Defra launches Soil Strategy

24th September 2009

 

On 24th September Hilary Benn launched the Defra Soil Strategy which sets out the government’s ambitious 20 year vision to improve the sustainable management of soil and tackle the issue of soil degradation.

Soil is a fundamental natural resource on which life depends. It provides many essential services on which the country relies including food production, water management and, as a large store of carbon, it also plays a vital role in the fight against climate change. Over 70 years ago when promoting the first measures in the world to protect soil, President Franklin D Roosevelt said “The Nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.” He understood the value of soil and the importance to economies and societies of protecting it.

‘Safeguarding our Soils: a Strategy for England’ covers a range of sectors including agriculture, land management, planning and construction. It not only outlines the Government’s approach to safeguarding our soils for the future but provides a clear vision to guide long term policy development across a range of areas and sets out the practical steps that are needed to protect the full range of ecosystem services that soils provide.

In addition to detailing a strategic vision, the Strategy also contains practical advice on how to prevent the degradation of our soils and how to restore and ensure their continuing resilience. The Government is committed to improving our understanding of other significant threats to soil, such as the demand for new housing and transport infrastructure and providing effective responses to these challenges.

Good quality soils are essential to achieve Defra’s goals of a thriving farming sector and a sustainable, healthy food supply as well as securing a healthy environment in which we and future generations can prosper. The new Strategy is an important step in increasing the value that Society places on soil and sets a framework for safeguarding this vital resource now and in the future.

An electronic version of the Soil Strategy can be found at:
www.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/land/soil/documents/soil-strategy.pdf

 

 

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