When businesses leave from certain areas, there is a chance that their actions have caused some damage to the surrounding environment. Reclamation is the idea of returning the environment back to conditions before these businesses arrived. This practice is seen especially in the mining industry, where the search for minerals can leave lasting effects on the excavated region.

Reclamation is necessary for the sustainability of land and for the good of humans. The constant need for raw materials in some areas means that there has to be a way for resources to recover after collection. In areas of deforestation, replanting allows for not only a fresh supply of resources in the future, but it also provides security as the trees may serve to prevent erosion by their roots securing soil from sliding away.

At the same time, it’s beneficial for people in that it allows the land to be reused. After mines have closed, for example, waste rock can produce acid rock drainage that can upset the pH balance in soil on both farms and ecosystems that may be repurposing the land. Restoring this land is important in both cases. The affected soil could prevent plant life from redeveloping in both reclaimed and surrounding areas and can compromise the yield of the farm’s crop or make the land unusable.

—

Other Source

“Reclamation.” Vocabulary.com. https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/reclamation. Accessed May 6, 2016.

“Reclamation Specialist.” ECO Canada. http://www.eco.ca/career-profiles/reclamation-specialist/. Accessed May 6, 2016.