EU Standards for Environmental Rehabilitation of Mining Lands

ended

The goal of the proposed project is based on the integration of the best practices of the European Union in the field of environmental rehabilitation of lands affected by the mining industry. This topic is very actual for Ukraine which faces upcoming challenges related to the closure of coal mines in Western Donbas and relevant development of the surface mining industry. Along the life cycle of mining enterprises, the adjacent lands accept the powerful environmental impact in the form of contamination by heavy metals. There is an urgent need to establish prerequisites for training a new generation of young researchers and experts to cope with these problems by accepting the best available technologies used in the EU. The project includes the development of a comprehensive academic Module “Environmental Rehabilitation of Mining Lands” (ERML) for students that consists of 3 Master courses based on directives and standards of the European Union in the field of Land management, environmental impact assessment (EIA) and ecological engineering technologies in mining. The project tasks are conceived as the logical stages of transferring advanced knowledge and the best existing practices in the field of ERML, EIA from EU to Ukraine via academic courses, research work, and dissemination activities, and included the following: 1. To develop the comprehensive academic Module “Environmental Rehabilitation of Mining Lands” (ERML) consisting of 3 substantially revised Master courses for young specialties and experts in the field of Ecology and Environmental Engineering; 2. To launch research work focused on EU approaches and strategies in the field of Environment, Sustainability the ERML issues; 3. To facilitate the propagation of EU standards through collaboration with EU partner Universities, Ukrainian industries, local authorities, and the public sector. The ERML Module will become a bridge between DUT and European universities extending principles of lifelong education, diversity, and partnership.