Scholarly record
THE EVALUATION OF OPEN PIT LAND RECLAMATION IN TURKEY CONSIDERING THE CURRENT LEGISLATION
Abstract
Every action of human being causes changes in environment. Industrial activities realizing large volume of production affect the environment more. Scientific researches not only produce novelty but also try to find solutions in order to reduce the negative effects of these industrial activities. The countries that are good at utilizing their mineral sources have completed their social development in a short time and taken a place among the developed countries. The mining operations have been causing some changes on the environment as well as the other industrial activities. Minerals, which are the consumed and unrenewable resources, have to be extracted where they are located. Mining, which doesn’t have any chance to choose an alternative location, sometimes takes place close to an urban land, at forests or agriculture areas, inevitably. The realization of mining activities with protecting and caring environment in every condition will minimize the negative effects on environment. In Turkey, rules related with usage of area where mining activities are carried out such as exploration, pre-operation, operation, and post-operation are controlled by primarily Mining, Environment, Pasture Laws and some regulations. Although these laws and regulations include many legal arrangements about mining activities and remediation of open-pit land, there seems to be complex matter about remediation of abandoned land depending on land ownership. Within the scope of this paper, general information about remediation of open-pit land was reviewed; present laws and regulations related with the land reclamation were evaluated considering the other countries’ regulations. Meanwhile, this study was realized to compare different mines which are controlled by different authorities in order to reach new approaches for the land management and usage after mining activities in Turkey.
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References12
, some remediation studies such as restoration, rehabilitation and reclamation are described by determination of the natural and cultural features of the mined/abandoned land at the end of the activities. These remediation methods involve many activities that vary from reducing the effects of the land on the environment to the preparation of land for re-usage. In many countries, concept and methods used in remediation of lands after completing of mining activities are an important aspects of the projects prepared in the beginning of mining activities. In our country, similar application is arranged in Environmental Impact Assessment that is a prerequisite to obtain mining license. However, there are many destructed and abandoned areas before acceptance of this regulation. By comparing Turkish legislations to the similar legislations of other countries, mining activity improvements are not limited in the balance of industrialisation and environmental protections. However, in our country the complexity of current law and regulations and controlling by many different departments prevent mining activities in great order. As a conclusion, these complex situation can be eliminated by imposing a new legislation named as Land Remediation Regulation and by this law, new institutions should be founded to approve remediation plan of site depending on land usage and land management, to control remediation works, and to have the power to impose the necessary sanctions.
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