built on the most fertile soils, so urban sprawl impacts in particular the soils that are best for agriculture, reducing the potential for farmers and foresters to make a living.

How the EU Soil Strategy and the Soil Monitoring Law proposal address land take and soil sealing

Several initiatives have been taken at both global and local scales to address the worrying prospect of excessive land take and its known negative impacts on our well-being. In particular, Sustainable Development Goal 11 recognises the need for sustainable human settlements and sets the target to reduce the adverse environmental impact of cities per capita by 2030.

Acknowledging the impacts of soil sealing and land take on the environment and eventually on human well-being, the European Commission has developed over the years policy initiatives to address these issues, in particular in the EU Soil Strategy for 2030 and in the recent proposal for a Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience (the Soil Monitoring Law).

The EU Soil Strategy for 2030, defines the overall strategical direction for the EU in the coming years. The strategy proposes a new vision to reach healthy soils across the EU by 2050, to address our main climate and biodiversity challenges under the European Green Deal. For limiting land take and soil sealing, with a circular use of land, the EU Soil Strategy:

- recalls the goal of reaching "No Net Land Take" (NNLT) by 2050 already established in 2013 by the European Parliament and the Council in the seventh Environmental Action

Mirco Barbero, Policy officer, Soil Protection and Sustainable Land Use DG Environment, European Commission