Soil Health Benchmarks
The Soil Health and Food (SH&F) mission board has set the goal to have 75% of European soils healthy or significantly improved by 2030. This is in line with other important European initiatives such as the Green Deal and EU Farm-to-Fork Strategy, as well as with preparations for a new EU law on the protection of Soil Health that aims to protect soils on the same legal basis as air and water. Meanwhile, the private sector too, is proposing explicit visions of sustainable food systems, such as the 1000 landscapes for 1 billion people (1000 landscapes, 2022), the 100-million farmers platform of the World Economic Forum (World Economic Forum, 2022), and the Regen10 initiative of the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD, 2022).
Measuring the success of these public and private initiatives through the harmonized monitoring of European soils is an essential, but enormously complex task. It requires coherent yet context-specific monitoring on multiple scales for multiple land uses across all EU member states.
To address these challenges, BENCHMARKS collaborates with stakeholders in 29 European case studies to co-develop and evaluate a multi-scale and multi-user-focused monitoring framework that is transparent, harmonized, and cost-effective. Underpinned by the best scientific knowledge and technologies this framework aims to provide a clear soil health index for benchmarking, using indicators that are pertinent to the objective of assessment, applicable to the land use, and logistically feasible.
TESTIMONIAL
Ernesto Coy Gómez de IESO Pedanías Altas
A practical way to bring a different view of rural life to the kids!
"Pedro de Maya Fernández" de IES ALQUIPIR
This activity allows kids to be more conscious about soil in the environment
FINN HARRIES
“I spent an amazing week at the Regenerative Academy in Murcia, Spain to complete a crash course in regenerative agriculture.
This is part of my research for my masters degree at Cambridge University. I loved learning the basics of soil health, water capture, food harvesting and composting. 🌱
The course is run on a massive 1,100 hectare farm that used to practice traditional industrial agriculture but now is leading the way in regenerative practices in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss.”
NATHALIE NAHAI
Where to start? I signed up for the Regeneration Academy’s one-week crash course, with the intention of gaining some practical knowledge and hands-on experience of what regenerative agriculture is, and how it can be used to restore ecosystems and food networks. In reality, it turned out to be so much more than this – it was one of the most transformative, memorable and joyful courses I’ve attended. The team was generous, open-hearted and welcoming, the food was a delight, and we came away feeling emboldened and optimistic as to the futures we can create when we work together towards a common goal. It was an extraordinary experience, and one which I can’t recommend highly enough.
RUBY & CHRISTABEL REED
The @regenerationacademy at @lajunquera are experimenting with, engaging in and researching regenerative agriculture in their 1700 hectare farm. They are brave and immensely inspiring, working at scale in one of the most impoverished parts of Spain where the land is being desertification by the climate and by conventional agriculture, as well as by the people and communities that used to inhabit it. This incredible community is proving that it is possible, even if not straightforward or simple, to transition to agricultural practices that revitalise both the planet and people. Last week we learnt about the power of context, complexity, culture and community 🌞🌻🥬”
Arno Foppe
My research project at La Junquera made me experience the reality of regenerative farming and gave me the opportunity to contribute to the next steps on the farm.
