6th European Soil Partnership (ESP) Plenary meeting 28-29 March 2019 FAO headquarters, Rome, Italy Borut Vrščaj

1. The Alpine Soil
Partnership
Borut Vrščaj, Thomas Peham, Maria Legner
Links4Soils project

2. About the Links4Soils
an EU Interreg, Alpine Space founded project

3. Links4Soils Project Background
• Alps; common living area, similar soil threats,
little cross-border cooperation on soil protection;
 experts, authorities, NGOs, … should better know each other, cooperate; 
exchange of best practices, building a soil protection committed societies; 
awareness on soils….
• Concrete soil protection and sustainable soil management activities:
decided, designed and implemented on local and regional level
 local authorities aware of soils & protection; convinced, committed to act.
• Soil data often too technical, difficult to understand, soil information not
available, suitable…
Local authorities / decision makers / practitioners need applicable soil
information
• Little knowledge how to use data, what for, where to apply, …
 support of local experts needed; better cooperation in the future
• The Soil Conservation Protocol of Alpine Convention ratified in all national
parliaments (but CH): difficulties in implementation!
What to do?  …raise awareness, show how to, what to, … create
community dedicated to better soil management… partnership?

4. Alpine Convention

5. AC Soil Conservation Protocol
(1991)

6. Links4Soils project overall objectives
• To link and utilize Alpine soil knowledge
• To link trans-border soil protection activities in Alps,
promote exchange and cooperation on sustainable soil
management
• To link and mobilize local and regional authorities
committed to better soil management in Alps
• To introduce links and strengthen the cooperation between
experts and end-users (administrative organizations)
• To rise awareness on soils and sustainable soil
management
steps towards better implementation of the
Soil Conservation Protocol of the AC

7. Links4Soils project partners
• SI Agricultural Institute of Slovenia (AIS- Lead Partner)
• SI Slovenian Forest Service (SFS)
• AT Office of the Tyrolean Provincial Government (AdTLR – AlpSP WP leader)
• AT Institute of Geography, University of Innsbruck (UIBK)
• IT Autonomous Region of Aosta valley (RAVA)
• IT University of Torino (UNITO)
• DE Markt Kaufering (MK)
• FR National research institute of science and technology for environment and
agriculture, Grenoble Regional Centre (IRSTEA)
• AT Climate Alliance Tirol (KB)

8. Observers:
Alpine
organizations
(some of them
Links4Soils project
stakeholders)

9. Main Activities to Achieve Goals
1. Create and disseminate best practices on soil management
2. Cooperate on international/ national level (e.g. who is who,
who to ask, key institutions, experts, stakeholders, decision makers,
events, publications, awareness rising activities…)
3. Identify, collect, and when possible share soil information…
Two major deliverables:
Alpine Soil Partnership
Alpine Soil Platform

10. About the
Alpine Soil Platform
Technical deliverable
Links4Soils project deliverable

11. The Alpine Soil Platform
Technical L4S deliverable.
The web node where users can:
• Access to a good soil management practices
• Get information about the Alpine soils:
what, where soil data available
• Share soil knowledge, expertize, and how-to procedures
• Get the opportunity to know each other cross-border
(management authorities, soil experts)
• Find and communicate with soil experts (institutions/individuals)
• Give business opportunities to soil expert institutions,
consultancies, individuals
• …other

12. The ‘Platform’: https://alpinesoils.eu

13. About the
Alpine Soil Partnership (AlpSP)
An initiative
Links4Soils project deliverable
Together for soils!

14. • Association for promotion of sustainable soil management
practices relevant & applicable Alps
• A voluntary regional (Alpine) soil protection initiative
• An organization adopted to local / regional decision makers
• A bottom up initiative
• Soil protection practiced, communicated in national
languages
 contributes to better, more fluent work and vibrant
activities.
AlpSP acts local & regional
but it contributes to the ESP activities.
The AlpSP aims to be

15. Links4Soils
Alpine Soil Partnership
Work programme
Which challenges in soil protection we
tackle as AlpSP
after the Links4Soils project,
and how?

16. Basis: ESP pillars
Pillar 1 - Soil management
Pillar 2 - Awareness raising
Pillar 3 – Research
Pillar 4 - Information and data
Pillar 5 – Harmonization
©FAO

17. Work Programmes comparison
ESP AlpSP
Pillar 1 Soil management Sustainable Soil Management
Pillar 2 Awareness raising Soil Awareness Raising, Education and Didactics
Pillar 3 Research Soil Information and Research
Pillar 4 Information and data
Regional Cooperation, efficient use of available
soil data
Pillar 5 Harmonization
Comparison, harmonization? of available soil
data

18. AlpSP – Pillar 1
Sustainable Soil Management
• Develop and exchange best soil management practices
at the regional and local levels.
(L4S: Best practice book in preparation)
• Support the implementation of the Voluntary guidelines for
sustainable soil management in relation to the different soils,
considering their potentials and limitations in the Alps,
while taking into account national specificities and partners’
development objectives.
• Establish goals for a “living quality soil”.

19. AlpSP – Pillar 2
Soil Awareness Raising,
Education and Didactics
• Create and promote awareness on sustainable soil management
as a precondition for human well-being in the Alps.
• Promote adequate public and government level awareness of
the importance of soils, through celebrations of the World Soil
Day and other soil awareness communication activities
addressing critical issues related to soil ecosystem services
including food production in the Alpine region.

