29 May 2018: As management of contaminated land is a field deserving of more attention, experts from consulting firms, industry and government met recently in Cape Town and Durban under the auspices of the Network for Industrially Contaminated Land in Africa (NICOLA) to share ideas and build capacity.
Hosted by SRK Consulting, these NICOLA Connect events allowed for a valuable networking platform for professionals who are involved in contaminated land or associated fields.
“Closer collaboration between the scientific community and the Department of Environmental Affairs, for instance, creates a strong foundation for applying best practice to addressing contaminated land issues in South Africa.” said Tracey Drew, senior environmental scientist at SRK Consulting in Cape Town and a member of NICOLA’s steering committee.
Bish Sahadeo, Principal Scientist and Contamination Lead at SRK’s Durban office, highlighted SRK’s historical and current contamination work in SA, and reinforced SRK’s commitment to NICOLA. “The assessment and management of contaminated land is a key component of the environmental services we offer. NICOLA is playing a valuable role in highlighting issues regarding contaminated land, and provides an African forum for promoting a science-based, sustainable best practice framework,” he said.
“As an African forum for disseminating information on good practice, our organisation and our regular networking events are vital steps in sharing practical and scientific knowledge,” she said. “We invite involvement from all stakeholders who are committed to helping manage contaminated land in a sustainable way,” said Drew.
NICOLA is part of a global network of professionals addressing land contamination. SRK is a company member of NICOLA.
Seen at the event in Cape Town were:
Seen at the event in Durban were:
SRK’s KZN team:
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About NICOLA www.nicola-org.com
NICOLA is a forum for contaminated land management in Africa, which aims to establish a solid platform for the development, application and dissemination of sustainable practices, knowledge and technologies.
About SRK www.srk.co.za
SRK is an independent, global network of consulting practices in over 45 countries on six continents. Its experienced engineers and scientists work with clients in multi-disciplinary teams to deliver integrated, sustainable solutions across a range of sectors – water, infrastructure, environment and energy.