Brussels, Belgium – The second European Mission Soil Week (EMSW 2024) is currently underway in Brussels, drawing scientists, policymakers, and community leaders together to address one of our planet’s most pressing challenges: soil health. Hosted by the European Commission, this event serves as a focal point for advancing “A Soil Deal for Europe,” an ambitious agenda under the Horizon Europe programme. With a diverse programme of plenary sessions, workshops, and field visits, the week aims to inspire transformative ideas, showcase sustainable soil management practices, and cultivate lasting partnerships across sectors.
A Growing Awareness of Soil’s Value
Thus, soil is much more than a support base for soil farming that determines climate regulation, food availability, and distribution, biological diversity, as well as human well-being. However, soil is in a critical condition, due to decline and pollutions that challenge its fundamental role. Thus, the European Mission Soil Week at tempts to draw public and political attention to these problems and to generate ideas on how to improve the state of European soils.
This week’s agenda includes high-level discussions on policies to protect and monitor soil health, practical solutions from experimental “living labs,” and field visits to innovative agricultural, forestry, and urban sites. Livestreamed plenary sessions are open to the public, extending the event’s impact beyond Brussels and encouraging a continental dialogue on soil preservation.
Key Highlights of the Week
Among the key topics this year there is a so called “Soil Monitoring Law” proposed directive in the European Union, which has reached the stage of the third reading in the legislative process. It is therefore intended to establish a sustainable infrastructural system for soil surveying and management across Europe. The event promotes interdisciplinary cooperation since scholars and professionals from different fields work together to improve the quality of the European soils by 2030.
One more distinguishing feature is the focus on so-called ‘living labs’, that is, experimental areas that check solutions that contribute to the growth of healthy soil. Such, these 25 innovative projects are the practical approaches and sample and wealth pooling information regarding carbon sequestration and nutrient recycling, soil conservation and water harvesting.
Field Visits: Soil Solutions in Action
EMSW 2024 is unique for the Engagement and Hands on, practical focus of its program and collaborative structure. There are several field sites where people present at the conference can observe best practices for managing soil sustainably. They include; farming systems that conserve soils and regenerate agricultural land, cities with strategies to introduce certified organic, diverse soils in public workspaces, and forests that use proper organic material, and other natural methods to maintain and improve the quality of the soil and increase it carrying capacity for life.
These field visits offer a good insight into management problems and solutions in various European communities; what well-developed soils mean to food sufficiency, climate change, and sustenance of ecological systems.
The DeepHorizon Project
DeepHorizon, as part of the project at 40 experimental sites across Europe is currently building models to describe the functions of subsoil. To address the diverse and complex chemical, biological, and physical characteristics of European soils, the project is multifaceted: analyze the properties of different soils; involve farmers, land managers and policymakers; and develop and implement context-specific solutions for the heterogeneous European territory.
The Human Impact: Why Soil Health Matters for Everyone
Although few people specifically discuss healthy soil it is an important subject as it influences our everyday lives. As seen in everything in our kitchens from the food, to air we breathe, healthy soils are essential for human and environmental health. Contaminated soils give rise to food insecurity, loss of biodiversity, and additional impact of climate change – issues that Europe is now beginning to tackle.
As part of this year’s EMSW, which presents the state of Europe’s soil health and proposes strategies, one of the objectives is also to encourage citizens to pursue policies that protect this resource, as well as to guide them towards the use of measures at a personal level to ensure a healthy future for soil.
Looking Forward: A Foundation for Generations to Come
When the EMSW 2024 is over, everyone will be wiser, connected to new colleagues and partners, and ready to work on a better and greener Europe. Starting and going all the way to the level of its farms, the work demonstrated this week stands for Europe’s commitment to spearheading a green shift. With projects such as DeepHorizon in the pipeline, the Europeans need not lose hope that their ground is capable of being rejuvenated for yet more generations.
Fortunately, most of the plenary sessions are being live-streamed, thus people in Europe and the rest of the globe interested in these conversations regarding the future of our planet can follow along.
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