Conference: 'Soil, Climate Change and Biodiversity – Where do we stand?'

23 – 24 September, 2010
Brussels, Belgium

The Environment Directorate-General and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission will host a high-level conference on 'Soil, climate change and biodiversity: where do we stand?' in Brussels.

The conference will see the participation of scientists and researchers who will report on the latest scientific findings concerning issues such as the amount of carbon stored in European soils, the role that agricultural and forestry practices can play in climate change mitigation and biodiversity protection, and the important function that soil biodiversity plays in the ecosystem. Under the title "Soil, climate and biodiversity: synergies and opportunities" a roundtable discussion will gather key policy players from international and European institutions.

The conference will be the occasion to present the study "Soil biodiversity: functions, threats and tools for policy makers" carried out on behalf of the Environment Directorate-General and for launching the European Atlas of Soil Biodiversity being prepared by the Joint Research Centre in view of the tenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya later this year.

The conference will inform the debate at European level on the best course of action for supporting the Soil Thematic Strategy and its accompanying legislative proposal adopted by the European Commission in September 2006.

The participation to the conference is free of charge but will be limited to 400 people on a first-come-first-served basis. Interpretation will be provided in English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Polish and Spanish.

For more information:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/soil/biodiversity_conference.htm