Regulation of natural resources in civil engineering projects for sustainable development
Keywords:
Sustainable development, natural resources, civil engineering, environmental management, environmental impact assessmentAbstract
The regulation of natural resources in civil engineering projects constitutes one of the main pillars for sustainable development, especially in those areas where the extraction and use of resources such as sand, sediments, and construction waste can lead to significant environmental impacts. This systematic review investigates recent research on governance regarding sand extraction, the circular economy of construction, dredging practices, eco-public procurement, and environmental impact assessments, with the aim of identifying alternatives that reconcile economic progress with ecological protection/awareness. Twenty-nine articles are included, selected based on the inclusion criteria of thematic suitability and methodological robustness for regions such as Ghana, Malaysia, Vietnam, and other parts of the world. The results highlight that illegal sand extraction degrades soil fertility and farming communities; the circular economy generates less waste due to the recycling of materials; eco-public procurement policies strengthen environmental criteria applied to tenders; and environmental impact assessment requires coherent simplifications of models so as not to cause delays but, at the same time, without limiting certain protections.
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