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This project seeks to regenerate selected areas in the mining region through the involvement and/or support of government departments, the Minerals Foundation of Goa, Goa Mineral Ore Exporters’ Association, local villagers, panchayats and local development NGOs. The project is a logical extension of the research underway within TERI Western Regional Centre, Goa, in promoting sustainable development in the minerals industry. Through our earlier research and interaction with different stakeholders in the minerals industry and the mining region, we have come to believe, that there is need for stakeholders to work together to address issues of concern to them. Such partnerships, if they are to address the complex series of social, technological, political and environmental issues prevalent in mining regions, benefit also from using a watershed approach. By taking on board issues of concern to various stakeholders, we believe a more democratic response can be negotiated. This project has two components: technical and social. The technical component aims at providing assistance in those issues that were earlier identified as being important constraints to improve local conditions. They relate to an analysis of land-use options for restoration of degraded land to production, pilot-scale trials of plantations on representative mine-degraded areas, and to the identification of different uses that abandoned mine pits can be put to. The technical component will also include an assessment of land and pit ownership issues and international best practices followed in land rehabilitation. The social objectives are to help local communities develop alternative income and employment opportunities in the mining region thereby reducing dependency of communities on mining jobs due to mine closure or upgraded technology. All objectives involve the engagement of the stakeholders at each stage of the project. The research is being carried out in partnership with the Mining and Energy Network (MERN) at the University of Warwick, U K.
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