'WORKING WITH NATURE', A REVIEW OF 25 YEARS OF SUCCESSFUL LAND RECLAMATION IN WALES

摘要

A particularly rich and varied part of the United Kingdom in terms of its mineral resources, Wales has been an important part of the industrial base of the country for the last 250 years. A long lasting disregard for environmental impact followed by decline or concentration of heavy industries left many communities in the region in a desperate condition. A programme of reclamation and redevelopment which began in the ' 1960's has seen the development of a confident "savoir faire" in land reclamation which involves a wide range of disciplines ranging from engineering and landscape architecture to biochemistry, mineral processing and horticulture. A holistic approach to reclamation is now commonplace and the paper describes how this has come about and the benefits which have accrued in terms of cost effectiveness and quality of restoration.