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Policy recommendationsThe Wenchuan Earthquake was unprecedented in terms of scale and scope for this region. The post-disaster reconstruction and restoration process was also unprecedented. The disaster created a geological environment and ecosystem that for a long time has been very unstable and still in the process of self-healing. Over the course of the past five years, we've continued to witness earthquake aftershocks, and the expansion of large-scale reconstruction, including mountain excavation, along with the expansion of mining development, will only cause further instability. The reconstruction process is bound to further suffer huge losses, as will the Giant Panda Nature Reserve.

Long Men Mountain in Sichuan Province is a critical nature reserve for the protection of pandas and a vital connection point for local ecosystems. It works as an ecological buffer and water source for the Cheng – De - Mian - Guang economic zone. It is also the site of mineral resource development and experiences both high-energy consumption and high pollution from industry. Together this has meant the region's reconstruction process is facing many challenges, and planning must take a balanced look at both the ecological functions and resource utilization of the area, in order to achieve sustainable development.

The reconstruction and restoration of the area's ecology must be in harmony with nature, rather than fight against it. According to ecological functions, a large number of regions within the Long Men Mountain should be designated as restricted development or prohibition of development zones. For areas that have already been severely damaged by the earthquake, there is potential threat of further geological disaster, and a lack of ecological carrying capacity, along with difficult road access. It is critical this environment be given the time to restore its ecological functions.

Greenpeace calls the government of Sichuan Province to

1) Immediately call off all mining activities in the above-mentioned high-risk geological disasters areas, as well as within giant panda habitat nature reserves; 2) Limit further mining activities in major geologically dangerous zones;3) Reassess existing development plans for the Phosphate mining industry; 4) Ensure the security and sustainable development of the Long Men Mountain District.

In the long term, Greenpeace calls for the State government to issue significantly stricter regulations regarding the excavation of Phosphate mines, aiming to reduce the total level of production of Phosphorus fertilizers. The government should further promote methods of scientific fertilizer application in order to increase the efficiency of chemical fertilizers use, and to reduce the excessive level of consumption of Phosphorus fertilizers.

Just one company has requested a "protected area adjustment", yet government departments have rushed ahead with approval. Before doing so they were required to consider management regulations of protected areas, make a full assessment of the area's mineral development, and take into consideration the living conditions of the local giant pandas. Information on whether this was completed has not been made available. The stark reality is that phosphate development took place within the boundaries of supposedly protected areas.

The relocated land within the Jiuding Mountain Nature Reserve (Area in yellow marks the Giant Panda protection zone, purple marks the perimeters of the Nature Reserve, and area in blue marks the land being transferred out of the protection zone)

The Central Long Men Mountain of the northern Chengdu Plain of Sichuan Province is the fifth largest phosphate producing area in China. Current production reserves reach 1.1 billion tons, with industrial reserves amounting to 220 million tons. This equates to 10% of the total national annual production. The history of mining in this region stretches back nearly 60 years, spanning a total of 36 phosphate mountains that spread along the Shi Ting River, Mian Yuan River and Gao Chuan River in Shi Fang, as well as Mian Zhu and An Xian counties. Located in an active earthquake zone, the geological environment of these phosphate-rich mountains has been severely impacted by continuous large-scale mining. Not only rich in phosphate, Long Men Mountains also hosts a variety of rare animals and plants. For example, in the Sichuan Jiu Ding Mountain Nature Reserve, animals under first-class state protection such as pandas and snub-nosed monkeys, along with nationally-protected plants can be found.To assess whether the phosphate mining has led to local geological instability, Greenpeace invited Yang Yong, a Senior Geologist from the Hengduan Mountain Research Association, to conduct a survey of regional phosphate mining activities and geological conditions. Over the course of several months, Greenpeace also made in-depth field investigations to assess the impact of phosphate mining on the panda habitats in the Sichuan Jiu Ding Mountain Nature Reserve.

