Description
In response to the target of “zero net land take” set by the French government in its Biodiversity Plan, technical and research institutions, municipalities and consultancy firms are stepping up initiatives to identify industrial or urban brownfields that are suitable for ecological restoration, with the goal of incorporating more green spaces into urban areas. Some of these polluted and abandoned sites are home to evolving ecosystems of ecological interest (due to the presence of heritage species, for example). This raises the question of whether to leave the pollution in place to preserve the ecosystems there or if decontamination operations should be undertaken, the implementation of which could lead to the sacrifice of these ecosystem.
The “Ecological Index of Concern” (EIoC) defines three categories of polluted sites: a "non-concerning state," indicating the potential for facilitated repurposing of the wasteland for ecological use; a "concerning state," requiring further in-depth studies such as an ERA (ecosystem risk assessment); and an "intermediate state," where classification into one of the two previous categories requires additional information.
The Ecological Index of Concern (EIoC) is a management tool intended to be used before performing an ecological risk assessment for guiding the management or remediation methods of polluted sites. The index has demonstrated its workability and utility for brownfields with higher pollutant levels that the background values but where the soil had potential environmental benefit for the ecosystems already present (carbon storage, recreational zones, reducing heat islands and flooding, etc.).