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Nr. 65 E-ISSN 0250-7072 COUNCIL OF CONSEIL DE I . * Naturopa No. 65-1990 Editorial M. Smet 3 Friess-Irrmann Quality as well as quantity H. Hacourt 5 1 No-till agriculture G. de Ploey 7 Divergent interests M. Böschung 8 1 ------------- Editorial CENTRE Space and time G. P. Black - G. Gonggrijp 10 NATUROPA G eo-Trail H. Schönlaub 14 The Nigardsbreen glacier L. Erikstad 15 The kind of Europe we want c. Lalumière 16 early thirty years ago the Council of Belgium is delighted to have hosted in Brus De Zândkoele G. Gonggrijp 18 Europe became the first European in sels in October1990the European Ministerial N tergovernmental organisation to take Conference on the Environment at which this Irish peatlands D. Daly 20 an interest in environment issues. It is now us question was discussed. The Ministers con ing its experience in the service o f one o f the sidered the feasibility study and opted for Naturopa is published in English, French, major enivronment problems facing our soci what they regarded as the most appropriate German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese Danish cliffs A . Nielsen 22 ety: soil protection. instrument for co-operation in soil protec by the Centre Naturopa o f the Council of tion. Europe, BP 431 R6, F-67006 Strasbourg The soil is the foundation o f all life on earth, The Dorset coast W. A. Wimbledon 24 Cedex. the very basis of our food production, the At the conference, the Ministers also con ground on which all human facilities are built sidered the text o f a European Conservation Editor responsible: Swiss moraines B. Stürm 26 and a key factor in the functioning of the Strategy, a declaration whose purpose is to Ing. Hayo H. Hoekstra earth's ecosystems, and conflicts between its enable governments to back an integrated en manifold functions and uses are inevitable. vironment protection policy and to establish Conception and editing: Christian MeyerFinnish eskers O.Kontturi 28 As it becomes increasingly polluted by heavy an overall framework for future Council of Production : Koelblindruck Baden-Baden metals, phytosanitary products and dis Europe work in this field. Protection o f the Articles may be freely reprinted but it A t the Council of Europe 30 charges, threatened by concrete and growing key constituents of Earth’s ecosystems, would be appreciated if reference is made to urbanisation, and impaired by overuse and namely Air, Water andSoil, is naturally a part the source and a copy sent to the Centre. inappropriate methods o f cultivation, its vital o f the strategy, which also covers, for exam The copyright of all photographs is re production and filtering functions are becom ple, the protection of biodiversity and the served. ing the subject o f increasing concern. The problems raised by development, transport soil, and the water it contains, must be man and recreational policies and genetic en The opinions expressed in this publication aged from the twin viewpoints o f quality and gineering. are those o f the authors and do not neces quantity. sarily reflect the views o f the Council of EuBasic element The Brussels Conference also gave the Minis rope. As early as 1972, the Committee o f Ministers ters the opportunity to discuss the achieve o f the Councilof Europe adopteda Soil Char ments o f the Convention on the Conservation ter setting out the basic principles fo r rational on European Wildlife and Natural Habitats y promulgating its European Soil it, we should take action to restore its regen use o f the valuable natural resource. (Berne Convention), which has to date been Charter, in 1972, the Council of Eu erative capacity in the same way as for air and ratified by 21 member states, Senegal, Burk rope demonstrated its concern at the water. A t the fifth Ministerial Conference on the En ina Faso and the EEC and is being viewed B vironment in Lisbon in June 1987, the Minis future of one of our basic natural resources. with increasing interest by Central European Like air and water, soil had previously been In October a ministerial conference was held ters unanimously requested the Council of in Brussels for the purpose of studying soil Countries. There can be no doubt that the im considered a necessary, indeed fundamen Europe “to study the possibility o f drawing up portance o f its work makes the Brussels Con protection in both qualitative and quantita — revising and updating the European Soil Cover: R. Humler tal, element whose availability could always an appropriate draft convention on soil pro ference a milestone in the assertion o f the de tive terms. The results of the conference are Charter; be taken for granted. What a misconception ! tection”. A feasibility study was accordingly termination o f all European countries