Introduction

The 2nd International Conference on Environmental and Economic Impacts on Sustainable Development incorporating Environmental Economics, Toxicology and Brownfields aims to provide an interdisciplinary forum where the most serious problems affecting sustainable development can be discussed. It follows the success of the first meeting held in the New Forest, home of the Wessex Institute of Technology, in 2012. The basic premise is that development projects need to consider the pressing issues related to environmental impacts in order to provide complete solutions.

The Conference will discuss how to assess the impact of economic constraints on the environment, considering the social aspects as well as any resulting environmental damage. The overuse of natural resources and the resulting pollution of the environment need to be better understood in financial terms.

Uncontrolled development can result in damage to the environment in terms of the release of toxic substances and hazardous waste. The increasing number of new chemical compounds pose a major challenge to the environment as it is difficult in many cases to predict their effects and take appropriate decisions. Their economic impact can be particularly challenging.

The Conference will examine issues related to whether some forms of development are compatible with environmental protection, particularly in cases of possible serious contamination and toxicity.

The demand for development land has led to the reuse of properties that have been abandoned for a variety of reasons. Many of them are brownfields, sites which have deteriorated in different ways, including by contamination. These sites are usually a burden in terms of economic losses and contribute to the detriment of the quality of life of entire neighbourhoods. Rehabilitation of local fields, particularly those that are contaminated can be an expensive undertaking and require not only technical solutions but the involvement of financial, regulatory and community stakeholders. Fundamental to this premise is the analysis of the risks involved and the development of appropriate strategies.

The conference will address problems of great importance discussing more constructive and progressive approaches to ensure sustainability. A major motivation for the meeting is to learn from past failures, to avoid repeating similar mistakes, while attempting to prevent emerging threats to the environmental and ecological systems.