What is the goal of land rehabilitation after camp closure?

• A. To maximize short-term shelter capacity.
• B. To increase immediate agricultural yield.
• C. To minimize monitoring.
• D. To restore soil structure, revegetate, protect biodiversity, and prevent long-term land degradation and contamination.

Answer: (D)

The aim of land rehabilitation after camp closure is to restore the land’s ecological function and protect people and the environment in the long term. This means bringing back healthy soil structure so water can infiltrate and roots can grow, reestablishing vegetation to stabilize the soil and create habitat, protecting biodiversity to maintain ecosystem services like pollination and natural pest control, and preventing long-term problems such as erosion, soil compaction, and contamination from waste or hazardous substances. When land is rehabilitated in this way, it supports sustainable livelihoods for returning communities and reduces future environmental and health risks.

Activities like maximizing short-term shelter capacity or chasing immediate agricultural yield don’t address these lasting environmental protections and can even create new problems. Similarly, minimizing monitoring would overlook ongoing risks and impede the ability to detect and fix issues that could cause degradation later on.