This day-long course offers an introduction to ecological risk assessment (ERA) for land contamination, including considerations for surface waters and sediments. While regulatory ERA began in the UK with the Part IIA Environmental Protection Act 1990, its relevance has grown in light of the global biodiversity crisis and rapidly evolving environmental policies. Still leading with Part IIA, this programme also supports participants in recognising the wider context of how pollution affects ecosystems through the following topics:
·Why is it important to protect and restore nature?
·What is ERA and ecotoxicology?
·How to assess eco-risk using an ERA framework approach, with illustrative case studies
·What’s next for nature and pollution?
Who should attend this course?
This course is designed for contaminated land practitioners - such as environmental consultants and regulators - who want to develop or refresh their knowledge of site investigation, legacy contamination, pollution incidents, ecosystems and ecotoxicology in the context of nature protection.
Course Prerequisites
Delegates are encouraged to share their insights and questions, as the session will be interactive. Participants are invited to complete a short pre-course questionnaire to help the trainer address their ERA needs.
About the trainer
Samantha Deacon is an independent environmental consultant with over 25 years’ experience in nature strategy, environmental risk, and product stewardship. After leading Ramboll’s Global Biodiversity & Ecosystems team of 300 specialists, she founded The Nature Imperative to work directly with clients moving towards nature-positive outcomes. Samantha previously developed the ERA Framework for Land Contamination at the Environment Agency, including soil screening values, and created a similar framework for a European regulator.