20. AlpSP – Pillar 3
Soil Information and Research
• Support the standards-based provision of harmonized soil information,
indicators and methodologies across Europe, in line with global level
actions.
• Promote access to soil information and advocate the need for new
soil surveys and data collection in the Alps.
• Support the acquisition of relevant soil knowledge in the Alpine
countries and the implementation of targeted research in accordance
with national conditions and needs to address challenges on the
ground.
• Promote strengthening and capacity development of soil institutions
at local, national, regional and interregional levels.

21. AlpSP – Pillar 4
Regional Cooperation
• Promote the cooperation among authorities, NGOs and soil research
institutions at local, national, regional and interregional levels in the
Alpine Area.
• Promote investment and technical cooperation (including technology
transfer) in all related soil matters, to help to address fundamental
issues in different regions.
• Promote links between existing multilateral initiatives and bodies to
advance knowledge and scientific understanding of soil issues, capture
synergies, while taking into account ongoing activities and efforts that
are being undertaken at the multilateral level, and without duplicating
or prejudging the work under the competent fora.

22. AlpSP – Pillar 5
Comparison (Harmonisation)
• Comparison of available soil data, soil sampling and analytical
methods in the Alpine region, and
steps towards harmonisation
- comparability of data
- promote cross-border soil assessments.

23. Austria
AlpSP
France
AlpSP
Germany
AlpSP
AlpSP
Italy
AlpSP
AlpSP
Liechten-
stein
AlpSP
Slovenia
AlpSP
Switzer-
land
AlpSP
Organisation of the AlpSP
Rotating
Presidency
Steering
committee
Alpine Soil
Partners
Permanent
Secretariat
Annual
meetings
Tasks of the Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Soil Partnership
1. Awareness rising and promotion of soils 3. Website hosting: alpinesoils.eu
2. Coordination and co-organisation of meetings 4. Membership management

24. 05.2017
Ljubljana
meeting
11.2017
Innsbruck
meeting
03.2018
Grenoble
meeting
11.2018
Munich
meeting
05.2019
Aosta Valley
meeting
AlpSP & Links4Soils
 Milestones & Outlook
14.-15.10.2019
Final Conference
Innsbruck
Objectives &
framework AlpSP 
Memorandum of
Understanding 
First Action
Programme AlpSP 
Regional
meetings
Case Study
Results & Best
Practices
Further
implementation
of the AlpSP
Current count:
52 Alpine Soil Partners
4 organisations | 48 individuals
AT | DE | FR | IT | SI

25. • AlpSP (will) closely cooperates with the
Alpine Convention (AC)
• Help, promote, activities towards better implementation
of the
Soil Conservation Protocol of the AC
• Establishment of the Soil Protection Working Body within
the AC and active participation
AlpSP Relationship to the
Alpine Convention

26. Done so far AlpSP within the Links4Soils
• Drafting AlpSP objectives, framework,
• Memorandum of Understanding
• Promotion of the AlpSP and ESP on local & regional level
(IT, FR, SI, AT, DE)
• Enlarging the AlpSP membership
• Participation of the AlpSP members in int. organizations
• Active participation to EUSALP WG6  declaration
• Preparation of Soil Ecosystem Services booklet for Alpine
practitioners
• Preparation Best practices Soil Management booklet – Alpine
examples

27. Towards
Working Body ’Soil’
Alpine Convention (October 2018)
Ljubljana, 5. december 2018 Slovesnko partnertvo za tla 27

28. https://www.alpine-region.eu/news/alpine-wide-declaration-intelligent-land-use-and-soil-
protection
The declaration has been supported by 6 Alpine States and 20 Regions in a written
procedure
(acknowledged at General Assembly of the EUSALP on 20 November 2018 in Innsbruck,
Austria)
Contribution of AlpSP members.
EUSALP – WG6 (november 2018)
Ljubljana, 5. december 2018 Slovesnko partnertvo za tla 28

29. „6. Soils require our best efforts to apply the relevant normative documents
Sustainable land use and soil protection are subject of various international, European, national and regional normative
documents of varying legal nature. This encompasses, in particular, the Soil Conservation Protocol of the Alpine Convention,
which is legally binding upon the European Union and its Alpine Member States, as well as the UN-Sustainable Development
Goals (2, 12 and 15), EU Soil Thematic Strategy and the EUSALP Action Plan.
and working closely together with the Alpine Convention, represented through its
Presidency and Secretary General, we the representatives of the States and Regions
in the territory of the European Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) adopting
this declaration intend to cooperate towards sustainable land use and healthy soils:
1. Apply and enhance the implementation of existing regulations
…“The efforts for reducing land consumption and enhancing soil protection are primarily
tackled in a cooperative manner.“
2. Coordinate and improve data collection and monitoring systems
…“In this connection the assessment, based on harmonized data, of soil
functions in all planning procedures and projects regarding soils seems to be a
necessary approach to counterbalance non-rational land use and to preserve
soil functions.“
3. Foster inner-urban development and plan infrastructure and mining prudently
4. Encourage awareness raising, capacity building and experience exchange on
sustainable land use and soil protection
5. Facilitate and live participation
6. Establish and strengthen regional, national and cross-border co-operation.
EUSALP Declaration on sustainable
land use and soil protection