Il-Ħamrija

Biddel il-lingwa
Page Mibdul l-aħħar 17 Jan 2019
3 min read
Il-ħamrija hija l-bażi ta’ 90 % tal-produzzjoni ta’ l-ikel, l-għalf, il-fibra u l-fjuwil kollha, u tipprovdi materja prima għal attivitajiet mill-ortikoltura għas-settur ta’ kostruzzjoni. Il-ħamrija hija wkoll essenzjali għas-saħħa ta’ l-ekosistema: din tippurifika u tirregola l-ilma, hija l-magna għaċ-ċikli tan-nutrijenti u r-riżerva għall-ġeni u l-ispeċi, li jappoġġjaw il-biodiversità. Din hija bir tal-karbonju globali, li għandha rwol importanti fit-tnaqqis potenzjali tat-tibdil fil-klima u l-impatti tagħha. Barra minn hekk, billi tikkonserva traċċi tal-passat tagħna, din hija element importanti tal-wirt kulturali tagħna.

Madankollu, il-ħamrija hija soġġetta għal talbiet kontinwi, xi drabi kunfliġġenti mis-soċjetà tagħna. L-abilità tal-ħamrija li tagħti servizzi ta’ ekosistema — f’termini ta’ produzzjoni ta’ l-ikel, bħala ġabra (pool) tal-bijodiversità u bħala regolatur tal-gassijiet, l-ilma u n-nutrijenti — hija għalhekk taħt pressjoni. Ir-rati osservati ta’ ssiġġillar, erożjoni, tnaqqis fil-materja organika u kontaminazzjoni tal-ħamrija kollha jnaqqsu r-reżiljenza tal-ħamrija jew il-kapaċità tagħha li tassorbi l-bidliet li hija esposta għalihom.

Fi ħdan l-iskeda ta’ żmien tal-ħajja umana, il-ħamrija tista’ titqies bħala riżorsa mhux rinnovabbli. Bħala soċjetà aħna neħtieġu li nimmaniġġjawha b’mod sostenibbli sabiex ingawdu l-benefiċċji tagħha. Minkejja l-firxa ta’ attivitajiet li finalment jiddependu fuq il-ħamrija, m’hemm l-ebda leġiżlazzjoni speċifika ta’ l-UE dwar il-ħamrija. Sal-lum, u għall-kuntrarju ta’ l-ilma u l-arja, il-protezzjoni tal-ħamrija hija indirizzata b’mod indirett jew fi ħdan politiki settorjali: l-agrikoltura u l-forestrija, l-enerġija, l-ilma, it-tibdil fil-klima, il-protezzjoni tan-natura, l-iskart u s-sustanzi kimiċi. In-nuqqas ta’ politika koerenti dwar il-ħamrija fil-livell ta’ l-UE huwa wkoll rifless fl-iskarsità ta’ data tal-ħamrija armonizzata.

Madankollu, fl-aħħar għaxar snin kien hemm progress fl-iżvilupp ta’ politika u sforzi għal data kkoordinata. L-Istrateġija Tematika tal-Ħamrija tal-Kummissjoni Ewropea mill-2006 tenfasizza l-ħtieġa li jiġi protett il-funzjonament tal-ħamrija bħala element essenzjali ta’ żvilupp sostenibbli. Fil-livell globali, il-kwistjonijiet rigward il-ħamrija qed jiġu indirizzati taħt il-kunċett usa’ ta’ degradazzjoni ta’ l-art (s’issa limitati għal żoni ta’ art niexfa) mill-Konvenzjoni tan-Nazzjonijiet Uniti dwar il-Ġlieda kontra d-Deżertifikazzjoni (UNCCD). Aktar reċenti, il-kunċett ta’ preservazzjoni tal-funzjonijiet tal-ħamrija ġie integrat fil-kunċett ta’ newtralità ta’ degradazzjoni ta’ l-art bħala parti mill-Għanijiet ta’ Żvilupp Sostenibbli (SDGs), li sar qbil fuqhom mill-Assemblea Ġenerali tan-Nazzjonijiet Uniti fl-2015. L-SDGs jinkludu wkoll miri fuq il-kwalità tal-ħamrija, il-kontaminazzjoni tal-ħamrija, il-ġestjoni tas-sustanzi kimiċi u l-iskart. L-implimentazzjoni ta’ l-SDGs tista’ tipprovdi mezz importanti għal miżuri ta’ protezzjoni tal-ħamrija fl-Ewropa. Sforzi biex tiġi armonizzata u standardizzata l-informazzjoni dwar il-ħamrija għall-użu mill-pubbliku qed jipproċedu kif xieraq, kemm fil-livell globali kif ukoll f’dak Ewropew.

