Title
The Taninthayi Nature Reserve Project as a Model of Compensation of Impacts to Biodiversity
Author(s)
Pollard, Edward; Victurine, Ray; Tizard, Robert; Hlaing, Soe Win
Published
2016
Abstract
The Taninthayi Nature Reserve Project (TNRP) has been operating in southern Myanmar since 2005. TNRP involves payments from three companies to support the creation and on-going management of a protected area as compensation for potential impacts to biodiversity from the construction and operation of three gas pipelines. This public-private partnership is unique in Myanmar and could form the basis of a model which can be applied to other developments in the country. We reviewed relevent literature and interviewed staff and stakeholders involved with the development and implementation of the TNRP in order to understand the model, identify some key lessons. As a framework for comparison the model was reviewed against current leading practice, primarily the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standard 6 (PS6), and the Business and Biodiversity Offets Program (BBOP) Standard on Biodiversity Offsets.This review revealed that the project has broadly met its stated goals and objectives:The companies have met their financial commitments.Stakeholder criticism of pipeline biodiversity impacts has been limited.A protected area has been established and managed since 2005, with socio-economic development programmes delivered to surrounding communities.The capacity of government staff involved in the TNRP has been improved.The TNRP was not originally developed to be in alignment with modern standards and the TNRP is not an offset. The TNRP thus does not meet current mitigation or offsetting best-practice in many areas. Our review does, however, highlight key lessons learned for developments to limit their impact on biodiversity and manage the associated risks effectively:Impact assessments should thoroughly analyse direct and indirect impacts to biodiversity.The mitigation hierarchy should be followed during the construction and operation of infrastructure.Should offsets be required, it is necessary to quantify biodiversity losses from development impacts and gains from conservation activities in order to identify how much compensation is enough.Monitoring of actions on the ground is the only way to determine their success in mitigating residual impacts to biodiversity.
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PUB15860