Follow the principle of ecological protection to restore mines

In recent years, the Chinese government has attached great importance to the ecological restoration of mines. In 2019, the Ministry of Natural Resources issued the Opinions on Exploring the Use of Market-oriented Ways to Promote Ecological Restoration in Mines; In the "Master Plan for Major Projects for the Protection and Restoration of National Important Ecosystems (2021-2035)" issued in June this year, 21 mentioned "ecological restoration of mines".

Some typical cases of ecological restoration have also emerged across the country. For example, Lianhua Mountain in Hainan Province used to rely on the mountain for food and a large amount of lime mining, leaving six huge mines, seriously damaging vegetation and accumulating waste rocks into mountains, threatening the safety of people and animals. In 2018, Hainan Agricultural Reclamation Tourism Group began to embark on ecological restoration, combining ecological restoration, cultural industry and tourism industry development according to local conditions, and turning abandoned mines into "green gold", which not only successfully solved the ecological damage problem of historical open-pit mines, but also created Lianhuashan Cultural scenic spot. The restored mines have brought more than 400 job opportunities to local people. And it has become the first quasi 4A level scenic spot in the west of Hainan.

For mine ecological restoration, the author suggests that the four principles of economy, nature, limited restoration and macroscopical restoration should be implemented in the process of restoration.

The principle of economy. Mine ecological restoration projects must adhere to the priority of conservation, because every electricity, every drop of water behind the cost of resources and environment. The treatment of waste slag piles should focus on natural restoration, and "nature-based solutions" should be adopted as far as possible to carry out restoration, in order to reduce the consumption of natural resources and energy, and reduce secondary pollution.

The principle of nature. Naturally, pay attention to the word "appropriate", and repair according to local conditions from the actual situation. For example, when vegetation restoration is carried out on the abandoned land, it is necessary to fully consider the native species suitable for the local environment to ensure biodiversity. For example, it is not appropriate to plant tall trees on a large scale in desert areas to avoid excessive use of groundwater resources.

The principle of limitation. Avoid overrepair, as overrepair often means high governance costs.

Macro principles. To establish the overall view and overall view of mine ecological restoration, it is necessary to adhere to the principle that mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes and grasses are a community of life, and consider the whole project with a more macroscopic scale of time and space. Hasty, cosmetic restoration projects often fall short. Successful restoration does not take a few years; it takes a decade or more to see results.