1 / 16

Restoration of surface mines: challenges of the third world from a first world perspective

Restoration of surface mines: challenges of the third world from a first world perspective . Susie Irizarry 19 April 2011 Restoration Ecology. Outline: Surface mining African diamond mines Chinese perspective Higgs and Thompson. Surface mining.

dyanne
Download Presentation

Restoration of surface mines: challenges of the third world from a first world perspective

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Restoration of surface mines: challenges of the third world from a first world perspective Susie Irizarry 19 April 2011 Restoration Ecology

  2. Outline:Surface miningAfrican diamond minesChinese perspectiveHiggs and Thompson

  3. Surface mining • “The direct effects of mining activities can be unsightly landscape, loss of cultivated land, forest and pasture land, and the overall loss of production. The indirect effects can be multiple, such as soil erosion, air and water pollution, toxicity, geo-environmental disasters, loss of biodiversity, and ultimately loss of economic wealth (Li 2006)” • “The greatest threat to biodiversity is from surface mining (Carrick and Kruger 2007)”

  4. African diamond mines • Succulent Karoo Biome • One of two semi-arid biodiversity hotspots • Large amount of endemics • Two case studies: • Sperrgebeit, Namibia • Namaqualand, South Africa • Colonial history led to international investment and control of land • Diamond rich lands occur along the western coast • Violence and poverty

  5. Map of namibiaSucculent kar00 biome

  6. Sperrgebeit, Namibia • Exclusion Policies – “Forbidden Zone” • Namib Diamond Corporation purchase • Establishment of Sperrgebeit National Park • Lessons Learned: • Public vs. private ownership • Natural resource exploiting

  7. Namaqualand, south africa • Government legislation: Minerals Act 50 (1991) and Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 (2002) • Restoration Ecology research being conducted • Limiting autogenic factors • Local knowledge of restoration

  8. “Among these terms reclamation can best describe the restoration practice in china…”(li 2006) Ecological Restoration in China

  9. Chinese restoration THE PROBLEM: • Population growth has been the primary motivation for restoration • As of 2004, China had 3.2 million hectares of land unavailable for use because of degradation by mining operations • Restoration occurs at a rate of 10-12% of the degraded land

  10. CHINESE RESTORATION SOLUTIONS RELATED ISSUES Lack of enforcement Lack of integration Unsafe practices and no testing for contamination • Government policy • Investment in research • Conversion of land to agricultural uses

  11. Africa, china, higgs, and Thompson? How do they fit together?

  12. First world meets third world • HIGGS CONCEPTS • Focal Restoration – more or less embraced in case studies we’ve examined • Nostalgia and narrative continuity – Sperrgebeit National Park • Ecological integrity and historical fidelity – is it ethical to insist on these principles given the situations in these countries? • Wilderness as a theme? Colonization of the imagination?

  13. Thompson’s Perspectives • Nature = what exists outside of human intervention, yet restoration = act of human intervention in nature. Should we really focus on this definition of natural in these situations? • Metaphor of Healing may be appropriate in these discussions • Humility – regarding knowledge and control • Restraint – regarding pursuit of self-interest • Sensitivity – regarding to quirks of the system • Respect – for system itself

  14. Lack of a positive sense of place just might help the progress of ecological restoration Just a thought…

  15. REferences • Barnard, P., Brown, C. J., Jarvis, A. M., & Robertson, A. 1998. Extending the Namibian protected area network to safeguard hotspots of endemism and diversity. Biodiversity and Conservation 7: 531-547. • Botha, M. S., Carrick, P. J., & Allsopp, N. 2008. Capturing lessons from land-users to aid the development of ecological restoration guidelines for lowland Namaqualand. Biological Conservation 141: 885-895. • Burke, A. 2007. Recovery in naturally dynamic environments: A case study from the Sperregebeit, Southern African Arid Succulent Karoo. Environmental Management 40: 635-648. • Gao, L., Miao, Z., Bai, Z., Zhou, X., Zhao, J., & Zhu, Y. 1998. A case study of ecological restoration at the Xiaoyi Bauxite Mine, Shanxi Province, China. Ecological Engineering 11: 221-229. • Carrick, P. J., & Krüger, R. 2007. Restoring degraded landscapes in lowland Namaqualand: Lessons from the mining experience and from regional ecological dynamics. Journal of Arid Environments 70: 767-781. • Li, M. S. 2006. Ecological restoration of mineland with particular reference to the metalliferous mine wasteland in China: A review of research and practice. Science of the Total Environment 357: 38-53. • Mitsch, W. J., Yan, J., & Cronk, J. K. 1993. Ecological engineering – contrasting experiences in China with the West. Ecological Engineering 2: 177-191. • Republic of Namibia Ministry of Environment and Tourism. 2008. Sperrgebeit National Park. Bulletin [Online]. 4 April 2011. <http://www.met.gov.na/Documents/Sperrgebiet%20National%20Park.pdf>. • Wang, Y., Dawson, R., Han, D., Peng, J., Liu, Z., & Ding, Y. 2001. Landscape ecological planning and design of degraded mining land. Land Degradation & Development 12: 449-459.

More Related