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Protecting Biodiversity

Protecting biodiversity

Biodiversity underpins many of the ecosystem services on which our mines and their surrounding communities depend.

If improperly managed, mining and exploration activities have the potential to negatively affect nature and ecosystem services. Impacts could include reductions in water quality or quantity, loss of protected species and habitat fragmentation. Protecting biodiversity and preventing nature loss is also critical and inextricably linked to the fight against climate change.

We aim to play a positive role in managing biodiversity, helping to play a positive role in community development and the protection of the natural world.   
The details of our Biodiversity Policy and Standard and related procedures are set out below in our Biodiversity Management Approach. Our key commitments are to have:

  1. A net, neutral impact on any Key Biodiversity Features identified at our sites
  2. A positive contribution to the conservation of high value biodiversity in the regions in which we operate, through the implementation of Measurable Conservation Actions (MCAs).

We are also working to articulate a roadmap of actions we plan to take now and in the future, including the development of our own tool to measure both our impact to, and contribution towards biodiversity and nature.  The tool will utilize and splice together elements of existing metrics, it will focus on key biodiversity features, and measurable conservation actions.

In 2022 we achieved our goal of implementing a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) at all operational sites. BAPs are the cornerstone of our approach to biodiversity management. They document the biodiversity in, or impacted by, an operational site, and the actions to be taken to minimize risks and maximize opportunities.

We have also developed a new internal biodiversity standard for Barrick, working with external experts, to define measurable conservation actions (MCAs) that not only achieve net neutrality but which can enhance key biodiversity features in a habitat and achieve conservation gains.

Case studies, such as those of our work in the Garamba National Park in DRC are available in our Sustainability Report.

Protecting the ordinary and the extraordinary in the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic, where our Pueblo Viejo mine is located, is a biodiversity hotspot and home to over 5,600 plant and 200 bird species. The site’s lime quarry is teeming with geckos, bats and hutia, a type of large rodent found in the Caribbean.

In 2022, we worked, with local biodiversity experts, to move the hutia away from the quarry to a safer location away from the mine site. We identified a suitable location, tagged the hutia before releasing them in their new burrows, and undertook extensive monitoring, including the use of camera traps, to ensure they settled and adapted to their new homes. The work contributed new scientific knowledge about the hutia.

We are committed to protecting all biodiversity, not just rare and unique species. If a bird’s nest containing eggs is found on site we use yellow caution tape to isolate and monitor the area until the eggs hatch. We also inspect all palm trees for signs of the palmachat, a native bird. If any trees on site are found to contain nests, they are cordoned off and not disturbed. 

Management approach: Biodiversity

Governance and accountability

Our President and CEO is ultimately responsible for environmental management with our Group Sustainability Executive taking the lead in driving the implementation of our environmental policies, the associated procedures and overall performance — including biodiversity.

The Group Sustainability Executive is supported by our Group Sustainability Manager, regional-level environmental leads as well as dedicated site-level environmental teams and at priority sites biodiversity specialists who drive implementation at the operational level.

Policies and procedures

Our approach to biodiversity is codified in our Environment Policy and our standalone Biodiversity Policy and augmented by our group Biodiversity Standard.

These are informed by international best practice, such as the guidelines set by the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) performance Standards (PS), International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and International Council on Mining and Metals, including their Mining and Protected Areas position statement.

Our policies commit us to:

  • A net neutral impact on any Key Biodiversity Features (KBFs) identified at our sites, and
  • A positive contribution to the conservation of high value biodiversity in the regions in which we operate, through the implementation of Measurable Conservation Actions (MCAs).

To fulfil these commitments, we require all our operational sites to develop and implement Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPs). These detail the flora, fauna and habitats on and around the site and outline the strategy we will follow to achieve a net neutral biodiversity impact. They identify areas around the mine that require protection or could benefit from conservation support, as well as existing conservation areas that require additional support and resources.
To achieve these commitments we are developing a roadmap of actions we plan to take now and in the future.  This includes the development of our own tool to measure biodiversity or nature impact.

What is a Biodiversity Action Plan?

BAPs are the cornerstone of our approach to biodiversity management. They document the biodiversity in, or impacted by an operational site, and the actions to be taken to minimize risks and maximize opportunities. We have aligned our approach to BAPs with that of the IFC Performance Standard 6 (PS6), which stipulates that a BAP should address the following:

  • The actions and rationale for how a project’s mitigation strategy will achieve net gain or no net loss of biodiversity;
  • The project’s approach to implementing the mitigation hierarchy; and
  • The roles and responsibilities for internal staff and external partners.

Our BAPs are developed as strategy documents for the achievement of operational biodiversity goals. In keeping with our Biodiversity Policy, the goals are to achieve net neutral biodiversity impact for any ecologically sensitive environment we affect, where practicably possible.
Our understanding of the mitigation hierarchy and our approach to its implementation are set out in our BAPs and the roles and responsibilities for all key players are clearly defined.

BAPs also refer to the operational biodiversity mitigation measures included in the project EMS or biodiversity management plans (BMP).

In line with the IFC PS6 approach, our BAPs differ from BMPs and also include actions for off-site areas (e.g., offsets, additional actions) and involve external partners (e.g., implementing partners, reviewers or advisors). Designed to function as living documents, our BAPs are reviewed on an annual basis and revised every two years. As part of our approach to biodiversity, we emphasize concurrent reclamation and work to keep the overall footprint of our mines to a minimum. We work to restore and rehabilitate areas of the operation during its mine life by returning topsoil as well as planting native and endemic vegetation.

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