In November 2025, the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), the parliament of the African Union, adopted the ‘Model Law on Soil Management in Africa’. The model law is intended to support the 54 African states in updating their soil protection legislation. The regulatory approach of the model law is innovative and practice-oriented. It was developed over a period of seven years as part of two projects funded by Germany, in cooperation with a team of African experts led by Stellenbosch University and the German Environment Agency.
On 6 November 2025, the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), the parliament of the African Union, adopted the ‘Model Law on Soil Management in Africa’. It will be published in the four official languages of the African Union (Arabic, English, French and Portuguese). To date, the English and French versions are available.
A report by the Pan-African Parliament is also available on the adoption of the model law.
Model laws adopted by the Pan-African Parliament are intended to support the 54 African states to further develop and adapt their legislation concerning the matter at stake. They are therefore of a recommendatory and framework-setting nature. Model laws are also intended to contribute to the harmonisation of legal requirements amongst African states.
In this respect, the Pan-African Parliament’s model laws are comparable to EU directives. Unlike the latter, however, they are not legally binding. Nor is there a mechanism for imposing sanctions, as in the EU, should a state fail to implement a model law or implement it inadequately.
The ‘Model Law on Soil Management in Africa’ follows a specific regulatory approach:
- It addresses all relevant aspects of soil protection governance. In addition to the environmental dimension (maintaining soil quality), it also covers issues such as gender equality, food security, contributions to conflict prevention, international trade, access to land, traditional governance systems, digitalisation and foreign direct investment. In this respect, it goes significantly beyond the German Soil Protection Act (BBodSchG) and the EU’s recently adopted Soil Monitoring Law (SML).
- The model law incorporates modern concepts of ‘soil governance’: these include soil as a natural resource, references to ‘soil services’, and links to climate mitigation and adaptation and biodiversity conservation.
- The model law contains numerous specific and innovative policy instruments aimed at safeguarding soil quality. Some of these also go beyond the concepts of the BBodSchG and the SML. These include authorisation procedures and compensation obligations in the event of unavoidable adverse impacts on soils, A separate ‘soil impact assessment’ as part of the environmental impact assessment, a ‘gender impact assessment’, protected area strategies – including for soils of particular agricultural value (high fertility) – spatial planning, and environmental quality standards.
- Another key focus of the model law is to ensure the enforcement of the regulations by establishing the necessary administrative structures. Issues such as data management, monitoring, public participation, awareness-raising, the use of digital tools and conflict resolution mechanisms are addressed in the model law.
The model law is based on extensive preparatory work. It originated from two workshops in Africa on ‘African Soil Governance’ held in 2017 and 2018, in Kampala, Uganda, and Nairobi, Kenya. Relevant scientific information on soil governance were also prepared and developed in the ‘International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy’.
Since 2019, the analytical and scientific basis have been developed as part of two projects (initially funded by GIZ, then by the BMZ). The projects were led by Stellenbosch University and the German Environment Agency.
Legal experts from numerous African countries first analysed the legal frameworks for soil management in a total of eleven African countries, compiled options for regulatory approaches based on these analyses, and finally drew up a draft model law. In addition, numerous consultations were held with stakeholders and experts in civil society events in various African countries.
The results of these preliminary studies are set out in two publications:
- Ruppel Oliver C, Ginzky Harald: African Soil Protection Law, 2021
- Ruppel Oliver C, Ginzky Harald, Murray Ruda: Legal Pathways to Sustainable Soil Management in Africa, 2025
The Pan-African Parliament was involved from the outset. Following the completion of the first project phase, the Pan-African Parliament agreed to draw up a model law on soil management.
The ‘Committee on Rural Economy, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment’, chaired by Prof. Sakata from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, took the lead on this. Before the model law was adopted in November 2025, the draft model law approved by the committee was discussed with experts and stakeholders from all five regions of the African Union during two regional consultations.
In addition to the model law, the team of experts has drafted and compiled the so-called ‘Commentaries’, which provide further guidance on 16 individual regulatory topics (120 pages in length).
The model law and the ‘Commentaries’, together with explanatory notes and further academic contributions on soil and digitalisation as well as on ‘colonial legacies’, have been published in Ruppel, Oliver C., and Ginzky, Harald: Legislating for the Future, 2026.
The model law must now be transposed into the national legislation of African states. Some of the 42 articles of the model law can be transposed directly (self-executing). For others, other sector-specific provisions need to be revised (e.g. mining, pesticides and fertilisers), whilst for a third category of articles in the model law further academic and administrative preparatory work and decision-making processes are needed (e.g. the establishment of soil-related environmental quality standards). A fourth group requires strategies to be agreed upon first (e.g. soil and digitalisation) (see the ‘Explanatory Notes’ by Ginzky Harald and Ruppel Oliver C. on this subject)
Transposition into national law and the establishment of appropriate enforcement structures are essential to make a genuine contribution to more sustainable soil management and, consequently, to improving the quality of life in African societies. This is necessary to alleviate hunger and poverty, to develop long-term economic prospects and to also address major global challenges such as, amongst others, climate change, migration and the prevention of pandemics.