A Proposed Approach to Developing a Soil Protection Strategy for Ireland Soil Resources and Landuse Soil Resources Land Cover and Land Use Pressures and Impacts on Soil Resources in Ireland Approach to Developing a Soil Protection Strategy for Ireland

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Ireland is required under section 75 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992 to specify and publish quality objectives in relation to any environmental medium which the Agency considers reasonable and desirable, for the purposes of environmental protection. Soil, air and water are generally seen as the three main environmental compartments that are essential to life on earth. The quality of air, water and also soil can be determined by comparing a particular property of the medium against a selected standard. The quality of water and air has been assessed for many years using standards such as those specified in EU legislation e.g. Water Framework Directive, Air Framework Directive, Dangerous Substances Directive etc. However, the wide variety of natural soil types and characteristics and range of possible functions and uses makes the development of a soil protection strategy which sets out clear objectives and standards more problematical than developing objectives and standards for other environmental medium such as air or water.