1. The objectives of this Directive are to establish a solid and coherent soil monitoring framework for all soils across the Union, to reduce soil contamination to levels no longer considered harmful to human health and the environment, to continuously improve soil health in the Union, to maintain soils in a healthy condition and to prevent and address all aspects of soil degradation, with a view to achieving healthy soils by 2050 so that they can provide multiple ecosystem services on a scale sufficient to meet environmental, societal and economic needs, prevent and mitigate the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss, and increase resilience against natural disasters and in terms of food security.