The area of interest, which comprises the districts of Chomutov, Most, Teplice, and Ústí nad Labem (Figure 1) has been significantly affected by intensive mining and industrial activity for almost 200 years. Under the influence of mining and energy industry activities, the burden on the landscape gradually increased. The Podkrušnohoří Basin region was deliberately designated for the interests of the increasing mining of brown coal, whose combustion became a basic energy source for the material- and energy-hungry Czech economy. The territory of the model area, which is the subject of research by the Faculty of Environment of the Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, takes up an area of 2276 km² and is home to 486 thousand inhabitants. The area is a typical industrial region which, in the late 1980s, thanks to the large-scale method of brown coal mining, was part of the “Black Triangle”, then referred to as the most devastated area in Central Europe. To date, as a consequence of the transformation of the Czech economy, significant changes have taken place in the area of North Bohemia―a decline in mining and industrial manufacture, and a reduction in the intensity of agricultural production, which brings with it other specific regional disparities, i.e. social and economic differences.

From its beginnings in 1850 until the present day, open-cast brown coal mining has affected an area of approximately 250 km², reaching its peak with a volume of almost 70 million t/year in the 1980s (Figure 2). In 2016, mining in the North Bohemian Brown Coal District reached 31.07 million tons, and production on this territory under the Ore Mountains is carried out by Czechoslovak Army, Vršany, Libouš, and Bílina Quarries. According to current plans, given a

similar annual mining volume and in compliance with the existing limits in the Czechoslovak Army Quarry, mining in the North Bohemian Brown Coal District should end between 2050 and 2055. This will be done by mining the last of the coal supplies in the Vršany Quarry in the Slatinice extraction area and the Bílina Quarry, whose continuation beyond the originally stipulated limits was decided on by the government in October 2015 by Government resolution No. 827 [2] .

The economic development of the model area is still strongly influenced by ongoing mining activity, and local industrial activities are to a greater or lesser extent connected with the mining, transport, combustion, or other processing of brown coal. The economic subjects are also focusing on smoothing over the consequences of anthropogenic activities connected with mining-reclamation, restoration, and resocialization [4] . In particular, the health impacts connected with the dustiness of the mines and with the combustion of coal affected the region’s demographic curve in the 80 s and 90 s, as the increased occurrence of SO₂ and NOx in the air caused a number of lung diseases. Today, thanks to new technology, these impacts have been eliminated, but this region still has the highest occurrence of lung diseases in the Czech Republic. And from an economic perspective, the unemployment rate in the area of interest is still among the highest. Given the gradual decline of mining, investment is shifting to other sectors - recreation, agriculture, etc. Thanks to the subsequent reclamation, there is a high probability that the situation here will improve to a certain extent, but the demographic and social development does not indicate a significant improvement. The contribution deals with the link between economic development and the sustainable development of an anthropogenically burdened region. It summarizes documents which are closely related to the region’s economic development, with regard to the economic pillar. At the same time, it presents the specific economic, social, and environmental problems which the model area is facing, and proposes possible solutions. Although the contribution deals with the economic, or more precisely the business development of the model area, the social and environmental situation is an essential part of the analyses.

The model area is part of a larger unit, the Ústí nad Labem Region, which comprises a total of seven districts. Apart from those which are part of the area of interest (Chomutov, Most, Teplice, and Ústí nad Labem), it also includes the districts of Litoměřice, Děčín, and Louny. The economic analyses of the region which is affected by mining are part of a project which is being dealt with by the Faculty of Environment of the Jan Evangelista Purkyně University. The main issue addressed by the project is sustainable management in an anthropogenically burdened region. The main document that was essential for the preparation of individual economic analyses was the Statistical Yearbook of the Ústí nad Labem Region 2016 [5] . This publication presents a structure-unified content and follows the national Statistical Yearbook of the Czech Republic, which is compiled at the headquarters of the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO). State statistical surveys are basic sources for the published data. Besides data sources of the Czech Statistical Office, available data from other public authorities were also used, especially from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports, Ministry of Health, Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic, and the Ministry of Transport. A vast portion of the data published is kept in the regional databases of the CZSO-KROK (data on regions and districts) and MOS (statistics of towns and municipalities), and in long-term time series. The data given in the Yearbook are valid as at 15 December 2016 and update the data and estimates published before.

The data showing the size and structure of the population are derived from population censuses, which are followed by annual statistical balances of data on births, marriages, divorces, deaths, and migration. Unless otherwise stated, statistical reports from registries are the data sources. Since 2011, data on the population size and structure follow the final results of the 2011 Population and Housing Census as at 26 March 2011; they are not comparable with the data for the previous years. All data refer to the population permanently resident on the given territory, irrespective of their citizenship.

Regional accounts, the most important source of regional macroeconomic indicators, are a regional analogy to national accounts. They result from annual national accounts compiled for the Czech Republic; as for the methodology they correspond to the European System of Accounts published in 2010 (ESA 2010) [6] and consistently observe rules and recommendations valid for Member States of the European Union, which means that they are comparable to them harmonized. In accordance with the ESA 2010 methodology indicators are surveyed by a workplace method, which means that indicators for enterprises are allocated to regions according to the real location of workplace of a unit. Gross value added for multi-regional organizations is allocated based on wages paid in individual regions. Indicators of household accounts are related to the place of residence of the households. Following macroeconomic indicators were chosen in order to determine economic situation of the area.

