ISLANDR
ISLANDR
Information-based Strategies for Land Remediation
ISLANDR at a glance
Our ambition
ISLANDR aspires to deliver key policy-relevant findings related to the Soil Strategy, the proposed Soil Health Law and other areas of policy where soils are crucial, as well as a better delineation of polluted soils across Europe in active consultation with the EU Soil Observatory (EUSO). Furthermore, ISLANDR brings a dedicated focus to low input remediation, by including test areas impacted by the consequences of the green transition, such as former mining areas. This will ensure that soil remediation will be facilitated even when the cost of remediation is economically marginal or may even be negative.
Stakeholders are at the epicentre of ISLANDR
Key actors, stakeholders and end-beneficiaries are at the epicentre of ISLANDR. Through Roundtables in the respective ISLANDR Test Areas (ITAs), their foremost assignment will be to provide feedback and offer insights as to the robustness and effectiveness of the strategies, frameworks and decision-support tools, as well as on the wider valuation approaches and financing mechanisms to be developed over the course of the project’s lifetime. By adopting this approach, the Roundtables will function as an iterative feedback loop to the research process, with a view to ensure the wider uptake of the project’s outcomes and achievements.
Our Approach
In order to road-test the project’s findings, seven test areas across Europe have been identified. To begin with, the ISLANDR Test Areas (ITAs) will provide a real-world context for the planned research activities. More concretely, the ITAs have been selected to cover different land use types, such as urban, peri-urban, rural, agro-forestry, mining, wetlands and coastal areas. Furthermore, the ITAs are characterized by both point and diffuse sources of pollution, as well as by different soil pollution types, such as organic, inorganic, as well as contaminants of emerging concern.
Our Vision
Our vision, and project motto, ISLANDR for Soil Health, is aimed at reaching a closer integration of land contamination and spatial planning decision-making, the inclusion of a wider valuation approach together with a more thorough understanding of low input remediation approaches from a technological perspective as well as an evidence-based assessment of the risks posed by polluted soils.
The Key Elements of ISLANDR
Risk-based assessment of degraded land
Source-Pathway-Receptor
Many examples abound which consider common contaminants, such as heavy metals and hydrocarbons, at a site-specific scale to assess the impact on human health using the Source-Pathway-Receptor concept. ISLANDR additionally considers emerging contaminants as Sources, will extend the assessment to the regional scale (Pathway), and will aim to add Soil Health as a Receptor.
Sustainable and risk-based remediation
Holistic SRBLM guidance
This second pillar is foreseen to encompass and extend on the use of Nature-based Solutions such as bio-, myco- and phyto-remediation for the restoration and decontamination of both point source and diffuse land contamination, while extending the scope of “regular” remediation options appraisal to include sustainability, resilience, CECs and low input remediation approaches.
Financial and Spatial planning models
Prioritize and promote
A special focus will be given to financially marginal cases, including “left behind” regions, as well as to scalable decision making to support investment cases from local projects to site portfolios and the regional scale, laying the ground to come up with spatial planning models to prioritize and promote remediation action and reuse of land and soil.
Policy briefs and wider dissemination
The ISLANDR Voyage
Our research findings will be feeding into policy guidance documents, with a view to promote the institutional adoptability of the ISLANDR decision support framework. Throughout the project’s lifetime, these findings will be translated in an easy-to-grasp language, with a view to make the outcomes accessible to the wider public, documenting the ISLANDR Voyage
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