Biodiversity action plan

Rio Tinto aims to have a net positive impact on biodiversity - meaning that all our actions have positive effects that outweigh the physical disturbances and changes of land associated with mining.

We are working closely with our NGO partners to ensure that leading practice in biodiversity management is implemented at each stage of the project. Our partners include Guinea Ecology, Fauna & Flora International, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and BirdLife International. In the event that a critical habitat is identified in areas where we plan to mine, we will initiate an independent review.

Identifying biodiversity offsets

We have been conducting biodiversity studies with Conservation International in a wider region than Simandou. Our aim is to identify potential biodiversity off-sets within Guinea, for residual impacts that cannot be avoided or directly mitigated should the project go to the development phase.

We developed an initial biodiversity action plan, building on the results of Conservation International's rapid assessment programme. Conservation International launched a second phase of the project from this in 2004, in alliance with Rio Tinto and other local and regional partners. The aim was to develop an integrated regional land use planning process in the Pic de Fon and surrounding areas - to benefit biodiversity conservation, industry, the communities that rely on resources within the region and the Government of Guinea.