Abstract
The paper analyzes the impacts of mining activities on sustainable land management in mining areas in the Republic of Serbia and Romania and discusses the main challenges related to the management of these issues in legislation and practice. Particular attention is paid to land disturbance, mine waste management and land reclamation, as well as access to land for mining purposes, the transfer of mining royalties and the partnerships of the mining industry, governments, communities and civil society for sustainable mining. Both governments are willing to provide the adequate role to mining in strengthening the national economies, but they face numerous constraints in this matter. Sustainable mining practices and consistent implementation of the mining for the closure planning approach, within an improved legislative framework and in cooperation with stakeholders at all levels, create conditions for the development of creative, profitable, environmentally-sound and socially-responsible management and reuse of mine lands.
Highlights
Land performs many key environmental, economic, social and cultural functions that are vital for life.These functions are generally interdependent, and the extent to which land performs them is strongly related to sustainability [1].According to the World Commission on Environment and Development definition, sustainable development is the type of development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs [2]
A sustainable minerals policy needs to: facilitate the transformation of natural mineral capital into built physical, economic, environmental or social capital of equal or greater value; ensure that environmental and negative social impacts of mining are minimized and their costs incorporated into production functions; require transparency and information sharing; reconsider the allocation of rights and the availability of resources across generations; address benefit/risk trade-offs from the perspective of multiple stakeholders and to create contingency plans that will ameliorate the effects of mineral market booms and busts; and be correlated and consistent with other governmental policies [20,21]
Mining Land Management in the Republic of Serbia and Romania: An Overview of Mining companies are making efforts to minimize the footprint of their activities throughout the mine life cycle, including post-mining site rehabilitation
Summary
Land performs many key environmental, economic, social and cultural functions that are vital for life. Managing the impacts of changes in land use, i.e., mitigating the negative impacts and enhancing the positive impacts, is an important sustainable development goal that poses a challenge for mining companies and regulatory agencies [11]. A sustainable minerals policy needs to: facilitate the transformation of natural mineral capital into built physical, economic, environmental or social capital of equal or greater value; ensure that environmental and negative social impacts of mining are minimized and their costs incorporated into production functions; require transparency and information sharing; reconsider the allocation of rights and the availability of resources across generations; address benefit/risk trade-offs from the perspective of multiple stakeholders and to create contingency plans that will ameliorate the effects of mineral market booms and busts; and be correlated and consistent with other governmental policies [20,21]. A new roadmap for collaborative, long-term sustainable mining should be based on three pillars: shared purpose during and after the mine’s operation, flourishing ecosystems, with a reduced environmental footprint of every mining activity as the first step, and achievement of long-term sustainable prosperity for the communities and nations in which the mining companies operate, as well as for the companies themselves [26]
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