soil protection

Precautionary soil protection means detecting and counteracting harmful impacts on soil early on, i.e., well before soil’s functions become endangered. Once soil has lost its functional capacity it is very difficult to restore. This has implications for all other areas of the environment, including humans.

Regulations in soil protection law exist at both national and European level. The numerous EU provisions must be implemented into national law. Relevant soil protection provisions could in particular be found in EU chemical law, waste law and in legislation on facilities and industrial installations. International law also contains important provisions on soil protection.

The Soil Investigation Advisory Board (FBU) is the expert committee according to section 25 of the German Federal Soil Protection and Contaminated Sites Ordinance (BBodSchV). The FBU creates the formal prerequisites for being able to apply newer measurement methods and procedures despite the legally required normative references to standards in the BBodSchV.

Soil protection is an environmental protection task involving overlapping activities, whose scientific aspects involve specialists from numerous disciplines who address soil protection issues. In view of the multifarious environmental consequences of farming, the UBA has strengthened its competencies in this regard via two commissions and an advisory board.

In Germany, soil protection is carried out at many levels. The federal government lays down the necessary legal frameworks, which are implemented by the regional states. The UBA compiles, assesses, and provides information on soil status, develops and assesses soil conservation and optimization measures. In carrying out these activities, collaboration with partners beyond our borders is important.

Federal and regional-state specialists network extensively nationwide via thematic working groups.
European and international networking in the field of contamination cleanup has been ongoing for many years, thanks to project funding from the European Commission.

The world’s soils are neither barren nor dead, for they constitute the habitats of one trillion times more bacteria than there are stars in the universe. Even a mere teaspoon of soil contains a million bacteria, 120,000 fungi and 25,000 algae. These microscopic organisms perform key material-cycle functions.