Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation’s Post

🌱 Exciting News! 🌱 Our first version of the scoping document on soil literacy has just been published in the context of the project Soils for Europe! 📄✨ https://lnkd.in/dVVbcNY9 Soil is often overlooked despite being a crucial component of our ecosystem. This lack of awareness impacts education, policy, and ultimately, soil health. Our paper emphasizes the urgent need to enhance public understanding and appreciation of soils to drive sustainable and circular bioeconomies. The EU's "A Soil Deal for Europe" mission aims to establish 100 Living Labs and Lighthouses by 2030, promoting sustainable land and soil management. However, achieving this requires a societal shift towards greater soil literacy. 🔍 Key Insights: - Importance of connecting soil literacy to personal values and local concerns. - Need for comprehensive education and targeted training. - Understanding attitudes, behaviors, and competencies that impact soil health. If you have expertise in this area, I encourage you to join our SOLO project think tank, feel free to contact me through Linkedin Roger Roca Vallejo. #SoilLiteracy #SustainableLandManagement #SoilHealth #EUResearch #HorizonEurope #SoilDeal #CircularEconomy ICLEI Europe

A really positive progress update from the Society for the Environment (SocEnv) Soils and Stones Project. Very well done to Martin Ballard CEnv CMgr FIEMA and the rest of the Soils and Stones Project Executive Team. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to review and comment on an early draft of this report, and I was struck by the significant progress that had been made to date and the candid approach to highlighting the breadth of action still needed to protect for the health and quality of our soils. This is well worth a read, and important to note that the construction industry has a role to play, with all Ten Principles of Good Soils and Stones Management relevant to the construction industry. Download the report via link below 👇 👇 #SocEnv #soilsandstones #SILOtoSOIL #sustainability #constructionmanagement

🌱 New Article Alert! 🌱 The first version of the scoping document on soil literacy has just been published in the context of the project Soils for Europe! 📄✨ 📝 Article Title: "Preliminary assessment of the knowledge gaps related to soil literacy" 🔗 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dVVbcNY9 ✍ Analyzing: How soil is often overlooked despite being a crucial component of our ecosystem. This lack of awareness impacts education, policy, and ultimately, soil health. Our paper emphasizes the urgent need to enhance public understanding and appreciation of soils to drive sustainable and circular bioeconomies. 🔍 Key Insights: - Importance of connecting soil literacy to personal values and local concerns. - Need for comprehensive education and targeted training. - Understanding attitudes, behaviors, and competencies that impact soil health. #SoilLiteracy #SustainableLandManagement #SoilHealth #EUResearch #HorizonEurope #SoilDeal #CircularEconomy #SustainabilityCompetences

💬📝 “Europe is waking up to the fact that our soils need attention,” says Mark Anthony, a fungal ecologist from Switzerland. This awareness has spurred the European Commission to prioritize soil health, creating an EU-wide Soil Mission alongside other key challenges like climate adaptation and cancer research. Since 2021, the mission’s actions include: 🌍 Funding R&D for soil quality 🔬 Establishing 100+ living labs to co-create practical solutions 📊 Developing a Europe-wide soil monitoring framework The Soil Monitoring Law proposal aims to bring structure to soil health efforts by standardising criteria like erosion and contamination tracking. While critics see room for improvement, many view it as a first step towards binding soil health policies across Europe. The law could require Member States to set up soil sampling within four years, driving both knowledge and action. Want to learn more about #soilhealth? Register for the #NBSOILAcademy here⤵ https://lnkd.in/dEyWqf-j PANOS PANAGOS

Understanding the environmental impact of Northern Australia's development. Economic development in northern Australia benefits northern communities most when it has no adverse effects on river catchments, estuaries, and marine waters. The lack of comprehensive scientific knowledge about how various industries are likely to impact these ecosystems hampers effective planning and mitigation. This knowledge gap jeopardises both environmental sustainability and community prosperity. A Marine and Coastal Hub project aims to bridge this gap by looking at existing knowledge of the environmental consequences of catchment runoff in northern Australia. The project focuses on the potential impacts of development on three key northern catchments likely to be developed further: the Flinders, Gilbert, and Daly catchments. Researchers will analyse data on catchment runoff, investigating sediment plumes, flows and nutrient input in the catchment, using techniques like hydrograph analysis and field experiments. Collaborative workshops with Traditional Owners and other stakeholders will ensure the integration of local knowledge and promote sustainable management. This comprehensive approach aims to provide better data for planners, supporting sustainable economic development with minimal ecological footprints. The project is led by Prof Michele Burford from @griffith-university. Read more about the project here: https://lnkd.in/gXxHYrvH Image: Mouth of the Gilbert River. Image credit: Stephen Faggotter, Griffith University. #NESP #research #NorthernAustralia #SustainableDevelopment #GriffithUniversity @department-of-climate-change-energy-the-environment-and-water

