![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2012) |
Land rehabilitation as a part of environmental remediation is the process of returning the land in a given area to some degree of its former state, after some process (industry, natural disasters, etc.) has resulted in its damage. Many projects and developments will result in the land becoming degraded, for example mining, farming and forestry. It is crucial that governments and businesses act proactively by working on improvement, lay out rehabilitation standards and ensure that decisions on mediation should be based around value judgment for higher sustainability in the future. [1]
In some jurisdictions, including parts of the United States,[2] the term "reclamation" can refer to land rehabilitation, as in returning disturbed lands to an improved state, instead of the land fill of water bodies. In Alberta, Canada, for example, reclamation is defined by the provincial government as "The process of reconverting disturbed land to its former or other productive uses."[3]