The publication of this Handbook was supported by the Russian Federation

V.V. Medvedev (Ukraine)
Soil cover monitoring has been conducted 
in Europe for more than a quarter 
of  a century, since the 1990s. At the 
present time, such monitoring is widely 
supported in European countries and it is 
generally accepted that high- quality soil 
information systems are vital in creating 
and maintaining good quality of  life and a 
clean environment (Fig. 2.1.). On the basis 
of  the results of  monitoring, the European 
Union  has  ratified  several  legislative 
documents on soils including directives 
for maximal permissible levels of  heavy 
metals, industrial pollution control, the 
use of  solid and liquid industrial waste in 
agriculture, etc.
In 2006 the European Union ratified the 
thematic strategy of  soil conservation and 
recommended it for use in national politics 
in all the EU countries [ 12 ].
There is an urgent need for support to 
improve and modernize the system of  
monitoring of  soil cover in the Eurasian 
Region countries using the most recent developments in programming, mathematics and mapping 
in harmony with European experience.