IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i23p9791-d449982.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is There Sustainable Development after Mining? A Case Study of Three Mining Areas in the Apuseni Region (Romania)

Author

Listed:
  • Camelia Botezan

    (Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Research Institute for Sustainability and Disaster Management Based on High Performance Computing (ISUMADECIP), Babes-Bolyai University, 30 Fantanele Street, 400294 Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

  • Veronica Constantin

    (The Regional Development Agency Centre, 12 Decebal Street, 510093 Alba Iulia, Romania)

  • Monika Meltzer

    (Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Research Institute for Sustainability and Disaster Management Based on High Performance Computing (ISUMADECIP), Babes-Bolyai University, 30 Fantanele Street, 400294 Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

  • Andrei Radovici

    (Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Research Institute for Sustainability and Disaster Management Based on High Performance Computing (ISUMADECIP), Babes-Bolyai University, 30 Fantanele Street, 400294 Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

  • Alina Pop

    (Department of Communication Sciences, Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University, 176, Splaiul Unirii, District 4, 040042 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Filip Alexandrescu

    (Research Institute for the Quality of Life, Calea 13 Septembrie No. 13, 050711 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Lucrina Stefanescu

    (Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Research Institute for Sustainability and Disaster Management Based on High Performance Computing (ISUMADECIP), Babes-Bolyai University, 30 Fantanele Street, 400294 Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

Abstract

The cessation or downsizing of mining activities induced complex challenges for entire regions in Romania, leading to depopulation, poverty, and pollution. Resource-dependency locked these regions in a mono-industry setting where it was difficult for new development paths to emerge. This paper presents a historical overview of a well-known Romanian mining region and identifies promising recovery opportunities that could shift the trajectory of its mining communities towards new sustainable paths. The research was based on official statistical data for the period 1965/1966–2018, complemented by qualitative data extracted from 39 semi-structured interviews with residents from the study area. The results revealed that the concentration of employment in the mining sector, together with other concurring factors, made it difficult for the communities to find sustainable ways of development while, at the same time, highlighting some possible revitalization and recovery opportunities. The findings contribute to a better understanding of mining communities, which will support the creation of tailored policies and planning strategies aimed towards their sustainable redevelopment.

