IISD at New Advances for Sustainable Contaminated Lands Management
The workshop will bring together local British Columbia and international speakers to facilitate diverse and wide-ranging sharing of knowledge and best practices.
In the past decade there has been significant progress on incorporating sustainability in the contaminated lands investigation and remediation process. There has been increased recognition of the importance of multiple dimensions of sustainability and need to balance the social, economic and environmental aspects of a project. When viewed from a social lens, stakeholder input and indigenous participation is vital to the success of a project.
There is also increasing recognition of the need to consider adaptation and resiliency of remediation to climate change impacts such as sea level rise or extreme weather events as this affects sustainability. With the global coronavirus pandemic, there are unknown implications for longer-term impacts ranging from work practices to possible effects of intensive use of chemicals for disinfection and cleaning on the environment.
This workshop hosted by the BC Science Advisory Board for Contaminated Sites (SABCS) and GeoEnviroPro Training Professionals aims to take a broad view of sustainability through multiple themes including:
- Innovative technologies and new developments to achieve more sustainable solutions to contaminated sites issues including nature-based solutions
- Sustainable remediation in brownfields or infrastructure developments, including approaches and tools for evaluating and rating sustainability
- Perspectives, practices and regulatory frameworks in different countries
- Implications of carbon neutrality for projects
- Considering the perspectives of stakeholders
- Vulnerability, adaptation and resiliency of remediation to sea-level rise and extreme weather events
Day 1: Wednesday September 30: International and Local Perspectives on Sustainability and Climate Change
Moderator: Shannon Bard (SABCS) & Jennifer Mayberry (GeoEnviroPro)
- Event Kickoff: Zahra Pirani (President, SABCS)
- Lynn Wagner, International Institute for Sustainable Development: "The Sustainable Development Goals and Lands Management"
- Jonathan Smith, Shell Global Solutions (UK) Ltd: "Debunking Myths about Sustainable Remediation"
- Dianna Allen, Simon Fraser University: "Connecting the Dots...Groundwater, Surface Water, and Climate Connections"
- Panel and Session Closing