Hengduan Mountain Research Association

Risky Business

Investigating the hazards of phosphate mining Long Men MountainsSichuan Province

April 8, 2013, Qingping Tow

nship, Mianzhu C

ity, Sichuan Province, the phosphate mine nam

ed Yi Xian Tian, which is thousands of m

eters deep inside the mountain. ©

Greenpeace/ D

ong Ma

January 12, 2013, Jinhe Phosphate Mine, Yuejiashan Tow

nship, Shifang City, Sichuan Province. ©

Greenpeace/W

enyu Wen

The encroachment of the habitat of giant pandas by Phosphate miningPhosphate mining has led to severe damage of local vegetation, noise and water pollution and geological disasters, which in turn directly threaten the lives of the giant pandas. Mining activities and road construction are the two biggest culprits when it comes to damage inflicted on the giant panda habitat, second only to the longstanding logging activity in the area. In the Ban Zi Gou region, agriculture and phosphate mining activities have disrupted the panda's seasonal living habits. The Jiu Ding Mountain Nature Reserve, Xiao Mu Ling and Ban Peng Zi areas are also listed as part of a giant panda habitat restoration project. And yet exploration and mining activities continue to grow in these areas. Meanwhile other sections of the reserve have not been included in this project.

Who is invading the home of pandas?In the recently released Sichuan Province Mineral Resources and Geological Prospecting Plan, Jiu Ding Mountain Nature Reserve has been designated an area of "limited surveying" .And yet, this has not prevented further mining development. Recently the Sichuan Provincial People's Government approved for the 325 hectares of Suo Peng Zi area (see: Sichuan Prefecture letter [2012] No. 184), located in the hinterland of the giant panda habitat, to be transferred out of the protection zone. However, the new land given as "compensation" is not the giant panda's natural habitat. Suo Peng Zi has been designated a “perimeter protection area” with strict management regulation and is currently undergoing mining exploration. Greenpeace campaigners also observed phosphate mining activity in the neighbouring Cheng Qiang Yan mining area (which is only 2 km away), with cableway crisscrossing the air, tailings lying in piles up the mountain, and evidence of secondary geological disasters everywhere. It is near impossible to imagine wild giant pandas living in such an environment.

According to the Mian Zhu City People's Government website, in 2010, Sichuan Hong Da Group requested the inclusion of Bai Yun Mountain (located in the Mian Zhu City district) into the Sichuan Jiu Ding Mountain Nature Reserve in exchange for the exclusion of the three km2 area of Suo Peng Zi from the protected zone. Based on the contents of that document, this trade was made for the benefit of the "resource utilization party", with a separate report titled "Jiu Ding Mountain Nature Reserve: A Comprehensive Scientific Investigation of Adjustments Made," naming this party as the Sichuan Hong Da Group. The Hong Da Group have driven this process using the following steps:

Competing for panda land

Adjacent to the phosphorite zone in the Long Men mountain ranges lies the Sichuan Jiu Ding Mountain Nature Reserve, which, together with two other interweaving Nature Reserves, constitute the southern Min Shan panda protection zone, also classified as a type-B giant panda core distribution area. Within the reserve there are 20 species of first-degree and second-degree nationally protected animals. The former include the giant panda, golden monkey, takin, clouded leopard, leopard, alpine musk deer and musk deer.

Geological disasters such as landslides and mudslides endanger the lives of miners and residents in the region. These mining activities also cause irreversible damage to the ecological living environments of the region's giant pandas. The phosphate-mining belt lies close to the Jiu Ding Mountain Nature Reserve. Some of the mining areas even overlap with the giant panda habitat. According to the third national giant panda population and habitat survey, the existing number of giant pandas living in the Sichuan Jiu Ding Mountain Nature Reserve is now down to just eleven. These eleven giant pandas mainly live in Ban Zi Gou, Ping Shui River, Chang He Ba and Si Ping, which include the Long Men Mountain phosphate mine area.

In these cases of overlap the needs of the phosphate mining have been prioritized over the needs of the reserve. Mining practices are not subject to the restrictions specified in protected areas, which begs the question whether these sections of Jiu Ding Mountain should be considered "protected" at all.

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Phosphate mining: a crisis unfurlingThe phosphate rich Central Long Men Mountain is located directly along a dangerous fault line. Adding to the peril, large-scale mining has caused the geological structure to become very fragile and unstable. This only aggravates the potential damage from earthquakes, including the ongoing aftershocks of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Such weak geological structures have also triggered an increase in the frequency of mudslides. So while the phosphate of Long Men Mountains has proved too great a temptation for the industry, the mining enterprises will continue to play a high-stakes game that is quickly reaching breaking point.

Continuous phosphate mining has increased the risk of disaster in the Long Men Mountain regionwith the dangers of mining near an earthquake zone seriously underestimated. The geological structure of these mountains combined with deep valleys, and the broken, loose topographic shape of the land has become the perfect recipe for geological disaster. Under such fragile geological conditions, the restorative construction of mines, combined with ongoing phosphate productions, has dramatically escalated the risks of another geological disaster.

