Soil

Conference

'Soil remediation and soil sealing'

On 10 and 11 may 2012, the Environment Directorate-General of the European Commission hosted a high-level conference on 'Soil remediation and soil sealing' in Brussels (Belgium).

The conference was part of the European Commission's work in implementing the Soil Thematic Strategy (COM(2006) 231) it adopted in 2006. It aimed to highlight the importance of tackling soil contamination at an early stage and the opportunities created in the European remediation industry. Moreover, it underlined how addressing contaminated sites and brownfields can be helpful in limiting land take and soil sealing on fertile agricultural land.

The conference was also the occasion to present the recently published Soil Sealing Guidelines (SWD(2012)101). These guidelines are part of the Soil Thematic Strategy and will contribute to achieving the land take target proposed in the Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe (COM(2011) 232.

The final programme is here. The presentations from the speakers are available below.

Thursday 10 May 2012

Speaker	Presentation (PDF format)
Michel Schilling	The management of contaminated sites and the soil remediation industry in Denmark
Maria Neira	The World Health Organisation's Global Environmental Health Strategy
Mark Hodson	Soil pollution and its impact on soil life
Sabrina Freda	Soil remediation and urban regeneration in the Emilia-Romagna Region
Wilhelm Koenig	From industrial and coal mining area to new economic uses and cultural renaissance: the role of soil remediation in the Ruhr area
Arnaud Gossement	Soil contamination and the application of the polluter pays principle in France
Eddy van Dyck	The Soil Status Report and the contaminated land policy in Flanders
Julien Perez	The soil remediation industry in Europe: the recent past and future perspectives

Friday 11 May 2012

Speaker	Presentation (PDF format)
Klaus Töpfer	Soil degradation, urban sprawl and food production: can we continue wasting fertile soils?
Stefan Bringezu	Global land use and soil management in a changing climate: a contribution from the International Resource Panel
Michael Warhurst	Europe's land imports and their impact on the rest of the world
Gundula Prokop	Land take and soil sealing: an overview of the EU situation
Ciro Gardi	The impact of land take and soil sealing on the EU's ability to produce food
Luca Marmo	The Soil Sealing Guidelines: a document of the Commission services to improve land management in the EU
Agnes Kelemen	The opportunity offered to urban regeneration by the Cohesion Policy funds post 2013

See pictures of the conference here.