Management for environmental protection in post-industrial regions

Recent years have seen a considerable deterioration of natural environment, especially in industrialised regions, on a worldwide scale. Notably, this has been evidenced in post-communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia, etc. The closing of bigger, unprofitable industrial plants is gradually taking place, which, apart from unemployment in these regions, creates large ecological problems that are connected with the necessity of their reclaiming. The rehabilitation of the coal industry has created environmental problems that are connected with the degradation of Polish towns, under which mining exploitation and slagheap reclamation was carried out. Similar problems that are connected with the degradation of the natural environment can also be found in the areas of steel industry exploitation. All the above-mentioned problems are also noticeable, although on a much smaller scale, throughout Australia. The elaboration in this work includes current environmental challenges with the major emphasis being placed on issues relevant to Australia and Poland.