An assessment of the changes in policy, data availability, monitoring, literacy and indicators over the past decades

Healthy soils are essential for our environment and society, as they deliver crucial ecosystem services. This report provides an assessment of the changes in soil governance, soil data systems, soil monitoring frameworks, soil literacy, and soil degradation indicators in the EU over the past decades. The report shows that EU soil governance has evolved from fragmented and largely sectoral approaches towards an integrated soil health framework increasingly supported by harmonised monitoring systems, interoperable data infrastructures, and common policy objectives. Milestones for soil protection in the EU were the entry into force of the Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive, the Mission Soil, the EU Soil Strategy for 2030, and the soil-related objectives under the Common Agricultural Policy. The report shows that future soil governance should combine harmonised monitoring, FAIR data principles, technological innovation, and improved soil literacy within an integrated EU soil knowledge ecosystem. Such an approach would strengthen soil policy implementation, accelerate the implementation of sustainable soil management practices, and bring all soil degradation indicators on track to reach healthy soils by 2050.

BROOTHAERTS Nils;  EFTHIMIOU Nikolaos;  FENDRICH Arthur;  JONES Arwyn;  PANAGOS Panos; 

2026-07-24

Publications Office of the European Union

JRC143225

978-92-68-42065-2 (online),   

1831-9424 (online),   

EUR 40788,    OP KJ-01-26-313-EN-N (online),   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC143225,   

10.2760/1968092 (online),