In order to safeguard the natural resource "soil", sustainable management is necessary . The continuing expansion of urban areas, leisure activities and intensive agricultural cultivation methods disturb water and geochemical cycles and increase the ecological pressure on the soils.

It has been recognized that soil resource management should be an integrated part of spatial planning. It must also take due account of the natural, spatial and temporal variability of soils as well as of the many impacts of land use on soil quality.

Cooridinated actions with a long-term perspective are required on national, European and global scales in order to achieve the goal of a sustainable use of soil as a precious, essential and limited natural resource. Scientists, administrators, lawyers and planners should now join their efforts. The workshop aims to bring these disciplines together in order to identify, discuss and evaluate integrative approaches to a long-term strategy in soil protection.

 ▪ Conflicts between Natural Soil Functions and Land Use

 ▪ Options and Problems in Assessment and Evaluation of
   Soil Quality

 ▪ Developing Existing Approaches into Soil Policy Networks

 ▪ Development and Implementation of Society-Compatible
   Strategies and Procedures