Saving:Soils

Soil quality — Dec 06, 2021
CIPRA International
[Project completed] With its project “Saving:Soils”, CIPRA is working for a trend reversal in the use of land in peri-urban areas in order to put scientific findings into practice, make pilot examples visible and encourage imitation.

Healthy soils provide food, ensure biodiversity, offer recreational spaces and mitigate the consequences of the climate crisis. Nevertheless, areas and soils are being concreted over and sealed on a daily basis throughout Europe, especially around cities. New settlements, roads, industrial or commercial areas are constantly being built in these peri-urban areas. In addition, wind, water, biomass and solar plants have to be built for the energy transition – meaning that conflicts of use are inevitable. With the project “Saving:Soils – for a trend reversal in the use of land in peri-urban areas”, CIPRA is making good examples visible and working out approaches to solutions along with three pilot regions. Saving:Soils brings everyone together around one table: spatial planning experts, civil society, administrative authorities and young adults.

Duration: July 2021 – May 2022

The project is supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) within the framework of the European Environment Initiative (EURENI).

News on the topic
Three years for living soils: Ground:breaking takes stock
Soil quality — Apr 20, 2026
Three years for living soils: Ground:breaking takes stock
Through the Ground:breaking project, CIPRA has spent three years demonstrating how sealed soils can be revitalised – and why this is crucial for the climate, biodiversity and quality of life in the Alpine region.
When nature loses, we all lose
People — Feb 02, 2026
When nature loses, we all lose
The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the safety of our homes – all depend on strong environmental laws. Right now, those protections are under attack. Once they’re gone, we hand the keys of our future to those who see nature only as a resource to exhaust. In the EU, environmental laws are being gutted, under the promise of “simplification” of the legal system. But in reality, these changes will only profit greed, while endangering the lives of all.
Microplastics in the Alps
Nature — Jan 30, 2025
Marta Grena, CIPRA International
Microplastics in the Alps
Plastic pollution continues to threaten our health and our most precious landscapes. The latest findings show that microplastics can even be found on the highest Alpine peaks.
Desealing land in the Alpine region
Soil quality — Oct 05, 2023
Michael Gams, CIPRA International
Desealing land in the Alpine region
Soils are among our most important resources. CIPRA's new project, entitled Ground:breaking, shows why desealing land is of benefit to everyone and what is needed at political, legal and local levels in the Alpine region to achieve this.
Contact

Wolfgang Pfefferkorn

CIPRA International

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