Rules beneath our feet

National, Regional and Local Levels

National level — legal implementation

While European policies establish overarching objectives, the practical implementation of soil governance occurs primarily at the national level. Member States are responsible for transposing EU directives into national legislation and designing the institutional arrangements necessary for implementation — defining soil protection laws, establishing monitoring authorities, developing enforcement mechanisms, and integrating soil considerations into agricultural, environmental, and spatial planning policies.

As a result, the effectiveness of EU soil governance ultimately depends on the capacity and priorities of individual Member States. Differences in legal traditions, land-use pressures, institutional structures, and political priorities can lead to significant variation in how soil policies are implemented across Europe.

Regional and local level — concrete land decisions

At the regional and municipal levels, soil governance becomes most visible and tangible. Regional planning authorities and municipalities shape land use through spatial planning, zoning regulations, infrastructure development, and urban expansion. Agricultural advisory services influence farming practices, while local authorities often play a key role in managing contaminated land and regulating development projects.

Because many soil-related pressures — soil sealing, erosion, land conversion — occur at this scale, local governance structures play a critical role in translating broader environmental objectives into concrete land-use decisions.

At the same time, these local decisions are embedded within the wider governance system: local actors must navigate national regulations, European directives, and international environmental commitments while responding to economic and social pressures within their own territories.

This illustrates the central challenge of multi-level soil governance: aligning global sustainability goals with the everyday land-use decisions that ultimately shape soil conditions.