ArcelorMittal Liberia: Meeting International Environmental Standards 1
Social and environmental safeguards for Project Phase 2 • Detailed Environmental and Social Impact Assessment prepared over 2 years, building on previous studies. • Intensive consultations in three campaigns. • Environmental Protection Agency is currently reviewing. • Resettlement Action Plan prepared for full compensation. Includes a long term livelihoods restoration programme. • Environmental Management Plans to cover all project activities. • A special Operations, Maintenance and Surveillance Manual for the tailings dam. • High environmental standards to be followed. • Offset Programme being designed to continue and expand on the Phase 1 Biodiversity Conservation Programme. 2 2
ESIA - Developing an understanding about management needs of land • No recent environmental data for Liberia before ArcelorMittal • Complex environment due to ancient landforms, humid tropical conditions and scattered population • To develop an holistic understanding of the environment required assessment covering a broad range of parameters; for example: o All water courses are water supplies for rural dwellings, all prone to high sediment loads caused by shifting cultivation, and all contain significant aquatic biodiversity • ESIA undertaken to inform ourselves and other stakeholders about the environmental conditions and their interactions • ESIA currently second biggest in the region, involving over 60 specialist scientists, and 23 universities and other institutions 3 3
Assessment of environmental impacts • Communities – Social and Economic • Cultural Heritage • Resettlement and Compensation • Geotechnics • Soils and Agricultural Potential • Ground Water • Surface Water Resources • Botany – Forests and Plants • Zoology – Animals and Biodiversity • Air Quality • Noise and Vibration • Landscape and Visual Impacts 4 4
ESIA - Principles of Approach • Base understanding on sound science • Ensure full consultation with communities and other stakeholders • Develop partnerships with appropriate NGOs (e.g. Conservation International, Fauna and Flora International, Afrique Nature, Sylvatrop, Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, Action pour la Conservation de la Biodiversité en Côte d’Ivoire • Allow specialists full independence • Use environmental findings to inform design and meet international standards • Rigorous assessment of potential impacts • Ensure mitigation or compensation meets international standards • Ensure public awareness and availability of all documentation 5 5
Understand the terrain through modelling 6 6
Understand the history • Example: first known map of Buchanan – 1890. • Continuous habitation in Nimba is thought to date back only about 500 years. • Very few archaeological remains in this forest dwelling culture with timber houses etc. • Coastal occupation probably longer, but little is known. 7 7
Average monthly rainfall (mm) at Nimba Mine Area 600 500 400 300 Monthly rainfall 200 100 (30-year 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec averages Average monthly rainfall (mm) at Lower Buchanan measured from 900 1950s-70s) 800 700 600 500 400 Up to 3.5 metres per year 300 at Tokadeh mine site and 200 up to 6.0 metres per year 100 at the Port of Buchanan 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 8 8
Forest Surveys • 40% of the remaining West African rain forest is in Liberia • Huge variety of biomes and species • Collected over 20,000 specimens 9 9
Flora: thousands of plants 10 10
Biodiversity monitoring: Large mammals – camera traps Site G-Y Tokadeh ENNR Trap nights 377 539 170 11 11
Small mammals, including bats and pangolins 12 12
Birds: around 400 species 13 13
Butterflies & moths: 750+ species 14 14
Frogs, many are tree-dwelling 15 15
Snakes – 57 species in Nimba 16 16
Nimba otter shrew – only occurs here – lives on freshwater crabs 17 17
Nimba Toad ( Nimbaphrynoides occidentialis) • Nimba Toad 12 mm long • Bears live young • Critically endangered • Endemic to Mt. Nimba • Only occurs above 1200 masl on mountain savannah • Subspecies N. o. liberiensis only found on Liberian Nimba 18 18
Socio-economics: a forest- dwelling rural society Broad-based population pyramid • 52.6% are male, despite the war • Women appear to be badly disadvantaged at several ages • More boys than girls under the age of 20 • Fewer males than females in the 20 to 30 year age range (presumably the effect of war) • Fewer women than men live beyond 70 19 19
Characteristics of the communities Limited livelihoods options • Most households work on a subsistence economy • Little surplus to sell, even when markets are accessible • Poor infrastructure • Very low development indicators in every sector • Little formal employment without migration • Employment numbers in ArcelorMittal are small compared to demand • A limited tradition of business beyond petty trading 20 20
Land capability 21 21
Vegetation cover and hotspots 22 22
Habitat assessment and mapping Important bird habitats Critical habitats (IFC definitions) 23 23
Environmental constraints (Tokadeh) 24 24
Environmental constraints (Gangra-Yuelliton) 25 25
Biodiversity not only at Mine but in Coastal Zone close to Port • Two main communities of artisanal fisherman • Catching 77 species • Beaches are nesting grounds for endangered marine turtles • Lagoons are breeding grounds for African dwarf crocodiles 26 26
Transhipment operation 27 27 27
Tracked handline fishing trips 28 28
Great hammerhead shark • One of the endangered species among the 77 species known to be landed at Buchanan by artisanal fishermen. 29 29
Addressing key environmental impacts Example: construction material sources • Avoid all sensitive areas. • Identification of environmentally sound locations and rejection of sites we consider unsound, even if they are licensed by government. 30 30 30
Addressing key environmental impacts Example: air quality assessment Air quality has been evaluated in detail in the Phase 2 ESIA. • Most sources are not significant. • The power plants are potentially very significant polluters. This is especially the case with ECOWAS fuels. • By establishing our own importation system and insisting on EU- standard fuels with 2% sulphur, we can greatly reduce environmental impacts. 31 31
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Biological offsets in Nimba: making all these interests co-exist sustainably 33 33
The ArcelorMittal Biodiversity Conservation Programme (BCP) Vision Establishment of a Nimba Mountains Planning Area, which: • allows multiple land uses to co-exist in appropriate designated zones; and • promotes development based on the maintenance of a biodiverse, healthy environment. Approach • Focus on the terrestrial biological environment (soils, plants and animals) • Technical or socio-economic measures according to the needs of stakeholders • Achieve sustainable forest management and conservation through working with local communities, government, NGOs and other key stakeholders • Helping communities find ways to benefit from conservation and develop sustainable livelihoods within the forest resources; and supporting protected area management 34 34
BCP – Two key Focus Area Assisting Forest Conservation • Help the communities and the Government of Liberia’s Forestry Development Authority to agree, gazette and implement rational and sustainable areas of conservation and utilisation across all forest areas in northern Nimba. • Ensure better quality, more biodiverse forest in the long term, and sustainable production areas. Starting Agricultural Intensification • Promote stabilisation of farming through greater use of tree crops in agroforestry systems. • Long term improvements in livelihoods that reduce people’s dependence on forest resources, through tree crop and livestock production, better marketing etc. 35 35
BCP Activities 2011-13: MoUs with community forest groups • Public awareness about CFMB/JCFMB-AML MoUs • MoUs signed with Gba, Zor and Blei CFMB and support provided • MoU in negotiation with East Nimba CMC • GPS training for CFGs • Data collection protocol developed 36 36
Conservation agriculture • Conducted by three Liberian NGOs • Aimed at farmers with limited land resources • 6 participating communities Benefits of conservation agriculture • Moves towards stabilised agriculture • Includes both tree and annual food crops • Reduces labour requirements • Improves nutrient cycling through soil horizons • Farm families can spend time in other ways such as on-farm processing • Reduces shifting cultivation 37 37
Further environmental work • Upgrade environmental compliance systems and audits. • Continue Biodiversity Conservation Programme and consolidate design of Phase 2 Offset Programme. • Design improvements on soil management, borrow and TMF. • Further develop Mine Closure Plan. 38 38
Making biodiversity and ecosystems services an Operations imperative For full text, see ArcelorMittal.com 39 39
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