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BACKGROUND
RECARE – Preventing and Remediating Degradation of Soils in Europe through Land Care
RECARE Policy Conference, 27 September 2018 in Brussels
Soils in European Union are a vital environmental resource in need of better protection. Despite the wide recognition of the importance of soils, soil protection efforts in European Union have been partial, fragmented and insufficient to halt their degradation. Calls for improving this situation have increasingly come from scientists, policymakers, non-governmental organisations and citizens. The discussions and negotiations around the design of European policies for post-2020 period offer the opportunity to improve the current situation.
What is the best way forward for soil protection in the EU? How can we improve EU policies to secure the delivery of soil ecosystem services?
These questions will be at the core of the Final Conference of the RECARE project to take place on 27 September 2018 in Brussels, presenting project findings on:
- effective strategies for prevention and remediation of soil threats and their uptake among land managers
- the impacts of European policies, and
- options for future policy responses
The event will offer an opportunity to discuss how RECARE results can influence the design of future European policies on soil protection.
AGENDA
The conference agenda is available here.
VENUE
The conference will take place at:
Les Ateliers des Tanneurs
Rue des Tanneurs 60A
1000 Bruxelles
Belgium
https://www.ateliersdestanneurs.be/
Please click here to locate the conference venue on Google Maps.
REGISTRATION
To register for the conference, please, fill in our registration form:
http://registration.ecologic-events.eu/recare-policy-conference
To keep up with RECARE, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
A wide range of innovative methods and approaches were used in RECARE. A description of these methods are provided below.
Rather than following a top-down approach in which scientific and other authorities determine what is going to be done about a certain soil threat at a site, the RECARE project was based on a bottom-up approach that aimed to let all relevant stakeholders make decision in a participatory way. The stakeholders included scientists, farmers and land managers as well as representatives of advisory services, civil society organizations, the private sector, the local administration and governmental organizations. The participatory approach meant that multiple stakeholders discussed problems and developed an answer together, by tapping into the wealth and diversity of expertise and experience represented in the group of mixed stakeholders. Such an approach resulted in more comprehensive solutions by taking into account multiple perspectives, interests, and concerns.
Sequence of main steps in the RECARE stakeholder process
Knowledge exchange and mutual learning among different stakeholders were key features of the participatory RECARE stakeholder process and were facilitated by the detailed methodological guidelines, which were developed for each of the steps in the process. For more details, please read the project brief HERE. An evaluation of the participatory approach can also be found HERE.
Within RECARE a conceptual framework was developed that reflects the specific contributions soils make to ecosystem services and helped reveal changes in ecosystem services caused by land management and policies affecting soil.
An expert assessment of the impacts of the different remediation options on ecosystem services at the case study sites was undertaken. In this expert assessment, RECARE researchers assessed how sustainable land management measures affect ecosystem services (ES). The researchers quantified the link between changed properties and (changed) ES, and identified their benefits and drawbacks. More details can be found in a report HERE.
The results from the expert assessment were then taken a step further in the 3rd stakeholder workshop, where the stakeholder’s valuation of benefits and drawbacks from ecosystem services were discussed. The results of this valuation process can be found HERE
A workshop and conference session informed the development of the RECARE approach to valuing ecosystem services
Workshop on Soil Threats and Ecosystem Services
The Work package 2 team of the RECARE project organised an ESS workshop in Wageningen on May 19th 2014. The purpose of the workshop was to exchange background information of the concept of EcoSystem Services and their interaction with the main topic within RECARE: Soil Threats.
| # | Presenter | PowerPoint Presentation Download |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dr. Leon Braat | Social, economic & institutional aspects of ESS and EU [7.2Mb] |
| 2 | Dr. Mark Everard | Soil threats and ecosystem services [2.1Mb] |
| 3 | Dr. Gudrun Schwilch | ESS and soil functions in RECARE [8.9Mb] |
Social Economic and Institutional aspects of Eco System Services and EU practice - PART I - Dr. Leon Braat, ALTERRA. from Soil Physics & Land Use PROJECTS on Vimeo.
