The results can be barren fields, destructive floods or sickened populations from exposure to contamination.

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But for a landowner, planning permission can turn barren fields into a goldmine.

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From a distance the pale scree slopes on the mountain-side look like barren fields of snow, but get up close and you'll be amazed by the diversity of wildlife that thrives on this reserve.

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The course is beautiful, a jaw dropper at every turn, starting with a classic parkland section, featuring lots of water, tons of beautiful stone bulkheading, and a middle section that climbs into high, barren fields overlooking the lake and the rest of the course with a pronounced links feel, before returning to the lake for dramatic finishing holes including, oddly, a long par-3 over the lake for eighteen.

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But past takeovers have resulted in irrigation systems breaking down and once fertile fields reverting to barren bush: hence the current food crisis.

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Spewing volcanoes and forbidding lava fields make for a land of beautiful, barren expanses and infinite adventure.

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