to co expected to prove significant. carried out on national and/or international The truth is that, although apparently infi — drawing up a specific Council of Europe operate in order to shape a Europe in which In this issue of Naturopa soil problems are measures to protect soil and underground wa nite, soil has limits that are often discovered work programme on soil protection; the quality o f life and respect o f democracy “earth-science conservation”, a new ap ter. remain fundamental values, those which Page 4: Original illustration all too late. Take for example, the sediment — preparing a recommendation to member proach which studies soil in its four dimen This study defines the concept and functions the Council of Europe has constantly for Naturopa, by F. Schwebel to be found in drinking water. Its presence is governments on the introduction of con sions: length, width, depth and time. o f the soil, gives a general description o f the defended. ■ (Strasbourg, France) a sign that the soil has been unable, or has not sistent soil protection policies; had sufficient time, to purify the water that Naturopa 66, which will be appearing in causes o f natural or man-induced deteriora M ietSm et tion and reviews the various protection instru— drawing up a European convention on seeps down to underground aquifers. Good- spring 1991, will be concerned with fresh State Secretary for the Environment quality soil is essential not only to plants water fish and their biotope, providing an ments and measures which exist at national soil protection to give an international and Social Emancipation o f Belgium. which grow in it, but also to animals and hu and international level. It shows clearly that framework to co-operation. The conven Pages 16-17: Landscape, important accompaniment to the Naturopa man beings which depend on plants for their Centre’s campaign on the subject. ■ an international instrument taking systematic tion could be supplemented by protocols Hazel Mouse - Klein-Huber/Bios account o f all aspects o f soil conservation is as and whert required by changes in the Ibex, Bear, Tree Frog, food. Now that we have realised the value of soil and the scale of the dangers threatening H.H.H. sadly lacking. There are four ways ofremedy principal soil protection problems and Curlew - S. Cordi er ing this situation: technical and scientific progress. Quality as well as quantity Europe; Hector Hacourt Charter 1. Soil is one of humanity’s most precious assets. It allows plants, animals and man to live on the earth’s surface. he 12 guiding principles of the Euro 2. Soil is a limited resource which is easily pean Soil Charter, which all those in destroyed. Tpositions of responsibility, at what ever level, must endeavour to apply in the tween the earth’s surface and the bed '3 . Industrial society uses land for agricul sphere of their activities, were adopted by rock. It is subdivided into successive All this has led to soil being regarded not sim ture as well as for industrial and other the Committee of Ministers in 1972. horizontal layers with specific physi ply from the standpoint of the protection of purposes. A regional planning policy cal, chemical and biological charac Described in a few strokes, the Charter can its properties (qualitative protection), but must be conceived in terms of the prop teristics. From the standpoint of the be said to cover the notion of soil as a limited also from the angle of its use (quantitative erties of the soil and the needs of today’s history of soil use, and from an eco resource, its appropriate use by farming, for protection). This approach is reflected in the and tomorrow’s society. logical and environmental point of estry, urban development and construction, resolutions adopted at the 1987 Lisbon < view, the concept of soil also em 4. Farmers and foresters must apply methods for its protection (inventory, scien meeting of the European Ministerial Con braces deep, porous, sedimentary methods that preserve the quality of the tific research, interdisciplinary co ference on the Environment and the 1988 rocks and other permeable materials, soil. operation, teaching and information) and Lausanne meeting of the European Confer together with their reserves of under the responsibility of governments and those ence of Ministers responsible for Regional 5. Soil must be protected against erosion. ground water”. in authority. Planning. It is also the approach behind the 6. Soil must be protected against pol Thus defined, the soil can reach consider Council of Europe’s programme of activities The European Soil Charter, now 18 years lution. able depths and therefore includes, in some in the field of spatial planning, which we will old, is still, unfortunately, a topical issue. It is contexts, the concept of land.