In the meantime, today’s phosphate mining methods often feature large-scale production, multi-level layout mining, high-hanging mining area, as well as absence of strict measures to fill up the cavities, all of which lead to further deformation of slopeland. Furthermore, the mining enterprises of this region tend to be small in size with questionable property rights. Their rates of resource extraction are low, and they work with poor security measures. Such mining condition regularly causes serious structural and ecosystem damage, which compound to dramatically alter the stability of the mountain and lead to geologically stressed conditions.

Mining activities are threatened by geological hazardsThe 5.12 Wenchuan earthquake also caused dramatic structural changes to the area's geology and has led to subsequent secondary disasters.The fallout from aftershocks has been long in duration and large in scale, severely affecting the mining enterprises present. The direct economic loss caused by earthquake disasters to the phosphate mining industry now totals 150 million RMB, which far exceeds profits from over the years. These geological disasters have also claimed many lives in the region. The combination of the Shi Fang and Mian Zhu mining activities with the Wen Chuan earthquake has altogether triggered 22 landslides and resulted in the deaths of 284 people.

The region's phosphate mining is largely located in high-risk areas, including upstream to the Shi Fang River, Shi Ting River, Mian Zhu River and Mian Yuan River, as well as the An Xian, Gao Chuan, Da Guang Bao and Da Zhu Ping areas. According to the Sichuan Province Deyang City Mineral Resources Master Plan (2008-2015), geological disasters in such high-risk areas have led to nine, major and, at over 500 million RMB, very costly mine geological environment recovery projects. And yet the geological condition of these mines have yet to be substantially improved, with several mines collapsing, including the General Rock collapse, the San Xing collapse and the Yan Zi collapse. Decades of phosphate mining have essentially destroyed rock mass integrity leaving the area completely unstable

Phosphate Mining is threatening the safety of people downstreamAfter the earthquake, phosphate mines in the area continued to carry on production under extremely precarious geological conditions. Some mining enterprises extended their effort of geological exploration to upgrade the scale of mining.

These activities are not only in clear contradiction to the laws of the nature, they also pose a huge threat to the residents living downstream. The river carries with it slag and chemical tailings from mining waste, filling the river valley. When the annual rainy season comes, the flood flushes the dregs out and turns them into a major source of debris flow. The destruction being done to these towns and villages downstream is just another piece of the disaster puzzle. In August 2010, Qing Ping Town, in Mian Zhu near the Long Men Mountains were visited by large debris flow, and in the process destroyed several new houses that had been constructed following the earthquake.

After the earthquake, De Yang City People's Government agreed to the Hong Da Group's request for mineral exploration within the protection area. The Department of Land and Resources of Sichuan issued the mineral exploration license within the protected area to Hong Da Group. Approved survey area totaled 750 hm2, including a 681 hm2 area located within the protected zone;

Based on survey results, the Hong Da Group proposed to transfer 325 hm2 out of the protected zone for the purposes of mineral production;

Working within Hong Da Group's requirements for mineral exploration, the Jiu Ding Mountain Nature Reserve Management Office suggested an adjustment of the protected area in order to meet post-disaster reconstruction needs;

According to state regulations, adjustments of protected areas first require comprehensive scientific investigation and evaluation. In December 2009, the Jiu Ding Mountain Nature Reserve Authority delegated a research institute to organize a scientific expedition. The expedition began early January 2010 and was completed by end of November.

In August 2012, Sichuan Province approved an application from the Sichuan Forestry Department. However, according to public information found on the De Yang City Land Resources Bureau bulletin board, before the protection area adjustment application was approved on July 17, 2012, Hong Da Group had already obtained a mineral exploration license to work within the protection adjusted area.

Risky Business

Investigating the hazards of phosphate mining Long Men MountainsSichuan Province

Risky Business

Investigating the hazards of phosphate mining Long Men MountainsSichuan Province

April 8, 2013, Qingping Township, Mianzhu City, Sichuan Province, the phosphate mine named Yi Xian Tian. © Greenpeace/ Dong Ma

May 21, 2009, Sichan Province, workers are at the entrance of the phosphate rocks. © Greenpeace/Yong Yang

September 6, 2009, Qingping Township, Sichan Province, the massive landslide. © Greenpeace/Yong Yang