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According to the ‘Caring for Soil is Caring for life’ report published by the European Commission in 2020, 60-70% of all European soils are unhealthy due to current management practices, pollution, urbanization, and the effects of climate change: specifically, 25% of soils in southern, central, and eastern Europe are at high or very high risk of desertification, while today’s rate of soil reuse is stuck at 13%.

The estimated cost associated with soil degradation in the EU exceeds 50 billion euros/year.

For these reasons, the health of this valuable non-renewable resource has been identified by the European Union as one of the 5 Missions – A Soil Deal for Europe – launched by the Commission to address science and innovation towards the challenges our society is facing. Soil becomes a key element of the Green Deal to support Europe’s growth aimed at achieving zero net soil consumption by 2050.

Soil protection contributes to further challenging goals such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere by 55 percent by 2030 and achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

In an increasingly uncertain economic and geopolitical context, in which Europe and Italy are facing a growing scarcity of raw materials, restoring the health of our soils, curbing their degradation and consumption will be crucial to increase our self-sufficiency and support the industrial revitalization of our country and Made in Italy.

Today, in Italy, more than a quarter of the land is degraded and soil consumption causes our country to lose about 2 square meters/second.

That’s why the National Coordination Group for the Bioeconomy (CNBBSV) of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, which also comprises: MIPAAF, MUR, MISE, MITE, MI; 20 Italian Regions; The Territorial Cohesion Agency; 3 Technology Cluster (Spring, BIG, CL.A.N.), in collaboration with ISPRA, CREA and Re Soil Foundation (founded by University of Bologna, Coldiretti, Novamont and Turin Polytechnic), launches in Rimini the first States General for Soil Health conference, an open, shared and participatory advisory event which aims to set the course for soil regeneration, a non-renewable resource crucial to ensure life on Earth but increasingly at risk.

The States General for Soil Health therefore intend to bring together the main national and international stakeholders and experts to draft a programmatic platform aimed at supporting the development of an Italian Soil Strategy, through the analysis of the environmental, economic, legislative and social scenario, of good practices and multidisciplinary and multi-actor existing projects, which are already providing answers in this direction.

The States General for Soil Health will take place for the first time on 10 November 2022, with the aim of presenting the European policy framework in the morning session, and the state of the art at national level in the afternoon session.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Thursday, November 10, 2022
10:00 – 12:30
Sala Diotallevi 2 Hall Sud

Organized by: Ecomondo Scientific Technical Committee & European Mission A Soil Deal for Europe, Re Soil Foundation

Session Chairs

Catia Bastioli, former member of EC Mission Soil health & food, member of Re Soil Foundation Roberto Moncalvo, President of Coldiretti Piemonte, Re Soil Foundation Board Member
10 November 2022 10am – 12:30pm Morning session

Programme

10:00 Welcome
Laura D’Aprile – MITE
Catia Bastioli
Fabio Fava – EC Mission Soil health & food Italian vice representative

10:30 Soil strategy for 2030: Soil in the European policy framework and international
agendas

The Status of soil health – FAO point of view
Lucrezia Caon – Land and Water Officer FAO (Soil Management)
The Status of soil in Europe
Luca Montanarella – Action Leader in SOIL – JRC
Protect soil biodiversity – where are we going
Andrea Vettori / – Head of Unit, Natural Capital, Land use and Management, DG ENVI
Directions for innovation in the CAP
Alessandro Apolito – Head of Technical dept. Coldiretti

11:25 Panel discussion moderated by Roberto Moncalvo
Research & innovation in agriculture: best practices and challenges

Pedro Berliner – Emeritus Full Professor, The French Associates Institute for Agriculture
and Biotechnology of Drylands

Bram Moeskops – Research & Innovation Manager IFOAM Organics Europe
David Chiaramonti – Full Professor, Polytechnic University of Turin, Department of
Energy, member of Re Soil Foundation
Vladislav H. Popov – Vice-rector of the Agricultural University of Plovdiv (AUP) and
delegate of Bulgaria in the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) of the
European Commission

12:10 Horizon Mission Soil – The PREPSOIL project
Margrethe Balling Høstgaard – PREPSOIL project manager – DCA, Aarhus University,
Denmark
12:20 Q&A

12:30 Closure (by the chairs)

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Thursday, November 10, 2022
14:30 – 17:30
Sala Diotallevi 2 Hall Sud

Organized by:  Ecomondo Scientific Technical Committee & European Mission A Soil Deal for Europe, Re Soil Foundation

Session Chairs

Sonia Filippazzi, Environmental journalist, RAI (TBC)
Anna Luise, DG GLO ISPRA

Programme

2:30 Welcome
Sonia Filippazzi – Environmental journalist, RAI
Anna Luise – DG GLO, ISPRA

2:50 The Status of soil in Italy
Soil consumption and degradation in Italy
Michele Munafò – SINA Manager, ISPRA

3.10 The Italian policy framework
How to put soil at the core of the ecological transition
Silvano Pecora – Ecological transition and green investments department
Actions for Soil protection included in the CAP Strategic Plan
Antonio Papaleo – CREA
Address the topic at the Regional level
Francesca Assennato – ISPRA
Germana Di Falco – Regione Campania

4:00 Panel discussion – the associations’ voice
Maria Letizia Gardoni – President, Coldiretti Bio
Massimo Centemero – Director, Consorzio Italiano Compostatori
Piero Gattoni – President, Consorzio Italiano Biogas

4:30 Restarting with research and education
The Soil Hub project
Roberta Farina – Researcher, CREA
The Italian Lighthouse Farms network
Sara Guerrini – Public affairs agriculture Novamont, member of Re Soil Foundation
Dissemination and education activities
Margherita Caggiano – Communication Manager, Re Soil

5:00 The importance of research and funding for soil protection and regeneration: what
more could be done?

Introduction: Walter Ganapini, Re Soil Foundation TSC President
Michele Mazzola – Head of International Research MUR

5:30 Conclusions