Soil/Regional Soil Partnership

Focus

The working group on soil/regional soil partnership deals with the legal and administrative aspects of protecting agricultural soils. This includes measures against erosion, the remediation of contaminated sites and the recycling of organic waste in closed-loop systems. With the support of the APD, the Western Balkan states have established a sub-regional partnership for the Western Balkans within the framework of the FAO European Soil Partnership to work together on relevant topics. 

The aim of the working group is the transnational standardization and consolidation of the previous soil monitoring, which was only carried out nationally after the upheavals of the 1990s in the Western Balkans and was established to varying degrees. This is taking place against the background of the requirements of the desired EU membership and considering global and, above all, regional challenges due to the effects of climate change on soil functions.

Activities

The working group meets three times a year in the region to exchange information, present national reports and determine the next steps. Guest contributions from relevant institutions such as the Federal Environment Agency ensure an exchange of experience with Germany. Field visits also take place as part of the meetings: During the visit to the Agro Iliria farm in Lushnje, Albania, the cultivation of pomegranates and goji berries on approx. 500 ha of coastal land on soils with a high salt content was inspected. The trees are planted in ridge culture and supplied with both water and fertilizer in doses via drip irrigation (fertigation).

During a further on-site visit to the Elbasan metallurgical complex in Albania, the working group was able to obtain comprehensive information about the contamination and the remediation processes taking place.

A study trip took the working group to central Germany at the end of 2022. Visits to various institutions such as the BMEL, the State Institute for Contaminated Site Clearance of Saxony-Anhalt, the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig-Halle (Saale), the Thünen Institute in Braunschweig and the Bernburg-Strenzfeld campus intensified the professional exchange.

In 2022, 2023 and 2024, members of the working group presented their work in expert panels at the IAMO Forum in Halle (Saale).

Results

• Establishment of the Western Balkans Soil Partnership (WBSP) in December 2022 as a sub-regional unit within the European Soil Partnership (ESP), as part of the FAO-funded Global Soil Partnership (GSP) program
• Draft of a digital and supra-regional soil map for the Western Balkans according to FAO standards (World Reference Base – WRB, the international system for classifying soils), based on national data compiled within the framework of the 2023 working group