Translating Soil Science Knowledge to Public Policy - Luca Montanarella, European Commission – Directorate General Joint Research Centre.

A lot of scientific knowledge is available on soils in Europe and in the world. Yet, only a fraction of this knowledge reaches policy makers and is actually used in the European and global soil policy development processes. Despite the plethora of soil data and information generated by the soil science community, only a fraction of this information is actually policy relevant. Soil information, in order to be policy relevant, need to respond to societal needs and address issues of relevance to the general public. Too often soil data and information generated by scientists are only relevant to a very small scientific community and not of relevance to the public policy development process. Extensive examples from the experience in developing a common European framework for soil protection within the European Union are available. The development of the EU Soil Thematic Strategy and the related legislative proposal has been based on data and information provided by the European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC), as part of the system of European Environmental Data Centres mandated for the collection and maintenance of policy relevant data and information for the European Union. The full chain from the actual field soil survey till the final reporting process to the policy makers is illustrated with some of the most significative examples.