The legacy of the 250 years of the Industrial Revolution in Wales was many thousands of hectares of derelict land remaining after exploitation for coal mining and metal-working. For many years the need to do something about dereliction in Wales was evident to all sectors of society but the problem was too large for any one local authority to rectify on its own. The intervention of the UK central government was necessary to provide the necessary financial assistance required. The multi-disciplinary investigation of the derelict Lower Swansea Valley was the first attempt to assess the problem of dereliction but this project was not in a position to undertake restoration itself. This was to come later after the country's and particularly the government's conscience was stirred by the Aberfan disaster in 1966.
The agency through which funds are channelled from UK central government for land restoration in Wales is the Welsh Development Agency (WDA). It was established by the government in 1976 to encourage economic development in the Principality through the provision of financial and practical advice for manufacturing and commercial activities. Currently the WDA meets the full cost of approved reclamation schemes put forward by the county and district authorities.
Since 1976 when the WDA was set up, over β¬200 million has been spent on landscape restoration in Wales, the greater part of it in the counties of Gwent, Mid and West Glamorgan. In 1991-2, β¬31 million was spent on land restoration and to assist the development of areas with economic potential in Wales. It seemed logical that when the Institute of British Geographers came to Swansea for its Annual Conference, land degradation which has so affected the landscape of South Wales, its contemporary geography and attempts at rehabilitation, should be discussed.
With the onset of the 1980s came increasing pressure to ensure value for money in quasi-governmental organizations and this ethos led to an examination of the published accounts to obtain an impression of the cost per hectare of land restoration in Wales. During its first 10 years of operation the WDA spent β¬84 million in schemes which cost between β¬25 000 and &90 000 per hectare to complete with an average cost of β¬34 370 (Bridges, 1987).
In the following papers, which are some of those presented in an Institute of British Geographers (IBG) conference session entitled 'Quality of Restored Land', the accent turns from cost to quality-clearly the two are closely related but the quality of restored land is a significant factor in the acceptability of many land restoration schemes. An acceptable quality of restoration makes it easier for the public to accept the inevitable disturbance and discomfort involved, particularly in situations where any remaining minerals such as coal are removed by opencast methods during restoration.
The leading speakers at the IBG conference were all highly qualified and experienced in the management of restoration programmes.