The Basque government adopts the first Euskadi Soil Protection Strategy on June 7, 2022

Euskaraz irakurri: Eusko Jaurlaritzak Euskadiko Lurzorua Babesteko 2030erako Strategy onartu du

The Basque government has agreed to the first Euskadi Soil Protection Strategy 2030and has defined 69 actions as starting base for to preventthrough sustainable soil management, degradation of this medium and guarantee you conservation in the field of health for biodiversity and people

The Board of Directors approved this strategy on Tuesday, which goes beyond the traditional view of working on contaminated soil. One of the planned actions is the launch of a recovery and reuse policy for degraded fallow land golf reuse and recovery of excavated land in locations that may have supported soil-polluting activities.

Coordinated by the Ministry of Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment of the Basque Government and in which numerous entities have participated, the strategy assumes that human activities affect the quality of the soil and that social and economic development inevitably entails its use . In this regard, two main objectives are identified; on the one hand, minimize your occupancythrough the valorisation of soils already anthropised, i.e. modified by human activity and, on the other hand, offset the effects of pristine land usewithout forgetting the need to restore soils subject to degradation processes.

The Euskadi 2030 Soil Protection Strategy also has other five strategic objectives those are: the reduction of land use; managing your profession; protection against harmful effects; the restoration of degraded soils to restore their own functions, taking into account their location; and protection through its management and its sustainable use by trained professionals and by a sensitized citizen.

The Strategy also sets out the vision that: all soils in the Basque Country will be sustainably managed by 2050ensuring the long-term health and functions of the soil for use by future generations.

To achieve this objective, the collected operating budget for the period 2022-2030 is 137.5 million euro, an amount that will be allocated to the development of the 69 actions foreseen in the document.

Soil diagnosis in Euskadi

For the preparation of this strategy, a preliminary diagnosis of the state of the Basque Country soil has been made, highlighting the threat that erosion poses to the Basque Country soil and the need to include the determinants of erosion in any policy of intervention or management of the territory. It also states that the reserves of organic matter in the soil of the Basque Country should be stabilized or increased as a strategic element, not only to improve the health of the soil and its resistance to climate changebut also to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases.

Another information that can be derived from the diagnosis is that 20% of all identified potentially contaminated sites have returned to the market after intervention to ensure their quality and safety.

On the other hand, it emphasizes the need to pay particular attention to 1,568 hectares of groundwater land. Finally, the increase in droughts predicted according to the regional climate change scenarios for the Basque Country, the desertification riskto varying degrees, across the territory, although the south of Álava is the area with the highest risk presents. At the same time, a theoretical increase in landslides is expected due to the increase in extreme precipitation due to global warming and greater human influence.

Action plan with 69 actions

One of the planned actions is the launch of a recovery and reuse policy for degraded fallow land capable of reclaiming 400 hectares of contaminated soil. The joint action of the public organizations, Sprilur and Ihobe, is promoting the restoration of the most important historically polluted lands. Such is the case in Bizkaia, in some areas of Santurtzi, Burtzeña in Barakaldo, Inama in Muxika and Playa Barri or Sakoni in Erandio. In Gipuzkoa, La Herrera in Pasaia, Oikia in Zumaia or Arcelor Mittal in Zumarraga.

From the perspective of the circular economy, it is necessary to reuse and recovery of excavated land at sites that have supported potentially polluting soil activities, taking into account soil quality compatibility criteria. One of these is the one in Ibarzaharra, in Trapagaran and Sestao. After restoring the site of the old Babcock-Wilcox installations to promote new activities, it was necessary to raise the level of the land by approximately 3 meters, mainly due to flooding. To increase this level, some of the land used has come from reusing excess excavated land from projects in other locations that may have supported soil-contaminating activities, preventing landfill from being landfilled.

Another important aspect is the soil’s potential to meet the challenge of climate change, thanks to its ability to: carbon uptake by the soil. Neiker is working on quantifying soil carbon uptake, after taking active measures to improve carbon fixation. Examples of these measures are the regeneration of peri-urban spaces, as is the case of Tonpoi in Bermeo, the renaturalization of the Artukitza dam in San Sebastián or the various plots being intervened in the Aramangelu/Basaldea agro-ecological park, in Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Finally, the deployment of the strategy from the transversal areas will facilitate the implementation of a monitoring network soil health starting with the creation of a soil map of the Basque Country, but also campaigns and actions to raise awareness and involve society as a whole in sustainable land management.