The European Commission has awarded its contract to review best practice on soil sealing to Austria's Umweltbundesamt (Environment Agency) in support of the thematic strategy on soil and to inform the proposed soil framework directive.
The thematic strategy listed sealing as one of eight main soil degradation processes which also include erosion, organic matter decline, contamination, salinization, compaction, loss of biodiversity, landslides and flooding.
The proposed directive, currently stalled through opposition from the UK and (decreasingly) other member states, sets out measures for limiting sealing - the covering of soil by buildings, roads etc..
The draft directive proposed that member states should provide mitigation where sealing does occur including construction and drainage techniques which allow soil to exercise as many soil functions as possible.
The study is intended to complement the thematic strategy through an exhaustive overview of the ongoing initiatives to limit sealing or mitigate its effects throughout the 27 member states.
"This overview is to be done through a comprehensive literature review and using expert judgement, identifying key studies, publications, reviews, reports, websites and pieces of legislation on soil sealing and spatial planning and other related fields, such as construction techniques, in member states and summarizing their findings," says the Commission.
"However, this contract does not require the generation of new research data."
The Austrian Agency beat off five other tenders to win the contract which is worth around €80,000.
The work is expected to take 11 months.
