ICMM - International Council on Mining & Metals

CASE STUDY

Improving coverage of biodiversity in EIAs

The Convention on Biological Diversity provided strong support for the development of impact assessment techniques especially related to biodiversity. Although EIAs have traditionally addressed biodiversity issues, they have been generic in nature. Often, they did not consider non-protected species, different levels of biodiversity, structural and functional relationships within biological systems and between biophysical and socio-economic systems, potential indirect and cumulative impacts and possible mitigation measures, possibilities for enhancement or the concerns of communities and other biological resource users. In addition, they commonly lacked proper baseline surveys or data, the use of relevant scientific literature, clear criteria for assessing impact magnitude and significance and plans for post-project monitoring.

Taking Biodiversity into Account

In order to take into account various aspects of biodiversity, an environmental impact assessment should:

• consider all the relevant levels of biodiversity – bioregional, landscape, ecosystem, habitat, communities, species, populations and (when appropriate) individuals and genes;
• consider connections between the levels of biodiversity by looking at structural and functional relationships (such as connectivity, fragmentation and disturbance, hydrologic and demographic processes) and their relationship to biodiversity study areas likely to be affected by different impact types;
• collect more detailed abundance and distribution data on certain aspects of biodiversity without necessarily surveying everything in detail, but focusing on key biodiversity receptors;
• consider the full range of potential impacts, including indirect, cumulative and induced impacts;
• consider the social dimension – the importance of community and indigenous knowledge of local biodiversity aspects, traditional uses of resources and habitat and stakeholder participation; and
• set out clear criteria to judge the extent, magnitude and importance of impact.

The Importance of Starting Early

Ideally, assessments should be done at the exploration stage. However, the inherent redundancy of the process (only 0.1 per cent of targets represent potentially economic mineral deposits) means that there is resistance to spending survey money when the odds are that the area will be released with no further interest. On the other hand, early knowledge of critical biodiversity issues in a given project would provide very pertinent insights and should have some weight in the decision balance of the sustainability of the development project. (In fact, some money could be saved by stopping the project at an early instead of a later stage.) It is important to distinguish between the different stages of exploration and when an EIA is most likely to be triggered. General understanding of biodiversity issues in an area before bidding on exploration licences can be important.

An important step in gaining an understanding of how the system might be changed by a proposed project is to survey existing conditions – the baseline environment. The baseline survey should provide the necessary information on the site-specific environmental setting of the project. It should cover the different seasons, migrations, breeding and so on and should be, if feasible, long enough to establish pre-project trends. One important challenge in assessing baseline conditions is the limited time frame for a thorough assessment. Biodiversity field surveys require sufficient time and resources. And to be of significant value in the EIA, survey work needs to be initiated early in the process. There should be scope to take as long as necessary and appropriate to cover aspects such as migrations, breeding seasons, rainy seasons and so on.

Six Important Roles for Companies

Companies should demonstrate a high-level commitment to the integration of biodiversity aspects into decision-making processes and to the maintenance and enhancement of important and protected habitats and species. They should commit to addressing biodiversity at ecosystem, species and genetic levels as appropriate and to integrating associated social aspects.

The interrelationships between biological/ecological systems and human systems should be identified and the impacts on these relationships addressed in a local, regional, national and international context. In adopting an ecosystem approach, ecosystem functions and structure should be maintained.

The diversity of species or richness of ecosystems at the future project site should be understood, alongside related cultural and social aspects. Impact assessments should identify if a site is important and why. Does it contain or lie within a protected area? Is it a sensitive or vulnerable site with high biodiversity values? Is it a site of cultural importance? There should also be recognition of and respect for specific local biodiversity values and uses as well as for local, traditional and indigenous knowledge of the area.

Impact assessment should be viewed as a process, not a product. Direct, secondary and cumulative impacts on biodiversity should be assessed in a phased approach, both early in the project and throughout the life of the mine. Impact assessment should also take into account social, economic and health impacts. The open and iterative process should actively seek and allow time for stakeholder input. Biodiversity data gathered in baseline studies, impact assessments and subsequent monitoring should be shared with and validated by stakeholders, including local communities, academics, conservation organisations and other companies.

Impacts on biodiversity should be avoided wherever possible, minimised where they cannot be avoided, and mitigated where there are residual impacts. During the development phase of a project, there should be a rigorous assessment of all options, including ‘do nothing’. Offsets may be useful in mitigating residual impacts, and preference should be given to in situ offsets that are aligned with local, regional, national and international conservation strategies and goals and that bring a net positive benefit for biodiversity conservation.

Last, companies can manage risk around biodiversity and maximise positive contributions by working in partnership with government, communities and others. Community involvement in biodiversity assessment should be implemented at an early stage, and sufficient time should be allowed for government, industry and other stakeholders to understand, evaluate and discuss biodiversity concerns throughout the process.