Rules beneath our feet

National, regional and local levels

National governments translate broader soil protection frameworks into legislation, institutions, monitoring systems, programmes, and enforcement mechanisms. These may include soil protection laws, environmental legislation, agricultural policy, contamination rules, spatial planning systems, and restoration programmes.

Regional and local levels are where soil governance becomes most visible. Municipalities, planning authorities, land managers, farmers, developers, water agencies, and conservation bodies all influence what happens to soil through decisions on construction, infrastructure, farming, forestry, green spaces, flood management, protected areas, and restoration.

Soil governance is therefore not only about high-level policy. It is also reflected in everyday decisions: whether a field becomes a road, whether a degraded site is restored, whether a wetland is drained or rewetted, whether an urban plan leaves space for infiltration, and whether soil data are used before land-use decisions are made.