ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT2 Mineral extraction has a lot of economic benefits in the society. It creates job opportunities to people and generates revenue to the nation. However, mining without proper management poses a lot of risks and challenges to the sustainable development. Mining is also a fundamental requirement for well-being of human beings and all other sectors of the economy. It is possible to alleviate environmental effects, defend rights of people, elevate social inclusion and facilitate gains from mining activities for development, and also ensure achievement of economic benefits from the whole chain of mining(UNDP and UN Environment, 2018). Mining can be sustained through the following methods; proper water management by monitoring water usage to maximize water recycling, reuse and engaging local stakeholders to generate license for operation and application of better technology in water management; allocation of enough funds for land reclamation, ensuring maximum land restoration to facilitate continuous use for agricultural purpose or other alternative uses, ensuring high standards and quality of land restoration activities, and investing in research and technology to investigate weathering processes of materials, waste management and study processes of soil formation; engaging local community and experts to reduce dangers and promote redevelopment of fauna and flora, respecting areas that are protected nationally basically for conservation of biodiversity. Additionally, environment protection can be enhanced by curbing air pollution through governmental enforcement of strict rules and regulations that control air emissions especially carbon. Governments can also invest in campaign on use of alternative renewable energy sources that supply amount of energy which is of equal amount with the quantity of fuel required for the mining operations(Mining Global, 2014).
ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT3 References Mining Global. (2014).Top 10 Ways to Make Mines More Environmentally Friendly. Retrieved from Mining global: https://www.miningglobal.com/top-10/top-10-ways-make-mines- more-environmentally-friendly UNDP and UN Environment. (2018).Managing mining for sustainable development.Bangkok: United Nations Development.