SITES

	Greatham, Teesside, UK
	West Site, Billingham, UK
	Grimsby, Humberside, UK
	Calais, France
	Huelva, Spain
	Scarlino, Italy
	Teluk Kalung, Malaysia
	Umbogintwini, South Africa
	Lake Charles, USA
	Burnie, Tasmania

Index by Category

Appendices

References

What is Biodiversity?

The term "biodiversity" embraces the whole variety of life on earth and the Convention requires that living resources be conserved on three basic levels:

• ecosystems and habitats which support an integrated variety of plants and animals.
• conservation of specific species and populations of flora and fauna
• conservation of the genetic variations which occur within a species

Whilst all ecosystems and all species are of importance, it is recognised that certain habitats and species are of particular value. Some habitats might be especially vulnerable or hold a great diversity of species e.g. tropical rainforest, coral reefs. Also certain individual species might be intrinsically rare e.g. Large Blue Butterfly, Orange-bellied Parrot, be geographically restricted, such as those confined to isolated islands or be "key species" in a particular ecosystem e.g. Alligators in southern USA swamplands. In an attempt to conserve such habitats and species a range of biodiversity action programmes at levels ranging from the global to the local are being developed. It is important however, that if they are to succeed these programmes must complement each other.

Whilst there will always be a need for reserves and national parks where nature conservation is the prime objective, equally important is the integration of conservation with other land uses. It is widely acknowledged that Governments alone cannot fully implement all of the measures necessary to conserve the earth's biodiversity. Even in countries such as Canada, which is second only to Russia in the extent of its wilderness areas, accept that a commitment will be required from the Private Sector to further biodiversity programmes (Canada Biodiversity ND). A crucial element in conservation therefore is the protection biodiversity outside of formal nature reserves and national parks.

It has been estimated that more than 90% of the earth’s land mass is, and will remain, outside of legally protected reserves. In the USA, for example, more than a third of the species listed under the US Endangered Species Act are found exclusively on private property (Primack 2000). If areas outside of nature reserves and parks are biologically degraded biodiversity in the reserves will also decline. It has been estimated that if wildlife was not conserved outside of the Nairobi National Park in Kenya then eventually the park would loose nearly 50% of the 21 large herbivore species which currently live there (Western & Ssemakula 1981).

On a global scale the largest human utilisation of land is for agriculture. Whilst many improvements in agricultural practices are still required it is widely accepted that with sympathetic management farmland can remain productive and at the same time support important populations of wildlife. Industry can also play an important role in biodiversity conservation. It is in the protection of often relatively small and fragmented, but nevertheless essential, habitats in urban and industrialised areas where commercial landowners can make a significant contribution to biodiversity. Such industrial wildlife reserves often function as habitat links, allowing wildlife to move between major conservation areas and so help to prevent biological communities from becoming isolated.

With industrial sites in seven countries and with habitats ranging from reedbeds to brackish lagoons and Mediterranean scrub to tropical forest, Tioxide can, and does, make a considerable contribution to the conservation of biodiversity on a global scale.

Wildlife does not recognise industrial site boundaries anymore than it does political borders. Consequently there are responsibilities, but also positive opportunities, for industries to extend conservation initiatives beyond the site boundaries. This is particularly true for Tioxide sites that, for operational reasons, are located in estuarine or coastal areas. Many of these are of at least regional, and in some cases of national or even international, ecological importance. Industrial plants operating in such locations need to be managed with considerable care in order to protect the integrity of adjacent conservation sites and their wildlife populations. If properly managed however, company conservation based outreach programmes that proactively extend wildlife initiatives beyond the site boundary can create positive advantages for the company. Such outreach programmes have already been successfully developed in a number of Tioxide locations.

The rationale for nature conservation by industrial companies has been discussed in some detail in a report produced for ICI's Nature Link programme (Smith 1994) and more recently Earthwatch has published practical guidelines for integrating biodiversity with industrial operations (Earthwatch 1999, 2000).

Some positive benefits to industry from biodiversity conservation programmes are summarised in Box 1.