Ihobe, the Basque Environment Agency has recently joined the SOILveR platform, which seeks to exchange knowledge in the field of sustainable soil management between 6 countries and regions that, along with the Basque Country, are the members of this European initiative. SOILveR 's main goal is to contribute to coordinating, co-funding and disseminating cross-border knowledge, along with generating applicable knowledge for decision-making at state, regional or local scale.

The platform is currently reflecting on the soil health assessment and management in the draft Directive regarding soil surveillance and resilience, and providing success stories in the field.

Ihobe joining and participating in SOILveR is going to provide direct access to a panel of environmental agencies and experts in the European field of sustainable soil and land management; it will facilitate Ihobe's participation in international collaborative innovative projects, at the same time as driving the deployment of the Basque Soil Protection Strategy 2030.

The platform is currently reflecting on the soil health assessment and management

Now that Ihobe is a member, the Basque Country is expected to host the in-person SOILveR annual meeting during the first quarter of 2025; that will be an opportunity to endorse Ihobe's commitment to coordinated work with all the stakeholders involved in soil and land protection and management in the territory.

About SOILveR

Since it was founded in 2018, the self-financed European platform has added different stakeholders to its management committee that, at present, comprises ADEME – Ecology Transition Agency (France), SPAQUE – Agency for the Management of Contaminated (Walloon, Belgium), SPW – Walloon Service Public (Walloon, Belgium), Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (Netherlands), Swedish Geotechnical Institute (Sweden) and, since June 2024, Ihobe, the Basque Government's Environmental Management Agency.

SOILveR deploys different actions including the launch of joint calls to finance projects of common interest, the leadership of working groups with experts, collaborating with other stakeholders, platforms and networks with shared goals, alsong with generating spaces for internal reflection leading to the publication of manual, reports, papers and documents to steer public policies.