Gross domestic product (GDP) is a key indicator of the development of the economy. It is a set of values added of individual institutional sectors or individual industries in activities considered by the ESA to be productive (i.e. including both market and non-market services) and net taxes on products (it is thus expressed in purchaser prices). From the point of view of use, the GDP is equal to the sum of final consumption (of households, general government, and non-profit institutions serving households), gross capital formation (fixed capital and balance of inventories and acquisitions less disposals of valuables), and the external trade balance.

Gross value added (GVA) is the sum of values added of individual industries (i.e. GDP excluding net taxes on products, which cannot be divided among individual industries).

Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) includes the value of acquisition of both tangible and intangible fixed assets (purchased, taken over free of charge or produced by own activities), deducted by the value of its sale and the value of assets handed over free of charge. It also includes acquisition in the form of financial leasing. The target of the acquisition is always to use the fixed assets for productive activity including housing in the dwelling of its owner. Only assets used in production for a period longer than one year are fixed capital. It includes also e.g. equipment for military purposes, research and development expenditure and the like.

Net disposable income of households is an amount that households can give to final consumption, savings in the form of financial assets, and to accumulation of tangible and intangible assets. Disposable income results from the generation and distribution of income and it is the balancing item of the secondary distribution of income account.

For the needs of the international comparison, selected indicators are converted to euro currency unit.

Another primary document was the Sustainable development strategy of the Ústí nad Labem Region 2006-2020 [7] . The document includes economic, social, environmental pillar and governance, which is seen as a place where sustainable development takes place. It is based on the current situation in the region. Qualification and quantification of priorities and strategic objectives is related to 2005. The document is processed according to Anglo-American planning model with small modifications and adaptation according to regional conditions. The methodical approach chosen was tested and innovated in the conditions of the Czech Republic and the whole of Central Europe. Document is based on data and information obtained by official statistical institutes or organizations authorized to collect and evaluate data. An expert working group participated in the elaboration of the document that was discussed with stakeholders and the public. The views of the public and experts based on the social situation of the Ústí region were reflected in the document through the results of sociological surveys. A SWOT analysis of Ústí region was compiled within the development strategy. It is a universal analytical technique used to evaluate internal and external factors which affect the success of an organization or a specific plan (for example a new product or service). The SWOT analysis is most frequently used as a situational analysis within the scope of strategic management and marketing. The author of the SWOT analysis is Albert Humphrey, who proposed it in the 1960s (Table 1). SWOT is an acronym of the initials of the individual factors: S = Strengths, W = Weaknesses, O = Opportunities, T = Threats [8] .

The method used when writing the contribution was the detailed study of these materials and the connections between them, combined with the practical and professional experiences of the contribution’s authors. The novelty of the methodology is in the summarization of available data in order to determine economic development of an area devastated by coal mining. The documents and methods used can serve as a guide for areas with this specific problematic to ensure sustainable development. Economical development of a territory affected by any kind of mining is affected also from social and environmental point of view and follow-up reclamation processes are dependent on such studies in order to choose the best way of restoration.

The model area of the Most Basin has long been affected by the surface mining of brown coal, which in the past brought about the considerable development of industry and job opportunities; after its decline, however, economic, social, and environmental problems began to appear. The contribution is based primarily on materials dealing with sustainable development, which will ensure suitable conditions for future generations. The demographic situation in the region must contend with an ageing population, and a reduction in the number of productive persons who could strengthen the economy. The main issue is unemployment, which, however, has improved from 12% to 8.2% since 2014. Positive development is expected in the future, but modification of the social welfare system, which is being abused by some of the inhabitants of the Ústí nad Labem Region, is essential. Nevertheless, the region has the potential for economic development thanks to its advantageous location adjacent to the Free State of Saxony. The gradual addition of recultivated areas will lead to the creation of new recreational zones, which will help develop tourism and the service sector. Another opportunity for this area is its mineral reserves, though it is necessary to proceed with regard to sustainable development. Macroeconomic indicators show weak economic growth (GDP grew by almost CZK 20,000 compared to 2014). From an environmental perspective, the model area is one of the most polluted regions in the Czech Republic, but this situation is also improving. After the mining limits are reached around 2055, a transition to renewable energy sources will be necessary; these will provide new opportunities, and improve the region’s economic development.

The novelty of contribution is the fact that areas devastated by coal mining may still have positive economical development and that reclamation and restoration processes could be a great chance how to make future economic development sustainable. At the same time, the contribution gives a guide whose documents and analysis should be made in order to describe economy of the chosen territory with respect to the sustainable development. This study can serve as a basis for future decision making process within the reclamation and restoration, because it summarizes strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the Ústí region. Future research should be focused on better implementation of sustainable development principles into social, economic and environmental development of the area of interest. The biggest opportunity is transition to renewable resources of energy after the termination of coal mining which is planned in 2055. More researches should be concentrated on analyses of economic efficiency and environmental sustainability of individual resource according to the specific conditions of our research area (total costs, Environmental Impact Assessment, consumption coverage etc.). Regions affected by surface coal mining have complicated development, but they have a unique chance for improvement if the restoration and reclamation processes will be well controlled.

This article was supported by project QJ1520307 entitled “Sustainable Forms of Management in an Anthropogenically Burdened Region”. This project was realized with financial support from state budget resources through the KUS program, Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic.

Vráblík, P., Vráblíková, J. and Wildová, E. (2017) Economic Development of an Area Burdened by the Surface Mining of Brown Coal, with Regard to the Principle of Sustainable Development. Modern Economy, 8, 1517-1532. https://doi.org/10.4236/me.2017.812101