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Explains that the 1993 Department of Environment Survey of Derelict Land in England found that the area of derelict land in England between 1988 and 1993 remained relatively static, despite the considerable sums of public money spent on derelict land reclamation during this period. With the launch of English Partnerships in 1993, and its subsuming of Derelict Land Grant the following year, evaluates the changes in the funding of derelict land reclamation in England and attempts to identify the likely outcomes of such changes. Describes a study in which key players within English Partnerships and Government Offices for the regions were interviewed, as well as local government officers with the responsibility for implementing land reclamation programmes. Concludes that there will be a reduction in the priority and funding of derelict land reclamation and that as a consequence, the area of derelict land in England may increase for the first time in over a decade.

Many old coal‐mining corporations in East China were previously flatlands and farmlands in a dominant position. After mining, the agricultural ecosystem deteriorated severely, and problems such as farmlands subsiding, bridges and culverts breaking, farmhouses damaged by crevices and so on, can be observed everywhere. Agricultural ecosystem rehabilitation (AER) becomes an important issue for sustainable development in this area because land subsidence impacts on agricultural production, and farmers who lose prime lands become an unstable factor with regard to social stability. In this paper the Xuzhou coal mine area is analyzed as an example. This paper poses the engineering reclamation measures and reclaimed land use forms. Non‐filling methods, supplemented with filling methods, are main engineering measures for AER. Reclaimed land use types include planting vegetable, wheat, rice, cotton, soybean, and treating the foundations used for new village sites. This paper introduces the experimental effect of drainage, construction methods and planting in the Tongshan reclaimed area.

Financial assurance rules, also known as financial responsibility or bonding requirements, foster cost internalization by requiring potential polluters to demonstrate the financial resources necessary to compensate for environmental damage that may arise in the future. Accordingly, assurance is an important complement to liability rules, restoration obligations, and other regulatory compliance requirements. The paper reviews the need for assurance, given the prevalence of abandoned environmental obligations, and assesses the implementation of assurance rules in the United States. From the standpoint of both legal effectiveness and economic efficiency, assurance rules can be improved. On the whole, however, cost recovery, deterrence, and enforcement are significantly improved by the presence of existing assurance regulations.

Coastal land reclamation (CLR) projects have become an effective solution for population growth while creating new market areas and expanding revenue streams. Although a few studies have been conducted on risk management in CLR projects, they had very little prioritisation on financial and economic risk management. Thus, this study aims to manage the financial and economic risks of CLR projects.

A quantitative research approach consisting of three Delphi rounds was adopted for this study. The findings of this study were analysed and validated using statistical tools.

This study identified 13 significant financial and economic risk factors in CLR projects, among which poor quality of the sand and soil, delays in making payments, unpredictability of the safety and security of the country and high dredging volumes were the most significant. Most of these risks have to be borne by the client and the contractor. Conducting environmental impact studies, following quality control procedures and increasing social awareness are significant strategies to handle the financial and economic risks of CLR projects.

This study addresses the literature gap pertaining to financial and economic risk management in CLR projects by identifying its overall process, including the identification of significant financial and economic risks based on the severity levels; risk allocation among the client, contractor and consultant; and suitable risk handling strategies for each significant financial and economic risk factor. Moreover, the findings of this study can be used to effectively deal with financial and economic risks in CLR projects while raising society’s awareness.

Increasingly, land is a scarce resource which is much sought after in Penang Island, Malaysia. This is because Penang is largely made up of steep topography and much of the lowland areas are already developed. Penang is one of the many rapidly industrialising states in Malaysia with a largely urban populace. In recent decades, efforts at industrialisation and the development of other economic sectors have been intensified, leading to greater urbanisation and greater pressures on land. Although land reclamation has eased the pressures somewhat, it is not enough to satisfy the high demand for land on the island. As such, developers have turned to the remaining hill land on the island. Many hills and their environs are already being developed and many hill projects are in the pipe line. This has led to many environmental problems such as deforestation, decimation of water catchments, destruction of endangered fauna and flora, soil erosion, landslides, water pollution, sedimentation and downstream flooding. Some of these problems have been exacerbated and turned into disasters due to the extremely fragile and sensitive nature of hill ecosystems. Despite such problems, the State Government has decided to lift the freeze on development of hill land since January 1998, and this has effectively opened up all hill land for development on the island. Therefore, hill land needs to be protected and conserved by other means and this study recommends the adoption of a policy of “No development in all ecologically and environmentally sensitive areas”, the setting up of a Hill Land Technical Committee (HLTC) to manage all developments pertaining to hill land and to gazette all hill land in the State, and the use of state‐of‐the‐art remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to monitor and control development activities on hill land in Penang.

Index by subjects, compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals: Facilities Volumes 8‐17; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐17; Property Management Volumes 8‐17; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐17.

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐17; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐17; Property Management Volumes 8‐17; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐17.

Index by subjects, compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.