Executive Summary
8
BBOP Pilot Project Case Study – Ambatovy Project
Step 6. Reviewing potential offset locations and activities to assess biodiversity gains which could
be achieved
:
preliminary surveys of offset candidate sites were undertaken in 2005 with the
objective of identifying potential
IN-KIND
type offsets. The Ankerana forest site has many similarities
with the Ambatovy mine site forests, supporting the hypothesis that Ankerana can be considered ‘in-
kind’ relative to the Ambatovy azonal habitats.
Step 7. Calculating offset gains and select appropriate offset locations and activities
:
additional work
to verify Ankerana’s similarities is required and planned for 2009, including detailed quantification of
potential offset gains. Gains from other offset programme components will also be calculated and
integrated.
Step 8. Recording the offset design and entering the offset implementation process
:
the Ankerana
offset design and other components of the offset programme have not yet been finalised, thus the
implementation process has not formally begun. The Project will finalise the offset programme
design, using BBOP guidance, during the course of 2009.
The team plans to complete the design of the offset programme implementation plan by the end of 2009, with
the Ankerana and other offset sites’ gain calculated in 2010, and thus the final offset design completed at that
point. The Project will have the responsibility of ensuring the management of the Ankerana site, while actual
site protection and local management will likely be entrusted to an NGO. For Ankerana, the annual
operational costs are in the process of being established and are estimated to be in the range US$ 250,000 –
300,000 per annum. Since the offset programme is still in the design phase, the actual conservation outcomes
to date are limited. They represent what the Project has achieved thus far and the benefits the Project has
already enjoyed and include securing the temporary protection of Ankerana until the Ministerial decree for its
protection is finalised; integrating Ankerana into the national protected areas network; coordination between
government organisations, NGOs, local communities and the private sector; local community awareness and
reforestation activities. At the mine site, forest and
TAXA
-specific conservation management plans were
developed for flora and fauna, (e.g., lemurs, Mantella frog species and fish). Although these programmes
were developed as part of the Biodiversity Management Plan, their importance is reinforced by their aim of
ensuring the conservation of azonal habitat and associated species, thus ensuring that all key biodiversity
components present on the
IMPACT SITE
are present at the offset.
A summary of the Ambatovy Project pilot project BBOP programme is presented in Table 1.
