8. Conclusion

Since the 2010s, France and Europe have at last become aware of the fundamental role played by soils in feeding humans and livestock, as well as in their carbon storage function. This awareness has gradually been translated into general objectives and structures (sustainable development and sustainable land use). The decline in terrestrial biodiversity is also the result of changes in land use.

Soil and land pollution in Europe is a legacy of its distant industrial past. Since the late 1990s, soil decontamination programs have been put in place to clean up former urban industrial wastelands, reclaiming the land and converting it to new functions for the construction of various buildings. There are many technologies available to reduce the risk of soil contamination, either by eliminating contaminants or by controlling them. More stringent future regulations will...