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For the past five years, the RECARE project has been working with stakeholders across Europe, from Iceland to Cyprus and from The Netherlands to Romania, to develop a new way of saving the soil. As the project ends, it is presenting the accumulated learning from its research to policymakers in the cities, regions and nations of Europe as well as international bodies.
The urgency of this mission is underscored by recent UN reports highlighting the role that agriculture plays in climate change and how sustainable agriculture is going to be necessary to secure food production as well as liveable landscapes under climatic change.

The over-riding policy message is to empower those who directly manage the land and soil to enable and encourage them in sustainable soil management techniques. The scientific answers are available, it is making sure that farmers, growers and foresters know about them, then feel able to act on that knowledge. This effort requires some changes to policy but also an investment in training and knowledge to help people achieve sustainable land practices.

The RECARE project scientific co-ordinator Dr Rudi Hessel, from Wageningen Environmental Research, said:

“The starting point is to take farmers and land managers seriously, that researchers are willing to listen and learn from them to make sure that we are addressing their priorities and not as our researchers. To do that we need to build relationships of trust.”

The text above is a section of the Press Release the RECARE project has issued for World Soil Day 2018.
Click on the Read more... button below to continue reading, or download the complete press release HERE.

 

The final plenary meeting of the RECARE project, that was held in Brussels on September 25th and 26th, was closed after two days of discussions and preparations for both the Policy Conference the next day (September 27th) and the upcoming final report.

More news about the final report will be posted on this website soon.

A short report on the Policy Conference will be published as well, but the presentations and press release from the Policy Conference can already be downloaded from the page HERE. 

A post-meeting web page on the final RECARE meeting will also be published on this website soon.

 

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 Policy Conference of the RECARE project to take place on 27 September 2018 in Brussels, Belgium (Les Ateliers de Tanneurs), 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.

For more information about the final RECARE policy event and registration for the event, go to the RECARE-HUB.