States General for soil health: circular bioeconomy and soil regeneration are the main issues of 4th edition

On November 6, the Ecomondo exhibition in Rimini (Italy) will host the annual event organized by Re Soil Foundation in cooperation with the event’s Technical Committee and the National Bioeconomy Coordination Board. Main themes are circular bioeconomy, regeneration, European policies, and ongoing projects

by Matteo Cavallito

Soil restoration is a comprehensive process that involves several issues, from the recovery of degraded land to its sustainable management in agriculture and beyond, from biodiversity protection to climate mitigation. In this context, the circular bioeconomy plays a key role in improving the health and functionality of the soil thanks to its low-environmental-impact bioproducts, but also through the enhancement of organic matter and the closure of the carbon cycle. These are the key themes of the fourth edition of the States General of the Green Economy for soil health, scheduled for November 6 in Rimini during the Ecomondo exhibition.

The event, organized by the Ecomondo Scientifical Technical Committee, the Re Soil Foundation, and the National Bioeconomy Coordination Board (NBCB), will provide updates on current policy initiatives and projects with a look at the EU Soil Mission and its positive impacts in Italy and Europe.

Experts discuss bioeconomy and soil regeneration

“Significantly named Circular Bioeconomy and Opportunities for Soil Regeneration, this year’s event aims to highlight the crucial link between land restoration actions, climate change mitigation, and the development of a sustainable agriculture that is also capable of ensuring global food security,” explains Margherita Caggiano, general director of Re Soil Foundation, who will chair the session together with Luca Montanarella, president of the International Network of Soil Information Institutions (INSII) and member of the Foundation’s Technical and Scientific Committee.

“The hope,” she adds, “is to repeat last year’s success by creating, once again, a valuable forum for discussion between experts from different backgrounds to address the most important issues on the agenda from different perspectives.”

These issues remain crucial given the challeging scenario that Europe is still facing. According to the latest “State of Soils in Europe” report published by the JRC, degradation affects about two-thirds of European land, while erosion removes 1 billion tons of soil from the continent every year. Furthermore, nutritional imbalances are on the rise (and are currently found in three-quarters of cultivated land), while organic carbon in agricultural fields is declining (down 70 million tons in the EU and the UK between 2009 and 2018).

European policies

The program for the event, extensive as usual, will be opened by Fabio Fava, coordinator of the National Coordination Group for the Bioeconomy (GCNB) and Stefano Masini, head of the Environment and Territory Area at Coldiretti. The discussion will address bioeconomy, with an update on the work of UN Food and Agriculture Organization presented by Marta Gomez San Juan, FAO’s agricultural and biosystems engineer, and a focus on its recent results such as the mapping of bioeconomy-related indicators, including biodiversity, climate, and environmental goals, and the role of global partnerships.

Also on the agenda the European policy, starting with the Soil Monitoring Law, which is getting closer to final approval, with a keynote speech by Annalisa Corrado, MEP and shadow rapporteur for the Directive. This will be followed by an in-depth look at the Soil Deal for Europe with Henri Delanghe, Head of EU mission and Head of Unit, Research and Innovation, at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI).

The projects

The discussion will then move on to the impact of the EU Mission on Italian soils, as illustrated by a number of innovative projects such as iCOSHELLs, the initiative coordinated by Isinnova to set up Living Labs for land health, and URSOILL, dedicated to the sustainable restoration of urban soil. Speakers will include Angelo Riccaboni, Full Professor of Business Economics at the University of Siena, Mario Gualdi, President of Isinnova, and Susy Longoni, Head of the APRE Lombardia Help Desk – Innovation and Projects Unit, Innovhub SSI Experimental Stations for Industry, of the Milan Monza Brianza Lodi Chamber of Commerce.

Finally, an in-depth look at soil regeneration projects including SOUL, which is dedicated to bio-applications in the soil with optimal biodegradation at the end of their life cycle, AUSO, for the establishment of the African Union Soil Observatory,and the soil health initiatives carried out under the Horizon Europe program. The topics will be discussed by Sara Guerrini, Agriculture Public Affairs at Novamont, Claudio Zucca, Associate Professor of Pedology at the University of Sassari, and Humberto Castillo-González, researcher at the Université Marie et Louis Pasteur in Besançon.