The Role of Environmental Impact Assessment in Rehabilitation and Conversion of Exploitation Fields

Sa？etak According to existing regulations for the exploitation of mineral resources, it is necessary to carry out environmental impact assessment. When opening the exploitation field, the project documentation must, in accordance with the regulations in force, also contain the method of recovery for the closed exploitation field.However, the practice so far shows that recovery of the exploitation fields approaches exclusively from the technical point of view which implies mining works for the implementation of protection measures of the excavated areas and exclude the possibility of endangerment of people, property, nature and the environment. It often happens that the abandoned exploitation fields are not recovered and rehabilitation of the exploited field is not considered as part of the technical recovery. From the point of view of environmental protection, the exploitation of mineral resources has far the greatest negative impact, both on landscape and biodiversity, mostly due to the devastated space that remains after the exploitation field is closed.This paper will show the possibilities of rehabilitation and conversion of the abandoned exploitation fields and the obstacles encountered in the preparation of project documentation, including the environmental impact assessment procedure on several examples