Suggested Citation

  • Camelia Botezan & Veronica Constantin & Monika Meltzer & Andrei Radovici & Alina Pop & Filip Alexandrescu & Lucrina Stefanescu, 2020. "Is There Sustainable Development after Mining? A Case Study of Three Mining Areas in the Apuseni Region (Romania)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-20, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:23:p:9791-:d:449982
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/23/9791/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/23/9791/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cardoso, Andrea, 2015. "Behind the life cycle of coal: Socio-environmental liabilities of coal mining in Cesar, Colombia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 71-82.
    2. Marais, Lochner & Denoon-Stevens, Stuart & Cloete, Jan, 2020. "Mining towns and urban sprawl in South Africa," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    3. Ángel Raúl Ruiz Pulpón & María del Carmen Cañizares Ruiz, 2020. "Enhancing the Territorial Heritage of Declining Rural Areas in Spain: Towards Integrating Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-25, July.
    4. Ştefănescu, Lucrina & Alexandrescu, Filip, 2020. "Environmental protection or subversion in mining? Planning challenges, perspectives and actors at the largest gold deposit in Europe," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    5. Vesna Popović & Jelena Živanović Miljković & Jonel Subić & Andrei Jean-Vasile & Nedelcu Adrian & Eugen Nicolăescu, 2015. "Sustainable Land Management in Mining Areas in Serbia and Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(9), pages 1-21, August.
    6. Ron Martin, 2010. "Roepke Lecture in Economic Geography—Rethinking Regional Path Dependence: Beyond Lock-in to Evolution," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 86(1), pages 1-27, January.
    7. Farahani, Hossein & Bayazidi, Shadi, 2018. "Modeling the assessment of socio-economical and environmental impacts of sand mining on local communities: A case study of Villages Tatao River Bank in North-western part of Iran," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 87-95.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Stefanie Streit & Michael Tost & Katharina Gugerell, 2023. "Perspectives on Closure and Revitalisation of Extraction Sites and Sustainability: A Q-Methodology Study," Resources, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-17, February.
    2. Isabel del Arco & Anabel Ramos-Pla & Gabriel Zsembinszki & Alvaro de Gracia & Luisa F. Cabeza, 2021. "Implementing SDGs to a Sustainable Rural Village Development from Community Empowerment: Linking Energy, Education, Innovation, and Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-13, November.
    3. Sergio Elías Uribe-Sierra & Pablo Mansilla-Quiñones & Alejandro Israel Mora-Rojas, 2022. "Latent Rural Depopulation in Latin American Open-Pit Mining Scenarios," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-23, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Justin Doran & Bernard Fingleton, 2014. "Economic shocks and growth: Spatio-temporal perspectives on Europe's economies in a time of crisis," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93, pages 137-165, November.
    2. Anna Herzog, 2022. "Imaginaries, directionalities, agency and new path creation [Imaginaries, directionalities, Akteurshandeln und Pfadkreation]," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 42(3), pages 279-307, December.
    3. Emil Evenhuis, 2017. "Institutional change in cities and regions: a path dependency approach," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 10(3), pages 509-526.
    4. Qi Mu & Fabrizio Aimar, 2022. "How Are Historical Villages Changed? A Systematic Literature Review on European and Chinese Cultural Heritage Preservation Practices in Rural Areas," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-20, June.
    5. da Rocha, Angela & Kury, Beatriz & Tomassini, Rodrigo & Velloso, Luciana, 2017. "Strategic Responses to Environmental Turbulence: A Study of Four Brazilian Exporting Clusters," INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional, issue 39, pages 155-174.
    6. Daniela Smiraglia & Luca Salvati & Gianluca Egidi & Rosanna Salvia & Antonio Giménez-Morera & Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, 2021. "Toward a New Urban Cycle? A Closer Look to Sprawl, Demographic Transitions and the Environment in Europe," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-14, January.
    7. Ron Boschma, 2021. "Designing Smart Specialization Policy: relatedness, unrelatedness, or what?," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2128, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Sep 2021.
    8. Ron Martin & Peter Sunley, 2011. "Conceptualizing Cluster Evolution: Beyond the Life Cycle Model?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(10), pages 1299-1318, November.
    9. Simon Baumgartinger-Seiringer & David Doloreux & Richard Shearmur & Michaela Trippl, 2021. "When history does not matter? The rise of Quebec’s wine industry," PEGIS geo-disc-2021_05, Institute for Economic Geography and GIScience, Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    10. Cairns, George & Wright, George & Fairbrother, Peter & Phillips, Richard, 2017. "‘Branching scenarios’ seeking articulated action for regional regeneration – A case study of limited success," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 189-202.
    11. Martin, Ron & Sunley, Peter, 2012. "Forms of emergence and the evolution of economic landscapes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 82(2), pages 338-351.
    12. Moodysson , Jerker & Trippl, Michaela & Zukauskaite, Elena, 2015. "Policy Learning and Smart Specialization Balancing Policy Change and Policy Stability for New Regional Industrial Path Development," Papers in Innovation Studies 2015/39, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    13. Bastos, Paulo & Bottan, Nicolas, 2023. "Resource rents, coercion, and local development: Evidence from post-apartheid South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    14. S. Vögele & K. Govorukha & P. Mayer & I. Rhoden & D. Rübbelke & W. Kuckshinrichs, 2023. "Effects of a coal phase-out in Europe on reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 879-916, January.
    15. Philip B. Whyman, 2018. "The local economic impact of shale gas extraction," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(2), pages 184-196, February.
    16. Isaksen , Arne & Trippl , Michaela, 2014. "New Path Development in the Periphery," Papers in Innovation Studies 2014/31, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    17. da Silva Junior, Carlos Antonio & Coutinho, Andressa Dias & de Oliveira-Júnior, José Francisco & Teodoro, Paulo Eduardo & Lima, Mendelson & Shakir, Muhammad & de Gois, Givanildo & Johann, Jerry Adrian, 2018. "Analysis of the impact on vegetation caused by abrupt deforestation via orbital sensor in the environmental disaster of Mariana, Brazil," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 10-20.
    18. Mauricio Oyarzo & Gianni Romani & Miguel Atienza & Marcelo Lufin, 2015. "Spatio-temporal persistence of municipal rates of business start-ups in Chile," Documentos de Trabajo en Economia y Ciencia Regional 61, Universidad Catolica del Norte, Chile, Department of Economics, revised Jul 2015.
    19. Muhirwa, Fabien & Shen, Lei & Elshkaki, Ayman & Hirwa, Hubert & Umuziranenge, Gloriose & Velempini, Kgosietsile, 2023. "Linking large extractive industries to sustainable development of rural communities at mining sites in Africa: Challenges and pathways," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    20. Simón Sánchez‐Moral & Mário Vale & Alfonso Arellano, 2022. "Skill‐Relatedness and Regional Economic Development in Spain during the International Crisis and the Post‐Crisis Period," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 101(3), pages 573-602, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:23:p:9791-:d:449982. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.