The future of Europe’s soils: outcomes and opportunities from PREPSOIL

The PREPSOIL Final Event, held both at the European Committee of the Regions and online on 26 May 2025, marked the culmination of three years of work supporting the EU’s Mission Soil initiative.  It brought together soil experts, representatives from regional authorities, research institutions, and stakeholders across Europe to reflect on the PREPSOIL project’s results and discuss current developments and research needs to achieve Mission Soil objectives. 

ACR+ played a pivotal role in organising the event, underlining its commitment to sustainability at the regional level. ACR+ members LIPOR (Portugal), Brussels Environment (Belgium), and the Pays de la Loire Region (France) contributed to panel discussions focusing on community engagement, soil health living labs, capacity building, and urban soil strategies. 

During the panel on ongoing developments related to Soil Monitoring Law, Lydie Sombré from Brussels Environment emphasised the urgency of a European directive on soil to ensure its inclusion in budget allocations. Panelists highlighted the need for improved communication about planned actions, earlier stakeholder engagement, and flexibility in soil monitoring indicators tailored to land use types. 

Laura Perez from the Chamber of Agriculture in Pays de la Loire stressed that involving all actors in the soil system—from farmers to retailers and logistics operators—boosts the impact of Living Labs by fostering shared responsibility and momentum. 

In the session on local actions and citizen engagement, Fernando Coelho from LIPOR showcased the organisation’s efforts to enhance knowledge transfer to citizens and students through the Lipor Academy’s training on compost management, urban gardening, and more. 

The PREPSOIL Final Event made clear that collaboration, local empowerment, and targeted training are essential for achieving the EU’s goal of healthy soils by 2050. The active involvement of ACR+ and its members was instrumental in showcasing how cities and regions can lead the way in soil resilience. 

A recording of the event is available at this link. 

For more information and engagement, please contact Agnese Boccalon at abo@acrplus.org or Beray Cayli at bc@acrplus.org.