Integrating Biodiversity Conservation into Oil and Gas ... - EBI

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a road and pipeline right-of-way built for access to
an oil operation inside the reserve or from the river.
Failure of both Guatemalan park authorities and Basic,
the company operating in the reserve, to implement an
effective access control plan led to the road, pipeline and
river becoming access routes into the reserve.
Just as negative secondary impacts are usually caused
by a wide range of stakeholders, their solutions will also
require cooperation among many parties. Early and
active engagement with all relevant stakeholders, from
local communities, to government officials, to national
and international conservation organizations, can help
to identify potential environmental and social conflicts,
build trust, identify boundaries of responsibility and
promote cooperation among all parties in addressing and
preventing secondary impacts (see Box 11). For example,
if a company wants to control access along a project road
or pipeline path, support by the authorities and adequate
financing to monitor access will be critical factors in
their success. Sometimes there will be conflicts between
conservation and development goals that make resolving
the issue of secondary impacts even more complicated
and beyond a company’s sole ability to manage – for
example if a local community is in favor of a road that the
conservation community opposes.
One of the most important ways that companies can
contribute to resolving such conflicts and addressing the
challenge of secondary impacts is by encouraging and
participating very early on in regional planning exercises
in the areas where they work or plan to work.
See Framework for Integrating Biodiversity into the
Site Selection Process for more information on this
issue.
FIGURE 7. DEFORESTATION ALONG AN OIL
ROAD AND PIPELINE PATH IN GUATEMALA
(Source: Sader, S.A., et al. Time-series tropical forest change detection
for The Maya Biosphere Reserve: Updated Estimates for 1995 to 1997.
Maine Image Analysis Laboratory, University of Maine, Department of
Forest Management.)
These exercises should be led by governments but
involve all key stakeholders. Based on the interests
of the authorities, the general public and the private
sector, regional plans can help establish priorities
and conditions for economic activities, community
development and biodiversity conservation. Proceeding
with project development in the context of a general
plan for conservation and sustainable development on
a regional scale will help a company ensure that its field
operations are managed in a strategic way, to promote
sustainable development and conservation and to avoid
the potential for unforeseen issues that might lead to
extensive secondary impacts.
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IDENTIFYING AND MITIGATING IMPACTS:
RELATED EBI PRODUCTS
4 Good Practice in the Prevention and Mitigation of Primary and Secondary Biodiversity Impacts: A detailed
compilation of the range of potential primary and secondary impacts to biodiversity from oil and gas development,
both onshore and offshore, and a summary of practices that can be used to mitigate or avoid those impacts.
4 Negative Secondary Impacts from Oil and Gas Development: A discussion paper on the factors that lead to
negative secondary impacts to biodiversity from oil and gas development, the key challenges in understanding and
addressing such impacts, and ways that companies can contribute to mitigating secondary impacts and their causes.
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Integrating Biodiversity Conservation into Oil and Gas Development