(Brussels/02.09.2022) This week's announcement by the German Weather Service that the summer of 2022 in Germany was the sixth driest since weather records began has prompted MEP Manuela Ripa of the Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP) to draw attention to the dramatically poor state of our soils. "The increasing drought threatens the health of the soil and thus also the stability of food cultivation. This is because the decreasing rainfall in the summer months and the increasing heat reduce plant productivity. This puts the entire ecosystem under stress, which also has a negative impact on the microorganisms in the soil, which in turn protect the plants from diseases and pests. This creates a fatal vicious circle."

However, the drought stress to which soils are exposed is only an additional challenge for soil health. 70 percent of soils in the EU are in a poor condition. The main reason for this is the intensive agricultural use of our farmland. The high quantities of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides destroy the underground plant biomass. According to the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union, pesticide residues have been detected in over 80 percent of the soils tested in the EU, and in almost 60 percent of them more than one of these toxins. The use of heavy agricultural machinery compresses the soil and is fatal for the microorganisms in the soil, which are essential for soil health. Manuela Ripa emphasizes: "Soil is a limited and finite resource. Healthy soils are a basic requirement for our food supply and the basis of our ecosystems. The fact that we have so far paid too little attention to soil health is also one of the main reasons for the massive decline in biodiversity. But if we take the agreed objectives of the European Green Deal seriously, we need to invest heavily in restoring healthy soils."

The MEP is delighted that the European Commission committed itself last fall to drawing up a legislative proposal by 2023 to significantly improve the condition of soils by 2030. Soil is to be protected on the same legal basis as water and air. The European Parliament had long pushed for such binding requirements.

Another goal is more sustainable land use. Unfortunately, this principle is still violated all too often in Germany, as the ÖDP politician emphasizes: "200 hectares of pine forest were cleared during the construction of Tesla's Gigafactory in Grünheide, Brandenburg. This area, which was of great importance for the formation of groundwater in the region, is now permanently sealed by an industrial settlement. And in Überherrn in the Saarland, battery manufacturer SVOLT is planning to build a factory on the Linslerfeld, which would destroy a large area of farmland in the immediate vicinity of a nature reserve. And this despite the fact that there are plenty of former brownfield sites available in Saarland. In view of these events, I call on the EU Commission to make it a binding requirement in the drafting of the Soil Health Act that brownfield sites must be used and natural areas spared when new industrial sites are established," concluded Manuela Ripa.