EU Soil Health Law

The document advocates for a dedicated EU Soil Health Law by 2023 to address the fact that 60-70% of EU soils are unhealthy. It argues that such a law is legally viable under the 'integration principle' of Article 11 TFEU and the principle of subsidiarity, as soil degradation has transboundary effects on climate, biodiversity, and food security. The brief emphasizes the role of the LUCAS Soil database in providing the science-based monitoring necessary for the law's implementation.

• The European Commission's EU Soil Strategy for 2030 aims for healthy soils in Europe by 2050 and includes the development of a new Soil Health Law by 2023.
• Current EU soil protection is fragmented and lacks a binding, soil-specific framework, existing only as a "by-product" of other environmental initiatives.

APA

Kolpak, G., & Fornabaio, L. (2022). EU Soil Health Law. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/uoenhrtn/eu-soil-health-law_legal-principles-underpinning-the-framework.pdf

Chicago

Kolpak, Gabriela, and Lara Fornabaio. EU Soil Health Law. ClientEarth, 2022. https://www.clientearth.org/media/uoenhrtn/eu-soil-health-law_legal-principles-underpinning-the-framework.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kolpak |first1=Gabriela |last2=Fornabaio |first2=Lara |title=EU Soil Health Law |publisher=ClientEarth |date=March 2022 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/uoenhrtn/eu-soil-health-law_legal-principles-underpinning-the-framework.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kolpak2022soil, author = {Kolpak, Gabriela and Fornabaio, Lara}, title = {{EU Soil Health Law}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/uoenhrtn/eu-soil-health-law_legal-principles-underpinning-the-framework.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }