Cold-region environments along the China–Russia Crude Oil Pipeline and their management

The cold-region eco-environments along the China–Russia Crude Oil Pipeline (CRCOP) in northern Northeast China are in disequilibrium due to the combined influences of pronounced climate warming and intensive anthropogenic activities. This is evidenced by the sharp areal reduction and northward shifting of the boreal forests, shrinking of wetlands, enhancing of soil erosion, accelerating degradation of permafrost and deteriorating of cold-region eco-environments. The degradation of permafrost plays an important role as an internal drive in the eco-environmental changes. Many components of the cold-region eco-environments, including frozen ground, forests, wetlands and peatlands, forest fires and "heating island effect" of rapid urbanization, are interdependent, interactive, and integrated in the boreal ecosystems. The construction and long-term operation of the CRCOP system will inevitably disturb the cold-region environments along the pipeline. Therefore, a mandatory and carefully-elaborated environmental impact statement is indispensable for the proper mitigation of the ensued adverse impacts. Proper management, effective protection and practical rehabilitation of the damaged cold-region environments are a daunting, costly and long-term commitment. The recommended measures for protection and restoration of permafrost eco-environments along the pipeline route include adequate investigation, assessment and monitoring of permafrost and cold-region environments, compliance of pipeline construction and operation codes for environmental management, proper and timely re-vegetation, returning the cultivated lands to forests and grasslands, and effective mitigation of forest fire hazards.