On the occasion of the #InternationalLiteracyDay, with annual observance on September 8th, the Network on #SustainableManagement of #Soil and #Landscape shares knowledge on #SoilLiteracy! 🌱 “𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡ℎ𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒-𝑠𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠. 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡ℎ𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙, 𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑡𝑦.” EU Science, Research and Innovation - European Soil Data Center (ESDAC), https://lnkd.in/dq5EGpce - as well, soil degradation affects the health and value of soil, negatively impacting livelihoods and ecosystems. 💡 The majority of people have little idea about what the soils are, how they form and evolve, and how diverse they are around us. 𝗦𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 is aimed at enhancing soil knowledge in #education at all levels, toward a future generation of citizens with greater awareness in valuing the soils, for better soil health! 👉 Mark your calendars for the 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 of 12-13 November 2024 in Brussels! https://lnkd.in/dNq3i7US Global Soil Partnership

Find here the recently published review by Lorenz Schimetka, Jelle Behagel and others, on the monetary costs and benefits of forest restoration in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. The authors argue that, while critical for policy formulation and for mobilizing private investments, economic costs and benefits of forest restoration are not well understood. Costs and benefits of restoration are still poorly quantified: evidence from a systematic literature review on the Brazilian Atlantic Forest). https://lnkd.in/earqbWgR

Traditional Leadership Institutions (TLI) manage animals and plants using indigenous knowledge and community practices, promoting sustainable resource use, biodiversity preservation, and conservation. They implement traditional agricultural techniques, enhancing productivity and environmental sustainability, and ensuring culturally appropriate management practices, fostering community empowerment. 📅On the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, we celebrate the contributions of indigenous communities in conservation and agriculture. This article by Ndlovu et al. (2022) explores the viability of community-based natural resource enterprises in Africa and the barriers preventing TLIs from participating in agricultural development in South Africa. Data was collected from traditional leaders, council members, farmers, municipal officials, and extension service officers in Limpopo Province through discussions and interviews. 1️⃣ Four broad themes describing barriers were identified, with "political and relational" being the most prominent. 2️⃣ Understanding these barriers is crucial for improving TLI integration in agricultural development. Learn more about these barriers and how empowering indigenous knowledge systems can lead to sustainable practices and enhanced agricultural productivity. https://lnkd.in/d7gUZWY7 #Conservation #SustainableAgriculture #IndigenousWisdom #CommunityEmpowerment #EnvironmentalSustainability #IndigenousPeoplesDay! #AWEIResearch

🚨New #publication from the #doctoral research of NEWAVE Early Stage Researcher Dona Geagea, co-authored with Jampel Dell'Angelo and Maria Kaika ▶️From austericide to #recommoning: counter-imaginaries for democratizing water governance | based on the cases of Terrassa (Spain) and Naples (Italy) 🌊This research is part of the special feature in Ecology & Society on The Next Wave in Water Governance

The EU Nature Restoration Law, which recently came into force, reveals great potential for stronger implementation and promotion of agroforestry in the European Union. This new EU law is directly applicable and sets legally binding restoration targets for the longterm regeneration of nature in Europe, with the overarching goal of taking restoration measures in 20% of degraded ecosystems in the EU by 2030 and in all ecosystems by 2050. However, these measures have not only to be implemented within protected areas but rather across the entire landscape. Thus it also consideres agroecosystems where agroforestry as one of the most promising regenerative land use approaches comes into play. The German Agroforestry Association Deutscher Fachverband für Agroforstwirtschaft (DeFAF) e.V. published a press realease on this topic. You can read it here: https://lnkd.in/deNRQDPZ DeFAF e. V. expressly welcomes the specific designation of agroforestry as a suitable measure for restoring nature and is willing to contribute to its implementation and design within the framework of the national restoration plans which need to be elaborated in the next two years. Read the legal text: https://lnkd.in/dgDbbY_E European Agroforestry Federation (EURAF) #naturerestoration #naturerestorationlaw #agroforestry #regenerativeagriculture #regenerativefarming #natureregeneration #ecosystemdegradation #pressrelease #nationalrestorationplans Photo: Rico Hübner - DeFAF e. V.