MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA SUBMISSION TO THE SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE INQUIRY INTO AUSTRALIA’S FAUNAL EXTINCTION CRISIS 5 OCTOBER 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 2 PRESSURES ON AUSTRALIAN BIODIVERSITY.................................................................................. 2 MINING AND BIODIVERSITY ................................................................................................................ 3 REGULATORY AND POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR MINING ................................................................. 7 ENHANCING BIODIVERSITY OUTCOMES .......................................................................................... 9 FURTHER INFORMATION ................................................................................................................... 11 Minerals Council of Australia EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) is the peak industry organisation representing Australia’s exploration, mining and minerals processing industry, nationally and internationally, in its contribution to sustainable development and society. The MCA’s strategic objective is to advocate public policy and operational practice for a world-class industry that is safe, profitable, innovative, environmentally and socially responsible and attuned to its communities’ needs and expectations. The minerals industry is committed to upholding high standards of environmental protection based on the use of sound science and robust risk-based approaches in the assessment and management of potential environmental impacts. The minerals industry has a relatively small footprint – representing <0.1 per cent of Australia’s land mass and less than 3.7 per cent of national water consumption. While not a significant driver of biodiversity loss, the industry recognises the need to address biodiversity conservation as a key component of environmental management in the regions in which mining occurs. The industry has a mature and proactive approach to biodiversity management. Mining companies invest heavily in the collection of data as part of project approvals. Furthermore, many companies undertake additional voluntary actions including partnering in research and specific conservation and recovery initiatives. The MCA and other industry bodies support improved industry performance through the development of guidance on the assessment and management of environmental impacts including biodiversity. The minerals industry has long understood the value of harnessing the knowledge of Indigenous Australians in managing land. The industry implements plans that promote and harness traditional ecological knowledge, and implement culturally-appropriate strategies for flora and fauna management. Modern mining environmental practice is highly regulated, generally well implemented and widely held to account. Biodiversity management is already well embedded within the Australian regulation at the state/territory and national levels. Should it be determined the policy outcomes are not being realised, it the nature and adequacy of implementation of biodiversity related policies that should be examined. Opportunities exist to harness the industry’s experience and investment in biodiversity management through data sharing, knowledge transfer, and leveraging research outcomes. Finally implementation of strategic approaches to biodiversity offsets may also enhance broader biodiversity outcomes. Minerals Council of Australia | 1 INTRODUCTION The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee inquiry into Australia’s faunal extinction crisis. The MCA is the peak industry organisation representing Australia’s exploration, mining and minerals processing industry, nationally and internationally, in its contribution to sustainable development and society. The MCA’s strategic objective is to advocate public policy and operational practice for a world-class industry that is safe, profitable, innovative, environmentally and socially responsible and attuned to its communities’ needs and expectations. The minerals industry is committed to upholding high standards of environmental protection based on the use of sound science and robust risk-based approaches in the assessment and management of potential environmental impacts. This submission outlines the industry’s approach to biodiversity assessment and management and identifying opportunities to enhance biodiversity conservation outcomes, including the industry’s contribution to research initiatives and species recovery. The submission also provides information on the comprehensive regulatory framework under which the industry operates. PRESSURES ON AUSTRALIAN BIODIVERSITY The Australian minerals industry acknowledges the pressures that exert themselves on the Australian environment. These pressures are detailed in the 2016 State of the Environment (SoE) Report: The poor state and declining trend of Australia’s biodiversity are an issue of particular concern. For instance, the number of species listed as threatened under the EPBC Act continues to rise. Since 2011, the number of species listed in the critically endangered category has increased by 31, and 2 species have been reported as likely extinct. Overall pressures on biodiversity have mostly increased since 2011, and the status of biodiversity has mostly decreased, but our information base remains inadequate to robustly assess state and trends.1 The main pressures facing the Australian environment today are the same as in 2011: climate change, land- use change, habitat fragmentation and degradation, and invasive species. In addition, the interactions between these and other pressures are resulting in cumulative impacts, amplifying the threats faced by the Australian environment.2 With respect to the mining industry, the 2016 SoE report finds: Direct effects of mining are a weak pressure at the national scale, since the areas affected are relatively small. However, cumulative impacts can be significant for states or territories with large mining industries.3 As acknowledged in the SoE report, the mining industry has a relatively small footprint – representing <0.1 per cent of Australia’s land mass and less than 3.7 per cent of national water consumption.4 While not a significant driver of biodiversity loss, the industry recognises the need to address biodiversity conservation as a key component of environmental management in the regions in which mining occurs. 1 Department of Environment and Energy, State of the Environment 2016, Overview of state and trends of biodiversity. 2 Department of Environment and Energy, State of the Environment 2016, Executive summary - Overview. 3 Department of Environment and Energy, State of the Environment 2016, Energy and Resource Extraction and Processing. 4 Department of Environment and Energy, State of the Environment 2016, Land Use and Management, Canberra, 2016 and Australian Bureau of Statistics, Water Account, Australia, 2015-16, water use tables, ABS catalogue no. 4610.0, released 23 November 2017 Minerals Council of Australia | 2 MINING AND BIODIVERSITY Industry commitment to managing biodiversity The minerals industry is committed to responsible environmental management, including biodiversity. MCA member companies are signatories to Enduring Value – the Australian Minerals Industry Framework for Sustainable Development.5 Key framework principles relevant to biodiversity include: Principle 6 – Seek continual improvement of our environmental performance Principle 7 – Contribute to the conversation of biodiversity and integrated approaches to land use planning The minerals industry approach is reflected in the MCA Land Stewardship Policy. Minerals operations apply the ‘avoid-minimise-mitigate’ management hierarchy to address potential impacts on biodiversity and broader environmental values.6 Noting the location of a geological resource constrains mining operation locations, there may be instances when it is necessary to mitigate impact on significant residual loss of conservation/biodiversity values through offsets, the use of which is regulated by state/territory and where relevant, federal regulation. The MCA has developed principles to guide the development and application of biodiversity offset measures.7 Biodiversity offsets enable a company to deliver an overall conservation outcome that improves or maintains the viability of the aspect of the environment protected by the Commonwealth and/or States/Northern Territory. Research, development and application of leading practice In addition to compliance with legislation and regulations, the industry is continually looking to develop and adopt new and improved approaches to monitoring, assessing and managing biodiversity. Nature-based initiatives commonly supported by the industry include flora and fauna research, community education programs and initiatives to capture and apply traditional ecological knowledge. While individual companies undertake their own research, cross-sectoral research programs, like the industry funded Australian coal research program (ACARP), has completed a range of environmental/biodiversity research projects. Industry