Legal protection of soils: prospects for implementing an ecosystem approach

The article addresses the current issue of legal protection of soils in the context of the transition from a resource-based to an ecosystem approach. It is noted that the main threats to soil resources are complex and systemic in nature. The author emphasizes the uniqueness of soil as a living, dynamic, and practically non-renewable component of the biosphere, providing critically important ecosystem services: from food security to climate regulation. Despite the global scale of soil resource degradation, their legal protection often remains fragmented and ineffective. A comparative analysis of legislation in the field of soil protection is conducted using the example of the Russian Federation, CIS countries, the USA, China, and the European Union. The ecosystem approach to soil protection requires interdisciplinary integration of knowledge from ecology, soil science, and law, as well as a revision of a number of legal norms in the fields of land, environmental, agricultural, and urban planning legislation. The methodology of the article is based on a set of general scientific and special methods aimed at a systemic analysis of the legal and ecological aspects of soil protection. It has been found that the Russian legal system predominantly exhibits a utilitarian approach, where soil is primarily viewed as an object of property rights or an agricultural resource, rather than as a holistic ecosystem. This is manifested in the lack of legislative consolidation of key concepts, weak integration of soil-ecological criteria into related branches of legislation (urban planning, forestry, climate), and the imperfection of economic protection mechanisms. Based on the analysis of progressive international practices, such as the new EU Directive on soil monitoring, the necessity for improvement of domestic regulation is substantiated. A central measure proposed is the development and adoption of a foundational Federal law "On Soil Protection," which would legislatively consolidate the ecosystem approach, define the ecosystem services of soils, and ensure intersectoral integration. It is concluded that such a transition is a practical necessity to ensure the long-term food and environmental security of the country.