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Anthropogenic activities substantially altered the ecosystem's functioning and most of them are directly or indirectly responsible for biodiversity loss, land degradation, and climate change. Therefore, maximizing the conservation of natural capital and restoring the potential of the natural ecosystems are essential to sustain life on this planet. Where most of the economic activities are coupled with environmental degradation, the reestablishment of ecosystem attributes is a vital part of global conservation strategies. Mining activities cause inevitable loss of ecological structure and functions, while restoration of mine degraded lands provides an opportunity to reinstate ecological integrity and to develop a self‐sustaining ecosystem. However, it cannot be possible without learning from our experience, scientific research, community participation, traditional knowledge, political support, and economic backup. Here, we summarize some of the field observations explicitly based on the restoration of coal mine degraded lands in India. Experiences based on the practical approaches of ecosystem restoration highlight the key role of physical aspects of restoration, selection of plant species for biological restoration, and its combined effect on generating socioeconomic and environmental benefits. We recommend the inclusion of a site‐specific restoration plan, native species for reforestation, and involvement of the local community in restoration programs. Moreover, they are essential to attain the United Nations‐Sustainable Development Goals (UN‐SDGs) particularly, reduce poverty and hunger, provide affordable and clean energy, mitigate climate change, and reestablish life on degraded lands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extraction of natural resources through mining activities has tremendously increased to maintain the trade‐off between demand and supply of energy resources. Surface mining activities lead to deforestation, displacement of topsoil and overburden rocks, and disposal of huge amounts of waste that depletes ecosystem services. We attempt to summarize the recent advance in the restoration of mine degraded lands and their role in the sustainable management of the post‐mining ecosystem. Selective plantation and application of various soil amendments along with the topsoil potentially enhance the recovery of mine degraded lands. Afforestation of mine degraded lands can generate economic, social, and environmental benefits to mining companies and the regional population. Outcomes of numerous studies have highlighted the need for the selective plantation that demonstrates characters like stress tolerance, climate resilience, and native to the local ecosystem. Besides, it is important to restore the ecosystem in such a way that it can deliver ecosystem services and match the objectives of international policies like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientific evidence on applications of microalgae in bioremediation of wastewaters, increasing agricultural productivity, and biomass production strengthens their potential in supporting global socio-economic and environmental sustainability. Microalgae can consume organic compounds and pollutants present in domestic, agricultural, and industrial wastewater. This leads to biomass production in wastewater and water being relatively safe to be disposed of into water bodies and safeguard life in water. The extensive diversity of microalgae, encompassing a distinct array of physiological, reproductive, and functional traits, along with their remarkable efficiency in wastewater treatment, positions this group of organisms as exceptionally superior to other organisms. Molecular and biotechnological approaches have provided promising tools for improving the biomass production of microalgae from wastewater. Recent technological innovations have facilitated harvesting algal biomass from wastewater treatment plants for developing a range of bioproducts like bioenergy, biofertilizer and other various high value biochemicals. Microalgal communities and their biomass produced from wastewater are investigated for the restoration of degraded lands. The potential use of diverse microalgal species and their biomass from wastewater for restoration of degraded lands such as salt-affected lands, drought ridden arid areas, fly ash contaminated lands, and metal-polluted mine spoils is discussed. Moreover, this review elaborates on how use of microalgae from wastewater to wastelands can contribute to various sustainable development goals (SDGs). It is found that extending microalgae research and use from wastewater to wastelands can support achieving all SDGs by directly contributing to 10 goals. [Display omitted] • Diverse microalgae species are effective in wastewater treatment. • Biologically remediated wastewater can be used for various socio-economic purposes. • Microalgae-based land restoration mechanisms and strategies are proposed. • Leveraging microalgae research is proposed to attain UN Sustainable Development Goals • Water-soil-plant-algae nexus is vital for environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]