Social Economic and Institutional aspects of Eco System Services and EU practice - Part II - QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION from Soil Physics & Land Use PROJECTS on Vimeo.
Soil threats and Ecosystem Services - Part I, Presentation by Dr. Mark Everard, UWE, UK from Soil Physics & Land Use PROJECTS on Vimeo.
Soil threats and Ecosystem Services - Part II - QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION from Soil Physics & Land Use PROJECTS on Vimeo.
Ecosystem Services and Soil Functions in RECARE - Presentation by Dr. Gudrun Schwilch - CDE-UNIBE, Switzerland from Soil Physics & Land Use
Ecosystem Services and Soil Functions in RECARE - PART II - PLENARY DISCUSSION & COMMENT from Soil Physics & Land Use PROJECTS on Vimeo.
EGU 2015
A RECARE session devoted to consideration of ecosystems services from soils was convened at EGU 2015. The presentations from this session can be viewed below.
In the RECARE project, the economic analysis was led by Luuk Fleskens from Wageningen University. The team looked at the economics of the measures trialled in the case studies using a range of methods that considered not only the costs of the measures but also the benefits derived from their impacts.
A multi-method approach was taken to assess the costs and benefits of the implemented measuers at the field trial and Case Study level. The three methods used were:
- Ecosystem services valuation
- Baysian Belief Networks
- Cost-effectiveness analysis
The RECARE project is funded by the European Commission FP7 Programme, ENV.2013.6.2-4 ‘Sustainable land care in Europe’. EU grant agreement: 603498. Project officer: Maria Yeroyanni.
Below are all of the RECARE Hub's soil threat resources organised according to your interests:
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| Soil sealing challenges: | Resource type: |
| Soil sealing video in Italy | Video |
| Soil sealing video in Poland | Video |
| Policy brief on soil sealing | Policy brief |
| Soil contamination challenges: | Resource type: |
| Soil contamination in Spain - Fact sheet 1 Soil contamination in Spain - Fact Sheet 2 Soil contamination in Spain - Video | Fact sheet/video |
| Soil contamination in Romania | Video |
| Policy on soil contamination | Policy brief |
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| |
| Soil sealing challenges | Resource type: |
| Soil sealing video in Italy | Video |
| Soil sealing video in Poland | Video |
| Policy on soil sealing | Policy brief |
| Soil contamination challenges: | Resource type: |
| Soil contamination in Spain - Fact sheet 1 Soil contamination in Spain - Fact Sheet 2 Soil contamination in Spain - Video | Fact sheet/video |
| Soil contamination in Romania | Video |
| Policy brief in soil contamination | Policy brief |
| Soil compaction challenges: | Resource type: |
| Policy on soil compaction | Policy brief |
| Report on the current state of degradation and conservation | Report D3.2 |
| Up-to-date review of EU policies and integrated impact assessment methodology integrated impact assessment methodology | Report D9.1 |
| Report on the integrated impact assessment of national and EU policies | Report D9.2 |
| Final policy recommendations | Report D9.3 |
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| |
| Reports, project briefs, web pages: | Resource type: |
| RECARE biophysical case study data | Web page |
| RECARE research methods employed | Web page |
| RECARE Multi-stakeholder participatory approach | Project brief |
| Integrated Assessment model | Web page |
| Soil threat in Europe: Status, methods, drivers and effects on ecosystem services | Report D2.1 |
| Harmonized Field Monitoring strategy for assessing the effectiveness of the selected, innovative soil prevention, remediation, and restoration measures.effectiveness of the selected, innovative soil prevention, remediation, and restoration measures. | Report D6.1 |
| Assessment of the effectiveness of implemented measures regarding combating soil degradation, and to restore soil functions and ecosystem services | Report D6.2 |
| Impact Assessment on Ecosystem Services | Report D7.1 |
| The integrated PESERA, DESMICE, and METRONAMICA model | Report D8.1 |
| Teaching resources: | Resource type: |
| For schools | Web page |
| Other resources | Web pages |
| All soil threats | Resource type: |
| Soil threat fact sheets | Fact sheet |
| Soil erosion | Resource type: |
| Soil erosion in Spain | Video |
| Soil contamination | Resource type: |
| Soil contamination in Romania | Video |
| Soil contamination in Spain | Video |
| Soil sealing | Resource type: |
| Soil sealing in Italy | Video |
| Soil sealing in Poland | Video |
Policy Conference Gallery
Below are a selection of photos taken during the policy conference.
