Theoretical approach to a model of economic and environmental management for mining rehabilitation

Abstract

Mining rehabilitation is one of the mechanisms implemented to balance degradation in mined areas and it is described in several countries as an important instrument in public policies. Its purpose is to ensure the correction of negative and large scale environmental impacts, giving a final use to the rehabilitated land. Nickel mining activity is one of the most important sectors of the Cuban national economy, due to the level of contributions that it generates to Gross Domestic Product. This activity, because of its nature, tends to be unsustainable because it devastates the ecosystems located in the deposit. That is why there is an immediate need to propose a solution from the different sciences, specifically from the Economic Sciences. The objective of this paper is to incorporate the economic, environmental and social dimensions in the mining rehabilitation process through the conception of a management model that contributes to the achievement of sustainable development. A documentary analysis of specialized scientific and technical literature was carried out which reflects the environmental problems that affect the Municipality of Moa due to the strip mining of nickel. As a result, an environmental management model for mining rehabilitation is proposed that allows taking adequate advantage of the scenario affected by this type of activity in order to reduce the impact of ecosystems and increase the quality of life of the inhabitants.