CBCGDF-BCON makes 2 recommendations to the "Circular of the Ministry of Natural Resources on Further Strengthening the Supervision of Ecological Rehabilitation of Producing Mines" (Draft for Comments)
In order to help the mining industry develop in a green and low-carbon manner, the Ministry of Natural Resources has drafted the "Circular of the Ministry of Natural Resources on Further Strengthening the Supervision of Ecological Rehabilitation of Producing Mines (Draft for Comments)", which is hereby openly solicited for public opinion. The "Biodiversity Conservation in Our Neighborhood" Working Group of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF-BCON) has responded positively to the call and, after careful study, put forward the following 2 proposals:
Recommendation 1: In the supervision of ecological restoration of production mines, it's suggested that the monitoring of cave inhabitants should be strengthened as an important biodiversity assessment indicator.
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Reason: Cave ecosystem is one of the most unique and fragile ecological environments on earth, with obvious closure, stability and specificity. Due to the lack of light and relatively stable humidity and temperature, inhabitants in caves have evolved over time to form unique ecological communities, such as cave fish, blind scorpions, subterranean insects and fungi, etc. These inhabitants are highly dependent on their habitats, and slight environmental changes can significantly affect them. Therefore, inhabitants in cave ecosystems are often sensitive indicators of ecological changes, and the health and changes in their populations can reflect the health of the entire regional ecosystem.
The extraction of mineral resources, especially underground mines and open-pit mines, which often involves a large number of earthmoving operations, changes in the water table, chemical pollution, noise and vibration, etc., is highly likely to pose direct and indirect threats to cave ecosystems, including habitat destruction (resulting in the disappearance of habitat for roosting inhabitants in caves), changes in hydrological conditions, infiltration of pollutants, anthropogenic disturbances (e.g., disturbance of resting bat populations), etc.
Cave inhabitants are “indicator species” of ecosystem health, and their presence or absence, as well as changes in their populations, can reflect changes in the ecological environment more acutely, so cave inhabitants should be used as an important biodiversity assessment indicator in the ecological restoration of mining areas. Therefore, it is suggested that bats and other inhabitants should be explicitly regarded as “indicator species”, so that they can be used as “grasping hands” for early warning of environmental changes and assessment of ecological restoration effects. The monitoring of cave inhabitants will provide a comprehensive indicator for the restoration of the ecosystem around the mine.
At present, there is no mention of cave inhabitants or bats, although there is a general description in the draft for comments. It's suggested that the monitoring of these cave inhabitants be explicitly strengthened and used as an important biodiversity assessment indicator.
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Recommendation 2:
It is recommended that a mechanism for multi-stakeholder participation and collaboration in programming be clarified. It is important and necessary to increase the participation of multiple stakeholders, especially social organizations representing the public interest of society, and to introduce public consultation in programming.
(The article is a daily work record and is for reference only.)
Edited by: Samantha
Contact: v10@cbcgdf.org; +8617319454776
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