3.1 Sustainable and risk-based land management : a briefing about the current state of practice and suggested future direction of travel

ISLANDR is a Horizon Europe project addressing Remediation strategies, methods and financial models for decontamination and reuse of land in urban and rural areas (see box below). This deliverable sets out how ISLANDR plans to advance the state of practice of sustainable and risk based land management (SRBLM) to better consider the use of low input remediation, circular economy perspectives, the achievement of wider value and protection or enhancement of soil health. The outcomes of this work will be summarised in a user-friendly roadmap to support a range of stakeholders for a range of problem scenarios. The international consensus that has emerged over the past 20-30 years is that decisions regarding contaminated sites should be made based on understanding and managing risks to human health and the wider environment, taking into account the current or planned use of the land. More recently there has been a growing emphasis that risk management should also align with sustainable development principles. This integrated approach is known as sustainable and risk-based land management (SRBLM), and is increasingly recognised in international practice, policy, and regulation. Risk management of contaminated sites depends on knowledge of the linkages between sources, pathways and receptors, an estimation of their seriousness and the development of strategies to break linkages that lead to unacceptable risks. The sustainability of risk management can be considered at multiple stages, including: how best to manage a portfolio of sites, the design and planning of any change in site use, and/or the choices made between different risk management (i.e. remediation) techniques. ISLANDR seeks to embed into SRBLM the concepts of using low input remediation techniques where useful, the achievement of a circular economy, a more tangible understanding of wider value from contaminated site management and more direct consideration of the importance of soil health. This 2024 document was used to establish a consultation on ISLANDR’s plans which was released in March 2025 at https://islandr-project.eu/consultation. This consultation and the further work of ISLANDR will lead to an expanded concept of SRBLM in Deliverable 3.2 due in May 2026. Its significance is therefore as an interim output, and it has already been overtaken by the 2025 consultation. This deliverable assumes detailed knowledge of the key elements of contaminated sites element including site investigation, risk assessment, risk management, sustainable remediation, remediation techniques in general and the implementation of remediation. Further information can be found at https://contaminatedland.info. Deliverable 3.1 Sustainable and risk based land management a briefing about the current state of practice and suggested future direction of travel.