L-EEA tipproduċi valutazzjonijiet ibbażati fuq indikaturi fuq medda ta’ suġġetti dwar l-użu ta’ l-art u l-ħamrija taħt ir-raggruppament tematiku ta’ indikaturi ta’ l-użu ta’ l-art u l-ħamrija (sett LSI). Is-sett ta' LSI jinkludi indikaturi fuq it-teħid ta’ l-art, l-impermeabbiltà, il-ġestjoni ta’ siti kkontaminati, l-umdità tal-ħamrija, l-erużjoni tal-ħamrija u l-karbonju organiku tal-ħamrija. L-indikaturi fuq il-frammentazzjoni u r-riċiklaġġ tal-art huma ppjanati. Is-servizzi ta’ monitoraġġ ta’ l-art ta’ Copernicus jiffaċilitaw aġġornamenti regolari ta’ diversi minn dawn l-indikaturi. L-EEA tippubblika b’mod ugwali valutazzjonijiet ad-hoc dwar suġġetti speċifiċi relatati mal-ħamrija, bħal effiċċjenzja tar-riżorsi tal-ħamrija f’żoni urbanizzati, jew nutrijenti tal-ħamrija u tagħbija tal-metall għall-ambjent.

Fil-funzjoni tas-suġġett, l-EEA tikkoopera mal-kollegi mill-Kummissjoni Ewropea (b’mod partikolari maċ-Ċentru Konġunt tar-Riċerka (JRC) u d-DĠ Ambjent), ir-rappreżentanti ta’ l-Eionet miċ-Ċentru ta’ Referenza Nazzjonali għall-Użu tal-Ħamrija u l-Art, u Ppjanar Spazjali, jew netwerks u esperti oħrajn Ewropej. L-isħab globali jinkludu: is-Segretarjat ta’ l-UNCCD, is-Sħubija Globali tal-Ħamrija (Global Soil Partnership), l-Inizjattiva tal-Indikatur ta’ l-Art Globali (Global Land Indicator Initiative) (ffaċilitata mill-UN-Habitat) u l-Programm tan-Nazzjonijiet Uniti għall-Ambjent.

Ix-xogħol ta’ l-EEA f’dan il-qasam tematiku ilu jiġi appoġġjat miċ-Ċentri Tematiċi Ewropej (ETCs) rileventi mill-1996, l-ETC fuq is-sistemi Urbaniċi, tal-Art u tal-Ħamrija (ETC/ULS), li ilu attiv mill-2014, bħalissa jappoġġja x-xogħol ta’ l-EEA fuq il-ħamrija. Fl-2007, l-attivitajiet tad-data tal-ħamrija ġew trasferiti għaċ-Ċentru Ewropew tad-Data tal-Ħamrija fil-JRC.

