Policy Frameworks - Soil Carbon: Science, Management and Policy for Multiple Benefits - page 343

29 Policy Frameworks

Luca Montanarella*, Francesca Bampa and Delphine de Brogniez

Abstract
Policy frameworks concerning soil carbon are rapidly evolving, both in Europe and at the global
level. Within Europe, the Roadmap to Resource-Efficient Europe (RRE) (COM (2011) 571 final; EC,
2011a), as well as the implementation of the Soil Thematic Strategy (COM (2012) 46 final; EC,
2012c), highlight the relevance of soil organic carbon (SOC) and the need to reverse its decline in
many parts of the European Union (EU). Integration of this concern into several related policies,
such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) or the Climate Change Policy in relation to the
LULUCF (land use, land-use change and forestry) negotiation process, shows a potential for revert-
ing the current negative trends. The recognition that SOC played a crucial role in the current
Multilateral Environmental Agreements negotiated in Rio de Janeiro (United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change - UNFCCC; United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity -
UNCBD; and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification - UNCCD) was clearly identi-
fied in the recent Rio+20 Sustainable Development Conference. Soil, as an important global terres-
trial C pool, as well as a large biodiversity reservoir, is gaining attention within the UNFCCC and
the UNCBD, while remaining a focus for the UNCCD, traditionally the global convention dealing
with soil-related issues. The proposed Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Net Land and Soil
Degradation paves the way towards a renewed global effort of soil protection and restoration ac-
tivities. The framework of the new Global Soil Partnership (GSP) of the Food and Agriculture Or-
ganization of the United Nations (FAO) will certainly contribute towards facilitating these recent
developments.

Introduction

organic carbon (OC) in the top 3 m (Batjes,
1996; Jobbágy and Jackson, 2000; Stock-
mann et al ., 2013). Estimates vary for differ-
ent soil depths: 1500 Gt of OC are estimates
for the first metre and about 615 Gt of OC for
the top 20 cm. The distribution of OC along the
soil profile depends on plant production, depth,
microbial activity and climatic conditions

Why soil organic carbon needs
a policy framework

Soils are recognized after oceans as the se-
cond largest carbon (C) pool at the global
scale. Globally, they contain c .2300 Gt of