creating environmental improvements through biodiversity

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Sustainable Aggregates Creating Environmental Improvements through Biodiversity • Having high-level leadership and vision in the company/ host organization • Involving the local community early in planning and developing the restoration scheme • Ensuring long-term company commitment, as building biodiversity and livelihoods is slow and involves ongoing commitments Acknowledgements Dr. Anirudh Chaoji, Pugmarks Ecologix Narottam Sekhsaria, Managing Director, Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd. Pulkit Sekhsaria, Director, Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd. H.S. Patel, Joint President, Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd. Mr. Parik, General Manager, Mines, Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd. Mr. Pawar, Senior Manager, Horticulture, Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd. Mr. Mori of the Ambuja Cement Foundation Staff of Ambuja Cements Ltd. Horticulture, Environment and Mines departments Rahul Marathe, Lecturer in Zoology, Sinhagad College of Science Vivek Gaur Broome, Botanist Gram Panchayats of all the villages around the mining areas Follow-up Information Anirudh Chaoji, Director, Pugmarks Ecologix Tel: 09822056736 E-mail: achaoji@hotmail.com or pugmarks@vsnl.net Web: www.pugmarksecologix.com BAMBURI QUARRY REHABILITATION PROJECT Location: Bamburi, Mombasa, Kenya Time-scale: 1971- present Summary The Bamburi quarry rehabilitation project demonstrates that the restoration of industrial wastelands is not only possible but also economically worthwhile. Restoring natural capital has enabled a diverse end use for the quarries that supports a range of ecological and economic activities. Over 30 years a variety of economic activities associated with the rehabilitation process have been tried and tested on the Bamburi site. Forestry ecosystems were developed for their long-term economic benefits, and aquaculture and game farm activities were developed to generate more immediate economic returns. Current rehabilitation techniques follow many of the principles developed during earlier rehabilitation attempts to develop forest ecosystems, in particular the use of Casuarina trees to kick-start ecological recovery. But economic activities on the site continue to be refined. At present the rehabilitated quarries are being developed to generate revenues through ecotourism, recreation, education and business. Rehabilitation activities on the site are currently focused on natural vegetation restoration and ecotourism, which are seen as key commercial businesses. One of the most advanced rehabilitated areas, Haller Park, attracts over 100,000 visitors a year. 110
In addition to providing economic benefits, this project has demonstrated the value of the rehabilitation process in enhancing local biodiversity conservation by establishing forest habitats for rare and endangered species of animals and plants, such as Afelzia quanzensis and Combretum schumanii. This has proved to be an important contribution to the area because, except for a few relict habitats, much of the original coastal rainforest disappeared from the Kenyan coast hundreds of years ago. In fact, many of the region’s endemic species are under threat from habitat destruction and climate change. Restoration efforts aim to restore elements of Kenyan tropical forest unique to the East African coast. Although the conditions in the quarries are not representative of typical forest environments, the presence of a high water table allows for accelerated forest recovery. The restoration of the quarries using species indigenous to the coastal forests has helped to create safe habitats for a suite of rare species. The Bamburi reclamation project has reduced the impact of mining operations in the area. Since its inception, the reclamation of the Bamburi quarries has involved the planting of more than 2.5 million trees – creating a landscape of diverse biodiversity – and explored a range of economic opportunities, adding significant value to what might otherwise have been a wasteland. This project has demonstrated working examples of sustainable mining legacies that can benefit local people in the long term by opening up opportunities for innovative farming techniques, ecological management and tourism. Sustainable Aggregates Creating Environmental Improvements through Biodiversity Description In the 1950s the development of the Bamburi Portland cement industry 8 kilometres north of Mombasa, Kenya, contributed to the area’s infrastructure and economic growth. However, the quarrying of limestone for the cement-making process left a legacy of arid wastelands only 50 centimetres above the water table. In 1959 Dr Rene Haller was employed as an agriculturalist and landscape gardener to run the Bamburi Cement garden department, the main tasks of which were to plant trees and shrubs to hide the cement factory and to grow food for the employees on the reserve land. The garden department proved to be extremely successful and experimented with a variety food production systems, including establishing poultry units, red maasii sheep flocks and organic farming. In 1971, Haller extended the landscaping activities by experimenting with reclamation approaches to rehabilitate the quarries mined by the cement factory. Haller retired in 2000 but continues to be involved with the site in an advisory capacity through the Baobab Trust and as a board member of Lafarge