Status and prospect of soil information in south-eastern Europe: soil databases, projects and applications

An area of rapidly developing initiatives is the EU’s Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection, officially adopted by the Commission on September 22nd 2006 [http://ec.europa.eu/environment/soil/]. The strategy makes a clear statement of the need for policy relevant soil information and indicators across Europe for the identification of areas at risk from a variety threats to soil function. In this context, the Land Management and Natural Hazards Unit of the JRC’s Institute for Environment and Sustainability recently held a workshop with the specific objectives to strengthen collaboration on soil protection between the JRC and the countries of south-eastern Europe and to improve contacts between researchers and policy makers in the region.