After years of negotiations, Russia is moving closer to a natural gas export agreement with China that includes a proposed 1,700-mile pipeline that would cut through the heart of the Golden Mountains of Russia’s Altai Republic, a UNESCO World Heritage site and a region of sacred significance to the Altai people.

Under the deal, Russia’s state-owned Gazprom would pump 30 million cubic meters of natural gas annually to China. Talks have been stalled for years over price, but a Chinese source reportedly said that an agreement is now expected to be in place by June. He confirmed that the favored pipeline route would carry gas from Gazprom’s Arctic Yamal gas fields over the Altai Mountains and across the sacred Ukok Plateau to the Chinese border.

Local NGOs and communities have opposed the pipeline, citing potential impacts from the construction phase, including damage to the habitat of the endangered snow leopard and argali sheep and an influx of outsiders who may not share Altaian values. (See past Sacred Land News story.)

The Altai Republic is one of eight stories in our upcoming Losing Sacred Ground film series. To learn more about the Golden Mountains, read our sacred site report and check out an excellent photo essay by our colleague Gleb Raygorodetsky.