ecosystems. Rehabilitation Process The original rehabilitation programme consisted of a forestry programme to develop a versatile forest ecosystem that would provide economic returns over the long term. However, over time the project diversified to include aquatic ecosystems, an aquaculture programme to return profits in the short term, game farming, nature trails and a wildlife park. All these systems evolved over time in a process of trial and error to find the best approach. The forest system developed through a long process of trial and observation and through a combination of natural succession and plantations. It was gradually developed using a limited number of colonizing species that could cope with the harsh ecological conditions. The Casuarina tree, in particular, emerged as an essential component of the rehabilitation process. A combination of planting and self-seeding gave rise to a pioneer forest system, with Casuarinas acting as nurse species encouraging the further colonization of the area by other species. Over time the gradual displacement of pioneer species provided ecological opportunities for a second generation of more diverse forest species. As the forest was intended to be both ecologically and economically sustainable, natural re-colonization processes were not allowed to progress unchecked. If left to colonize naturally, the forest would have 111
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THEME 3 - CREATING ENVIRONMENTAL IM
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CONTENTS Executive summary 5 1. Int
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report revie
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1 INTRODUCTION This sub-theme provi
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2 APPROACH TO REVIEW & SOURCES OF I
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SAMP 3B.8 TAL0040 Thompson, A.; How
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3 BIODIVERSITY & MINERAL SITES 3.1
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and restored areas, can all be mana
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Sustainable Aggregates Creating Env
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ut should not necessarily be applie
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zones would appear inappropriate. R
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Commercial approaches can provide f
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3.5 WORKING TOGETHER The importance
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It is preferable to integrate confl
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3.6 BIODIVERSITY AND MINERAL SITES
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4 GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE / DIRECTIONS FO
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5 DISSEMINATION & IMPACT OF ALSF RE
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6 CONCLUSIONS A number of common th
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Many site BAPs would benefit from i
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working and long-term management ar
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REFERENCES River Nene From its Sour
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publication copy (MIRO, NECESI, The
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Websites Holcim website Kahumbu and
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ANNEX 1 Summaries of ALSF-funded pa
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SYNTHETIC SURVEY OF THE ENVIRONMENT
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• Archaeology in the area has pro
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authorities, NGOs, local organisati
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Recommendation that a systematic me
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Recommendation to adopt a flexible
Page 59 and 60: Output: The advocacy report present
Page 61 and 62: Output: Provides a review consideri
Page 63 and 64: DEVELOPING POLICY AND BEST PRACTICE
Page 65 and 66: WATER-BASED QUARRY RESTORATION - OP
Page 67 and 68: SAFEGUARDING MINERAL EXTRACTION SIT
Page 69 and 70: candidates for restoration for biod
Page 71 and 72: Output: Description of SEA, and dif
Page 73 and 74: information and starting to underta
Page 75 and 76: organisations and funding bodies on
Page 77 and 78: Potential Expansion: Co-operation w
Page 79 and 80: estoration of aggregate sites. Stee
Page 81 and 82: free of charge to key stakeholders.
Page 83 and 84: EXTRACTING THE BEST FOR WILDLIFE -
Page 85 and 86: • That a simple methodology for m
Page 87 and 88: sites. Downloads have been recorded
Page 89 and 90: extended to work more with quarry o
Page 91 and 92: The review could be used to inform
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Page 95 and 96: ANNEX 2 TROUT UNLIMITED’S ABANDON
Page 97 and 98: in 450 chapters. Partnership is int
Page 99 and 100: The training programmes cover the f
Page 101 and 102: The Place: Clear Creek begins high
Page 103 and 104: addition, the U.S Department of the
Page 105 and 106: surface limestone deposits are over
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Page 109: Long-Term Viability The company pos
Page 113 and 114: Cementia later went into partnershi
Page 115 and 116: The opening of restored quarries fo
Page 117 and 118: intensification of the aquaculture
Page 119: 119 Sustainable Aggregates Creating
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