THE Canadian-owned Guyana Goldfields is working closely with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Protected Areas Commission (PAC) to implement Guyana’s first biodiversity offset. It will be one of the few in the world for this type of mining operation.As part of its commitment to corporate social responsibility, Guyana Goldfields is implementing a number of measures to minimise biodiversity impacts resulting from its Aurora Goldmine Project (AGM) on the Cuyuni River. These include reclamation and restoration of the mining site after production.
However, in recognising that there will still be long-term environmental impacts stemming from the mine, and in keeping with international best practices, the company has agreed to provide financial resources to strengthen management at the Kaieteur National Park. This is as a means of compensating for any additional environmental impacts at the mining site.
Biodiversity offsets often work to compensate for unavoidable biodiversity losses by supporting the protection of biodiversity in another location. The goal of many offsets is “no net loss” of a country’s biodiversity stemming from a development project, and to ensure that funds are directed towards improving management and protection in similar ecosystems that may be under threat.
As the first protected area in the larger Amazon region, the Kaieteur National Park (KNP) is important to the preservation of Kaieteur Falls and its significant tourism value, and is home to very unique plants and animals, many of which are not found anywhere else in the world.
Having biodiversity similar to that found in the Aurora Goldmine, the KNP is often at risk of negative impacts related to mining in the Potaro area, and requires significant resources to effectively conserve and manage its biodiversity. These risks, and the KNP’s similarity to the Cuyuni mining site, are among a number of reasons why KNP was chosen as the beneficiary of the biodiversity offset.
Although not yet quantified, the financial support provided by this offset will run for the life of the mine, which is projected at 20 years, and will be used to support increased monitoring and enforcement of regulations in the park.
The company will also support ongoing research projects to determine the impact of the offset on management effectiveness at the KNP, and the associated impacts on the park’s biodiversity.
According to a release, as the biodiversity offset will be the first implemented for Guyana, it marks an important step in the government’s commitment to ecologically responsible development. It is hoped that this initiative will serve as a model for improved corporate social responsibility within the private sector, and set a precedent for effective public-private partnerships in the shaping of Guyana’s green economy.
