What the Soil Mission deals with

We take soils for granted but they are a scarce, non-renewable and threatened resource. 60-70% of the EU soils are unhealty. The Soil Mission aims to lead the transition towards healthy soils by  

• funding an ambitious research and innovation programme with a strong social science component 
• putting in place an effective network of about 100 living labs and lighthouses to co-create knowledge, test solutions and demonstrate their value in real-life conditions
• developing a harmonised framework for soil monitoring in Europe
• raising people’s awareness on the vital importance of soils

THE 8 MISSION OBJECTIVES

1. Reduce desertificiation
2. Conserve soil organic carbon stocks
3. Stop soil sealing and increase re-use of urban soils
4. Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration
5. Prevent erosion
6. Improve soil structure to enhance soil biodiversity
7. Reduce the EU global footprint on soils
8. Improve soil literacy in society

The Mission will support the EU’s ambition to lead on global commitments, notably the Sustainable Development Goals, and contribute to the European Green Deal targets on sustainable farming, climate resilience, biodiversity and zero-pollution. It is also a flagship initiative of the long-term vision for rural areas.

Soil Health Living Labs & Lighthouses

In a Living Lab, experimentations happen in real-life conditions, operating with end-users i.e. commercial farms or forest exploitations, urban green parks or industrial sites and other actors such as local authorities. It will  be partnerships between multiple actors, like researchers, farmers, foresters, spatial planners, land managers, and citizens who come together to co-create innovations for a jointly agreed objective.

Lighthouses are single sites, like a farm or a park, where to showcase good practices to inspire other practitioners. These are places for demonstration and peer-to-peer learning. In lighthouse sites, researchers work together with land managers to ensure that research responds to concrete needs encountered in the field.

Soil Mission Implementation Plan

The Soil Mission Implementation Plan aims to be the operational blueprint for how the Commission will deliver on the main goal and the objectives of this Mission, providing an operational course of action.

Soil Mission: Open & Forthcoming calls

The Commission invites researchers and innovators as well as citizens and all interested stakeholders to take part in the Soil Mission. Forthcoming and open calls for the Soil Mission are published here.

Results of EU-funded Soil-related projects 

A portfolio of projects & results on soil research and innovation funded under past framework programmes FP6 (2002-2006), FP7 (2007-2013) and Horizon 2020 (2014-2020) and the current Horizon Europe framework programme (2021-2027) can be found in the CORDIS database.

Soil-related projects supported by European Regions can be found in the KOHESIO database.

First assessment of the Soil Mission

The Commission made its first assessment of the EU Missions in a Communication published in the 3rd quarter of 2023. It expressed the Commissions support for the continuation of the 5 EU Missions. An external assessment of EU Missions was commissioned to underpin the Commission assessment, including a review of the Soil Mission. You can find the summary of this review here & the full review is available here .

What are Missions?

Find it out here.