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Imperviousness and imperviousness change Between 2006 and 2009, soil sealing, or imperviousness, increased in all EEA-39 countries by a total of 4 364 k m 2 . This corresponds to an annual average increase of 1 454 k m 2 , or 0.027 % of the total EEA-39 area. During this period, the rate of increase in soil sealing relative to country area varied from 0.001 % to 0.48 %. In 2009, the percentage of a countries' total area that was sealed also varied greatly, with values ranging from 0.15 % to 15.23 %. The highest sealing values, as a percentage of country area, occurred in small countries with high population densities, while the lowest sealing values could be found in large countries with low population densities. The most problematic situation occurs in countries where there is already a high percentage of sealing and where the annual rate of increase relative to country area is high.
Soil moisture Soil moisture content is already being affected by rising temperatures and changes in precipitation amounts, both of which are evidence of changes in climate. Since 1951, modelled soil moisture content significantly increased in parts of northern Europe and decreased in the Mediterranean region. Projections for 2021–2050 show a general change in summer soil moisture content over most of Europe, including significant decreases in the Mediterranean region and increases in the northeastern part of Europe. Maintaining water-retention capacity and porosity are important to reduce the impacts of intense rainfall and droughts, which are projected to become more frequent and severe. The modelled results are based on natural factors and disregard artificial drainage and irrigation practices.
Progress in management of contaminated sites Local soil contamination in 2011 was estimated at 2.5 million potentially contaminated sites in the EEA-39, of which about 45 % have been identified to date. About one third of an estimated total of 342 000 contaminated sites in the EEA-39 have already been identified and about 15 % of these 342 000 sites have been remediated. However, there are substantial differences in the underlying site definitions and interpretations that are used in different countries.   Four management steps are defined for the management and control of local soil contamination, namely site identification (or preliminary studies), preliminary investigations, main site investigations, and implementation of risk reduction measures. Progress with each of these steps provides evidence that countries are identifying potentially contaminated sites, verifying if these sites are actually contaminated and implementing remediation measures where these are required. Some countries have defined targets for the different steps.   Thirty of the 39 countries surveyed maintain comprehensive inventories for contaminated sites: 24 countries have central national data inventories, while six countries, namely Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Germany, Greece, Italy and Sweden, manage their inventories at the regional level. Almost all of the inventories include information on polluting activities, potentially contaminated sites and contaminated sites.   Contaminated soil continues to be commonly managed using “traditional” techniques, e.g. excavation and off-site disposal, which accounts for about one third of management practices. In-situ and ex-situ remediation techniques for contaminated soil are applied more or less equally.   Overall, the production sectors contribute more to local soil contamination than the service sectors, while mining activities are important sources of soil contamination in some countries. In the production sector, metal industries are reported as most polluting whereas the textile, leather, wood and paper industries are minor contributors to local soil contamination. Gasoline stations are the most frequently reported sources of contamination for the service sector.   The relative importance of different contaminants is similar for both liquid and solid matrices. The most frequent contaminants are mineral oils and heavy metals. Generally, phenols and cyanides make a negligible overall contribution to total contamination.   On average, 42 % of the total expenditure on the management of contaminated sites comes from public budgets. Annual national expenditures for the management of contaminated sites are on average about EUR 10.7 per capita. This corresponds to an average of 0.041 % of the national GDP. Around 81 % of the annual national expenditures for the management of contaminated sites is spent on remediation measures, while only 15 % is spent on site investigations. It should be noted that all results derive from data provided by 27 (out of 39) countries that returned the questionnaire, and not all countries answered all questions.
Land take Land take by the expansion of residential areas and construction sites is the main cause of the increase in the coverage of urban land at the European level. Agricultural zones and, to a lesser extent, forests and semi-natural and natural areas, are disappearing in favour of the development of artificial surfaces. This affects biodiversity since it decreases habitats, the living space of a number of species, and fragments the landscapes that support and connect them. The annual land take in European countries assessed by 2006 Corine land cover project (EEA39 except Greece) was approximately 108 000 ha/year in 2000-2006. In 21 countries covered by both periods (1990-2000 and 2000-2006) the annual land take decreased by 9 % in the later period. The composition of land taken areas changed, too. More arable land and permanent crops and less pastures and mosaic farmland were taken by artificial development then in 1990-2000. Identified trends are expected to change little when next assessment for 2006-2012 becomes available in 2014.
Soil erosion 105 million ha., or 16 % of Europe’s total land area (excluding Russia) were estimated to be affected by water erosion in the 1990s. Some 42 million ha. of land were estimated to be affected by wind erosion, of which around 1 million ha. were categorised as being severely affected. A recent new model of soil erosion by water has estimated the surface area affected in the EU‐27 at 130 million ha. Almost 20 % is subjected to soil loss in excess of 10 tonnes/ha./year. Increased variations in rainfallpattern and intensity will make soils moresusceptible to water erosion, with off-site effects of soil erosion increasing. Increased aridity will make finer-textured soils more vulnerable to wind erosion, especially if accompanied by a decrease in soil organic matter levels. Reliable quantitative projections for soil erosion are not available.
Soil organic carbon Soil carbon stocks in the EU-27 are around 75 billion tonnes of carbon; around 50 % of which is located in Ireland, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom (because of the large area of peatlands in these countries). The largest emissions of CO 2 from soils are due to conversion (drainage) of organic soils, and amount to 20–40 tonnes of CO 2 per hectare per year. The most effective option to manage soil carbon in order to mitigate climate change is to preserve existing stocks in soils, and especially the large stocks in peat and other soils with a high content of organic carbon. On average, soils in Europe are most likely to be accumulating carbon. Soils under grassland and forests are a carbon sink (estimated up to 80 million tonnes of carbon per year) whereas soils under arable land are a smaller carbon source (estimated from 10–40 million tonnes of carbon per year). The effects of climate change on soil organic carbon and soil respiration are complex, and depend on distinct climatic and biotic drivers. However, they lack rigorous supporting datasets. Climate change is expected to have an impact on soil carbon in the long term, but changes in the short term will more likely be driven by land management practices and land use change

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For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/mt/themes/soil/intro or scan the QR code.

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