2010
AMBATOVY SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
8
B2. Key Impacts, Risks and Opportunities
B2.1 Impacts
This report gives us an opportunity to assess our impacts
in a comprehensive manner. It is also a tool for monitoring
and improving our performance. The scale of the Ambatovy
Project is significant and it has a wide range of impacts.
Many of the impacts are positive, but some are potentially
negative. This requires the Project to develop and implement
strategies to eliminate, minimize, manage, mitigate and/or
compensate for negative impacts. For example, pipeline
construction created a significant number of new jobs and
income for local people. At the same time, it resulted in
erosion into adjoining rice fields in some places. In cases
where pipeline construction damaged rice fields, Ambatovy
undertook rehabilitation activities and/or compensated the
people affected. Relocation is another example of mixed
impact. While resettlement of villages from the tailings and
plant sites was unavoidable, the relocation provided the
opportunity to build not only new homes, but also education
and health facilities for families who had little access to such
amenities in the past.
B2.2 Risks and Opportunities
As a private enterprise rather than a publicly traded
corporation, the considerations of risk and opportunity for
investment must be considered in the larger context of our
partner companies. Each partner company assesses its own
risks and opportunities based on a variety of factors.
As with other businesses operating in Madagascar,
Ambatovy must assess and manage risks that fall in a range
of categories, such as climate, legal and political instability.
For a detailed analysis of the risks referred to here, consult
Sherritt International Corporation’s Annual Information Form,
.
Priority Areas of Risk, Opportunity
and Impact
Detailed descriptions of sustainability-related risks,
opportunities and our management approaches to them are
given in each section of this report. The Project has also
identified priority issues on which it has frequently engaged
stakeholders through the construction phase. These include:
Environment
Biodiversity has been a key issue since the early planning
stages of the Project. In addition, mitigating construction
impacts through offsets and rehabilitation has been and will
continue to be a focus for the Project. Forest management
has been another area of impact that required our concerted
attention.
Economic
Key financial performance to date has been related to
construction and preparation for operations. Impacts and risks
will evolve as the Project transitions into production and sales.
Nevertheless, some key financial impacts of the Project are
already visible in local wage payments as well as the Project’s
commitment to disclose all payments to the government
in accordance with the Extractive Industries Transparency
Initiative (EITI).
3
During the construction period, Ambatovy
faced labour-related issues that have affected the construction
schedule. The Project is putting into place mitigation
measures to address this type of risk, such as programs to
assist demobilized construction workers while they transition
to other income-generating opportunities.
3
In 2010, Madagascar was a candidate country with the EITI. Madagascar was suspended from the EITI in 2011. Detailed information may be found at
.
