The 6th International Conference on Soil Pollution and Remediation Held in Nanjing
Group photo of some of the participants
The 6th International Conference on Soil Pollution and Remediation was held in Nanjing, China from November 6 to 8, 2023. The conference was hosted by the Institute of Soil Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ISSAS), Soil Science Society of China (SSSC), and Jiangsu Provincial Environmental Protection Group Co. Ltd (JSEP). The conference aimed to provide a forum for professionals in the field of soil pollution and remediation to collaborate and address the pressing issue of soil contamination on a global scale. It brought together more than 200 participants from over 100 scientific research units across 19 countries, including China, the United States, Australia, Germany, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, France, Japan, Vietnam, and South Africa. The conference featured keynote speeches, oral presentations, and poster sessions, as well as a networking reception and an exhibition of the latest technologies and products related to soil pollution and remediation.
The opening ceremony of the conference was Chaired by Prof. Yongming Luo from ISSCAS. Prof. Xiaoyuan Yan, the Deputy Director of ISSAS, Executive Vice President and Secretary General of SSSC, and Yuchen Guo, the Deputy General Manager of JSEP, delivered speeches to welcome conference participants on behalf of the organizing committee. In their speeches, they underscored the importance of soil as a natural resource that life on earth depends on, and how tackling soil contamination would help in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Prof. Ravi Naidu, the Director of the Global Centre for Environmental Remediation at the University of Newcastle, Australia, presented a speech on behalf of international experts at the conference and expressed gratitude to the organizing committee for the warm welcome. He also highlighted the importance of the conference at a time when the world is in need of addressing soil contamination as a crucial pathway towards sustainable development.
The conference featured presentations by 28 experts from various countries on a diverse array of topics including metals and organic pollutants, antibiotic resistance, and microplastics, environmental contamination, soil health, landfill closure and regeneration, sustainable soil remediation and management. The key speakers at the conference included Prof. Ravi Naidu, Prof. Ming Hung Wong from the Education University of Hong Kong, China, Prof. Damia Barcelo from the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, Spain, Prof. Lee Newman from the State University of New York, USA, Prof. Kristian Koefoed Brandt from University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Drs. Yuxin Tong and Sergejus Ustinov from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), etc.
The “Meet Editors” session at the conference provided a unique opportunity for participants to engage with editors from esteemed journals such as The Innovation, Science of the Total Environment, Environment Technology & Innovation, and Eco-Environment & Health. This session allowed for in-depth discussions about the editorial processes of these renowned journals and facilitated meaningful interactions between the editors and the scholarly community.
The conference concluded with a closing ceremony chaired by Prof. Fang Wang. Prof. Yongming Luo delivered a concluding remarks. Prof. Luo expressed his gratitude to the conference’s organizing committee for their dedication to ensuring its success. He also extended his appreciation to the attendees who traveled long distances to take part in the conference.
Overall, the 6th International Conference on Soil Pollution and Remediation served as a crucial platform for advancing knowledge in the field of soil pollution and remediation, emphasizing the importance of concerted efforts to address this pressing environmental challenge.
