On 19 November 2019 at 8.45–17.00
Venue: Congress and Concert Center Sibelius Hall, Ankkurikatu 7, Lahti, Finland
We would like to welcome experts in academia, business, and government interested in remediation and the policy instruments of contaminated areas to join the symposium, which is free of charge. Please enroll by 30 October 2019 using this link: https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/99422/lomake.html
A top level international symposium in Lahti brings together actors from Finland and Europe to learn about the most recent topics in the novel environmental remediation techniques along with the policy instruments. Focus of the symposium is to present the innovative existing remediation solutions and the supporting policy instruments by linking the technical-scientific aspect with the political level. The topic is addressed at European and Finnish level in three sessions, which includes keynote and case presentations followed by panel discussions.
PROGRAM:
Novel remediation techniques
The first session is technically oriented, and the focus is on sustainable remediation alternatives and their applications in the field. The case presentations share the success stories where the in situ method has proven to be a better choice than the traditional method. In the panel discussion, experts debate on the pros and cons of the techniques, applications, costs, policy challenges and sustainability of each introduced method.
Funding instruments supporting the use of new techniques
The second session links the scientific content to the policies that fund innovation, research, and remediation activities. The presentations give examples of how the funding instruments support the use of novel remediation techniques. Three of the presentations relate to the EU-funded research projects of remediation or risk management of the contaminated sites. The fourth presentation showcases The Finnish Contaminated Land Demonstration Program, which is a national state-funded project, implemented as one of the Finnish government’s key projects.
Political steering instruments in the EU countries
The third session deals with the politics related to the management of the contaminated areas. The keynote speaker gives insights of the political steering of the contaminated areas in the EU. The topic is further elaborated by policy experts explaining how the regulatory environment and the decision making are implemented in the Netherlands, Belgium (in Flanders), and Finland. The session is finished with a panel discussion addressing the major bottlenecks concerning the current legislation and by comparing the strengths and weaknesses of the legislation in the above-mentioned countries.
Share, learn and collaborate
An open discussion concludes the symposium by discussing the desirable future perspective of the participants on the legal-administrative approaches of the remediation. In the core of the symposium is to present, learn and share experiences and therefore we encourage the participants to take actively part in the panel discussions and the open discussion.
The event is organized by the Interreg Europe -project TANIA in cooperation with the University of Helsinki and the Regional Council of Päijät-Häme.
For more information:
Mari Dahl (mari.dahl(a)helsinki.fi) or Johanna Snell (johanna.snell(a)paijat-hame.fi).