1.Front section - IUCN

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Friends for Life: New partners in support of protected areas
Convened by CELB, the EBI includes four energy companies and
five NGOs.
that all energy companies “should respect the integrity
of protected areas” (Energy and Biodiversity
Initiative, 2003). These public acknowledgements of
the importance of protected areas help to
communicate the importance of and the need for a
representative system of protected areas worldwide.
Conclusions
Cover of report produced by Energy & Biodiversity Initiative.
national governments, multilateral development
agencies, international financial institutions,
development agencies, and industry bodies. Many
people concerned about the state of the environment
and the behaviour of big business see a universal front
standing in opposition to any perceived barrier to
companies advancing into areas to explore for
minerals, oil, and gas. They perceive companies as
seeking to have protected areas degazzetted and the
boundaries redrawn. Companies articulating publicly
their support for the protected area system can help
both to dispel this negative image and contribute to
efforts to promote the fundamental importance of
protected areas for global conservation (ten Kate,
2003).
The announcements made by Shell and the
International Council of Mining and Metals not to
operate in existing World Heritage Sites in 2003 is a
progressive step (Shell, 2003; International Council
on Mining and Metals, 2003). So too is BP’s public
statement that it recognises the importance of and
supports the protected area system. The four company
members of the Energy and Biodiversity Initiative
(EBI) – Statoil, ChevronTexaco, Shell and BP –
subscribe to the recommendation in the EBI report
Public policy, conservation and the
extractive industries sector
The examples given in this chapter of the
contributions companies in the extractive industries
sector have made in support of protected areas are
only a toe in the water of the steady flow of benefits
that can be channelled to conservation. This chapter
sought only to synthesise the discussions and cases on
the subject presented at the Vth World Parks Congress
in Durban, not provide an exhaustive survey of such
collaborations. Mostly, these successful collaborations
and outcomes rely on the voluntary actions of
companies and the initiative of protected area
professionals. To harness the potential for this new
constituency to support protected areas, more formal
arrangements need to be put in place.
The establishing by national governments of land-use
planning systems that include spatial objectives for
conservation and protected areas alongside other
economic and social needs, including mineral and oil
and gas development (see World Parks Congress
Recommendation 5.09, IUCN, 2003), would make it
possible for the protected area system to work
constructively with the extractive industries. In the
absence of clear and equitable planning procedures
the combative relations that have embittered the
dialogue between the energy and mining companies
and conservation organizations will surely continue,
and the potential for alliances with the sector will be
harder to realize. A review of the IUCN protected area
categories recommended at the Vth World Parks
Congress (Recommendation 5.19, IUCN, 2003) and
its proper use by governments will help build better
relations between the two sectors.
The difficulty of building effective integrated
planning processes should not be underestimated.
There have been successes, however (Koziel and
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