Biodiversity And Land Management
We own, manage or lease approximately six million hectares of land (excluding exploration and development projects). As a result of our mining, processing, smelting and petroleum activities, we have disturbed 166,000 hectares of land of which 38,500 hectares have been rehabilitated. We also manage 11,000 hectares of land for biodiversity conservation purposes.
We have a five-year target of a 10 per cent improvement in our land rehabilitation index by 30 June 2012. This index is based on a ratio of land rehabilitated compared to our land footprint. In FY2009, the index decreased by three per cent due to the development of new operations in Australia and Chile.
We have strengthened our biodiversity commitments related to protected areas and threatened species. This includes, firstly, the commitment not to explore or mine within International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Protected Area Categories I to IV unless an action plan designed to deliver measurable benefits to biodiversity has been developed that is commensurate with the level of biodiversity impacts. Secondly, we will not proceed with activities where the direct impacts would result in extinction of IUCN threatened species.
