EUSO Stakeholder forum reflected on challenges facing soil
More than 600 stakeholders participated in the first EU Soil Observatory Stakeholder forum. The three-day event offered updates on recent EU policy developments. Contributions from EJP SOIL provided a basis for informed discussions on challenges facing soil.
On 19-21 October 2021, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) organized the first ever EUSO Stakeholders Forum. Despite it being online, more than 600 stakeholders participated.
The event reflected on the challenges facing soil within the various strategies of the Green Deal (e.g. the Soil, Biodiversity and Farm2Fork strategies, Zero Pollution Action Plan) and Horizon Europe’s proposed Mission "A Soil Deal for Europe".
Over the three days, high-level panels and a series of working groups addressed soil-related policy developments, burning scientific and policy questions, and participants were encouraged to engage in discussions and to contribute to the working groups.
According to Giovanni De Santi, European Commission JRC, Director Sustainable Resources, the EUSO Stakeholder forum was an important occasion to celebrate the work and efforts that has been put into the EUSO concept during the first year. The EUSO is now able to provide important added value of European wide data and knowledge.
Giovanni De Santi points states that EUSO can celebrate the mark of working in a different way with large scale engagement of stakeholder including member states, Commission services, agencies, NGOs, land managers and soil users. The EUSO stakeholder forum is a dynamic participatory way to work in the scientific community meeting the need for the scientific and the political communities to enter into dialogue and share knowledge and data analysis.
Hub for accessing national soil data in the EU
At the session ‘Data Integration’, EJP SOIL was represented by Maria Fantappiè and her team with the scope: “How can relevant EU-wide data be integrated in EUSO/ESDAC?” Attention was drawn to the aspiration that the EJP SOIL programme will play a huge role in creating a hub for accessing national soil data in the EU.
EJP SOIL presentations contributed with thorough insight on this matter:
‘EJP-SOIL as soil data provider to EUSO’, presented by Maria Fanta Fantappiè’, CREA Italy/Fenny Van Egmond, ISRIC Netherlands,
‘Is there a role for the European Soil Partnership in contributing to EUSO?’, presented by Maria Fantappiè, CREA Italy.
1st EUSO Stakeholder Forum Agenda
Presentations at the 1st EUSO Stakeholders Forum - Click here.
The forum was recorded and streamed and is available for a period of two years from October 2021
- Day 1: covering sessions on "Recent EU policy developments in soil" (morning) and "Core EUSO Objective: Integrated soil monitoring" (afternoon).
- Day 2a: covering sessions on "Soil pollution" (morning) - "Soil biodiversity" (afternoon)
- Day 2b: covering sessions on "Data integration" (morning) - "Soil erosion" (afternoon)
- Day 3: covering sessions "Young Soil Researchers Forum", "Citizen engagement", and "Conclusions"(all day).
Visit the EUSO Stakeholder Forum website, click here.
EJP SOIL members of the work package on soil data: Maria Fantappiè, Fenny van Egmond, Bozena Smreczak, Zsófi Bakacsi, Antonio Bispo, Rudi Hessel, Johanna Wetterlind, and Grzegorz Siebelec.
Contact information: Maria Fantappiè, Work package leader: maria.fantappie@crea.gov.it