Communication on
"Land as a Resource"
Jacques DELSALLE
Head of sector Land & Soil
European Commission, DG Environment
FoEE Conference
"Putting resource efficiency back on the agenda"
Brussels, 24 November 2014
Policy Background
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2011 EU2020 Strategy / Road Map for resource-efficient Europe (RERM)
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2012 Rio+20 outcome document “The future we want”:
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Milestone: “By 2020, EU policies take into account their direct and indirect
impact on land use in the EU and globally, and the rate of land take is on track
with an aim to achieve no net land take by 2050;
soil erosion is reduced and the soil organic matter increased, with remedial work
on contaminated sites well underway".
land and soil degradation recognized as a global problem
Milestone on land: "strive to achieve a land degradation neutral world in the
context of sustainable development“
2013 7th Environment Action Programme for the EU
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calls for setting targets on land take and on a number of crucial soil quality
aspects (erosion, organic matter and contamination).
Launch of the process:
Conference 19/6/2014
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/land_use/conference_en.htm
• The issues at stake
• National and regional
experiences
• Exploring possible EU
answers
Land as a Resource:
at the crossroad of objectives 1 and 2 of 7th
Environmental Action Programme (EAP)
(1) Protect,
conserve and
enhance natural
capital
Principle of land
degradation neutrality
(incl no-net land take)
(2) Resourceefficient, green
and competitive
low-carbon
economy
Land
Maximizing socioas a
economic benefits
Link to water and resource from land use
biodiversity policies +
Efficient allocation:
further policy on soil
Matching land use and
Identification of scope
land suitability
and limitation of
potential trade-offs
Reduce land use,
between land uses
increase recycling
What will be the Communication
about?
• Raising awareness about :
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Value of land as a resource for crucial ecosystem services (provisioning,
regulating, cultural, etc.);
Trends in land demand and land availability, trade-offs and nexus…
Wider socio-economic impacts of land degradation and inefficient land
use
• Providing pointers for further action at EU level:
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Evaluate the effectiveness of current policy instruments at National, EU
and global levels;
Define the sustainable level of ambition for a set of objectives (targets?)
for pressures, state, impacts or responses
Assess options for EU contribution to a more sustainable management of
land as a resource.
Towards a definition for land use
efficiency
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Maximizing the net socio-economic benefits from land use,
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without degrading natural capital,
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Territorial value added?
Value of ecosystem services
Externalities: energy, pollution
Take into account global impacts
Impact on jobs
Natural Capital accounting: soil, water, biodiversity
Temporal, geographical dimension of potential trade-offs
taking into account the suitability of land for different functions (1ha  1ha…)
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Soil quality
Water resources
Habitats & ecosystems
Climatic conditions
Topography
Localisation
Resource-efficient use of Land Natural Capital
How to deal with synergies and trade-offs?
Europe 2020
Green Jobs
Health &
Pollution
policies
Transport
Policy
Cohesion &
Urban Policy
Settlements,
infrastructures
Extraction
+ abiotic
energy
sources
Recreation
Nature &
Biodiversity
Energy
Land
efficiency
Water Policy
Provision of
land-based
Biodiversity
products
Bioeconomy
Regulating
services
Climate
Adaptation
Forest
Strategy
CAP
Indicators & targets
• Study on identification appropriate indicators & relevance and
feasibility of setting targets
• Net land take indicator: to complement with information on
intensity and impacts of artificialization
• Land recycling: still lacks common understanding terminology
• Soil erosion and organic matter: EU-wide datasets, strengthen
link with provision ecosystem services
• Multi-functionality: specify minimum provision levels and
maximum acceptable trade-offs.
• Global impacts: beyond Land Footprint: bio-productivity and
impact oriented indicators. Still high methodological / data
challenges
• Need to address these topics together!
Policy drivers
DPSIR analysis of
land degradation and
inefficient use
processes:
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Urbanisation and
infrastructures
Bio-economy
Market
failures
Regulatory
failures
Identification of
options for action
at EU level
• Subsidiarity,
proportionality tests
Governance
failures
Knowledge
failures
• Existing policy and
funding instruments
Next steps
• Public stakeholder consultation
on options for action at EU levels,
in particular
Land
degradation &
efficiency
indicators
Knowledge
Base
(monitoring,
datasets,
assessments)
Mainstreaming
into EU Policies
• Indicators for land-use
efficiency and land
degradation
• Concrete integration of
sustainable land
management in EU policy
and funding instruments
• Improved and cost-efficient
knowledge base
• Adoption foreseen 2nd half
2015
Thank you for
your attention!
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/land_use/index_en.htm