DPSIR, soil functions and the landscape hierarchical model, tools for integrating geodiversity in spatial planning; the river valley as an example

The limited involvement of earth sciences in spatial planning is a matter of concern to the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, KNAW. To improve the situation they formed a committee, of which both authors formed part. The committee organized a workshop during the autumn of 2006 to discuss the issue with the community of earth scientists. About forty earth scientists responded to the call, and all agreed that the role of earth sciences in spatial planning needed improvement, but few answers were given to methods and research needed.
By autumn 2007 the committee had produced a report proposing an integrated approach to spatial planning, in which earth sciences have a more pronounced role. The new EU soil directive, the improved national soil legislation in its wake, as well as the new national spatial policy programme re-introducing earth science and ecology as a base layer into spatial planning were put forward as policy issues to build upon.
In the report the EU soil functions, the DPSIR method of EU environmental impact assessment and the hierarchical model used in landscape and nature conservation are put forward as important tools to work with. The report further recommends to form a community of scientific practice, a CoSP, to improve these and other scientific and applied research methods, test these in pilot projects, and to allocate budget.
The board of the KNAW judged the report relevant for a sustainable development of Dutch society and decided to publish a printed version. The first copy was presented to the minister of the Netherlands Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, VROM, responsible for both spatial planning and soil policy, but also the other ministries were informed. Within two months after its publication the advice was sold out, february 2008.
During the congress the three practical tools proposed, the DPSIR method, the EU soil functions and the landscape hierarchical model will be presented for discussion. The management of a river valley is chosen as an example.