If you find yourself in one of the pictures and do not agree that it is published on our website, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . We will make sure that the picture will be deleted from our website.
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Discussions
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ParticipantDiscussions
Participants
We have amalgated the resources produced by RECARE project into categories that may be of interest to particular end-user groups.
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| Case study experiment fact sheets and videos on solutions to: | |
| Reduce soil erosion in potato fields | Fact sheet | |
| Reduce post-fire soil erosion in forests using mulch | Fact sheet | |
| Restore agricultural terraces | Fact sheet | |
| Reduce salinization | Fact sheet | |
| Reduce soil compaction | Video | |
| Reduce soil erosion in vineyards using straw mulch | Fact sheet / Video | |
| Reclaim eroded land using organic fertilizer with or without grass seed and native birch trees | Fact sheet | |
| Prevent gully erosion | Fact sheet | |
| Increase or maintain soil organic matter through undersowing of maize in grass | Fact sheet | |
| Model assessments of the cost-effectiveness of prevention/remediation/restoration measures for all Case Study areas | Report |
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Industry Soil sealing | Videos, fact sheets and policy briefs on soil sealing and soil contamination | |
| Soil sealing video in Italy | Video | |
| Soil sealing video in Poland | Video | |
| Policy brief on soil sealing | Policy brief | |
| Soil contamination | Soil contamination in Spain | Fact sheet / video |
| Soil contamination in Romania | Video | |
| Policy brief in soil contamination | Policy brief |
|
Policy-makers Soil sealing | Policy briefs and reports | |
| Soil sealing video in Italy | Video | |
| Soil sealing video in Poland | Video | |
| Policy brief on soil sealing | Policy brief | |
| Soil contamination | Soil contamination in Spain | Fact sheet / video |
| Soil contamination in Romania | Video | |
| Policy brief in soil contamination | Policy brief | |
| Soil compaction | Policy brief | Poplicy brief |
| D3.2 Report on the current state of degradation and conservation | Report | |
| D9.1 Up-to-date review of EU policies and integrated impact assessment methodologyintegrated impact assessment methodology | Report | |
| D9.2 Report on the integrated impact assessment of national and EU policies | Report | |
| D9.3 Final policy recommendations | Report |
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Researchers | Reports, project briefs, web pages | |
| RECARE biopysical case study data | Web page | |
| RECARE research methods employed | Web page | |
| RECARE Multi-stakeholder participatory approach | Project brief | |
| Integrated Assessment model | Web page | |
| D2.1 Soil threat in Europe: Status, methods, drivers and effects on ecosystem services | Report | |
| D6.1 Harmonized Field Monitoring strategy for assessing the effectiveness of the selected, innovative soil prevention, remediation, and restoration measures.effectiveness of the selected, innovative soil prevention, remediation, and restoration measures. | Report | |
| D6.2 Assessment of the effectiveness of implemented measures regarding combating soil degradation, and to restore soil functions and ecosystem services | Report | |
| D7.1 Impact Assessment on Ecosystem Services | Report | |
| D8.1 The integrated PESERA, DESMICE, and METRONAMICA model | Report |
|
Teachers & environmentalists
| Teaching resources, fact sheets, videos | |
| Resources for schools | Web page | |
| Other resources | Web pages | |
| All soil threats | Soil threat fact sheets | Fact sheet |
| Soil erosion | Soil erosion in Spain | Video |
| Soil contamination | Soil contaminatino in Romania | Video |
| Soil contamination in Spain | Video | |
| Soil sealing | Soil sealing in Italy | Video |
| Soil sealing in Poland | Video |
