Healthy soils are crucial for reaching climate neutrality, fostering a clean and circular economy, and combating desertification and land degradation. They are also vital for reversing biodiversity loss, ensuring access to nutritious food, and protecting human health.

Unfortunately, the state of soils in Europe is under threat, with an estimated 60-70% of soils being unhealthy due to issues such as erosion, agricultural intensification, urban expansion and climate change. In response, the EU has launched the Soil Mission, which aims to establish 100 living labs and lighthouses to support the transition towards healthy soils by 2030.

SOLO’s objective is aligned with the EU Soil Mission by establishing a hub for soil health research and innovation. As part of the project, Think Tanks have been established, each corresponding to different objectives of the Soil Mission. They facilitate knowledge exchange and co-develop EU Research and Innovation roadmaps.

From 4 to 7 November 2024, SOLO held its second face-to-face stakeholder workshop, hosted by the project partners Pensoft Publishers, in Sofia, Bulgaria. The four-day meeting was attended by 60 participants, both project partners and external stakeholders, with two days dedicated to stakeholder workshops.

The stakeholder days were filled with interactive activities designed to foster collaboration between the Think Tanks and encourage knowledge exchange. These activities included workshops, matchmaking sessions, and world cafés, with several brainstorming sessions where participants worked on visually representing key concepts related to the Soil Mission. Discussions covered various topics such as soil and water management, regional policies for farmers, and more. The core of the event was collaboration, with Think Tank members mixing throughout the days to share expertise and provide guidance in overcoming bottlenecks and developing roadmaps.

Notably, the SOLO roadmaps are the cornerstone of the project. Developed by the Think Tanks and often co-authored with stakeholders, they address the main knowledge gaps on soil research and innovation across different Soil Mission Objectives and are available for public review on the SOLO platform. The SOLO platform is an open-access platform which allows you to explore project-related documents, serving as a comprehensive tool for authoring, reviewing, publishing, hosting, and archiving.

The final day of the meeting provided the consortium with an opportunity to reflect on the previous sessions, as well as host a session on the upcoming "Soil Weeks"—annual events in each project country designed to discuss the Soil Mission objectives, gather national-level feedback, and support the identification of knowledge gaps.

Overall, the meeting offered a valuable opportunity for collaboration among the Think Tanks, enabling them to support one another in identifying bottlenecks, knowledge gaps, and potential solutions. A lot of valuable insight was gained, which will be integrated as the project moves forward.

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Funded by the European Union under grant agreement No. 101091115, SOLO (Soils for Europe).

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.