Extraction of earth soil. No reclamation. Quarry of the South Kyrgyz Cement Plant.
The most common type of extraction of inert materials in Kyrgyzstan for construction includes non-metallic building materials such as crushed stone, sand, gravel, limestone, gypsum, anhydrite, and others. Their extraction exceeds the total extraction of all mined and energy raw materials by more than one and a half times. No construction project can proceed without these materials, whether it be roads or houses.
The overwhelming majority of the non-metallic raw materials used are extracted through open-pit mining. The only effective limitation remains the process of land withdrawal from agricultural use on the surface terraces for quarries. This method of combating the region's ecology is hard to call effective.
The open-pit mining method has the most negative impact on the ecological situation in the area of operations. As a result of anthropogenic impact on the environment in the quarrying zone, there is a noticeable deterioration in the ecological conditions for human existence. For example, air, soil, groundwater, biota, and abiotic pollution of the Earth.
The burden on land use and the system of surface and groundwater during extraction operations is expressed in the potential contamination of soils and the aeration zone with production and consumption waste and wastewater. To assess the impact, the volumes of generated wastewater and production and consumption waste are determined, along with a rational scheme for water consumption, wastewater disposal, and solid waste management.
The impact on wildlife in the areas under consideration is expressed in the exclusion of land withdrawal areas as habitats, in the factor of disturbance associated with the presence of people, machinery operation, and vehicular traffic. During the work, the areas occupied by quarries will naturally be excluded from the seasonal migration routes of mammals. The planned activities cause a change in biotopes and their movement to adjacent territories with identical characteristics, which does not affect the status of populations of common animal species in the area due to the small size of the quarries.
The impact on vegetation during quarry extraction is expressed in land withdrawal, disruption of soil cover, and natural grassland. Upon completion of the work, reclamation of disturbed lands to the level of pasture agricultural lands or recreational areas is planned, which will lead to the restoration of the natural habitat for vegetation and animals.
In addition to the problems mentioned, there are other equally pressing issues related to the use of exhausted quarries as sites for household waste storage and their use as unauthorized dumps.
As of today, the ecological situation in Kyrgyzstan is on the brink of catastrophe. It is necessary to tighten state control over the implementation of reclamation activities for disturbed lands and the protection of the environment by mining enterprises and to eliminate unlicensed extraction.
Discuss?
