The balance of biodiversity depends on delicate, often imperceptible interactions between different species and the natural environments in which they evolve. This balance is somewhat similar to a real world game of "pick-up sticks". The exchanges within biodiversity are complex.
The group has taken a proactive and pragmatic approach in this area for many years. The actions take place under a rationale of continuous progress. AREVA remains well aware of the need to deepen its knowledge and expertise on the subject of biodiversity, with help from experts and specialized stakeholders.
Today the group has capitalized on learnings pertaining to behavioral approach and implemented practices.
Preserving biodiversity represents a high-stakes challenge for our planet. Raising awareness of how human activities accelerate the decline of our planet’s biodiversity is therefore essential.
- In 1992, the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro marked a significant step forward, leading to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the very first international convention on biodiversity, ratified by 193 countries to date.
- In 2000, then Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan advanced the debate by ordering a general biodiversity assessment. This initiative, involving the evaluation of ecosystems for the new millennium, mobilized 1,360 specialists around the world. Presented in 2005, the report evaluates the consequences of disrupted ecosystems on the well-being of humanity, and also provides the basis for initiatives for preserving endangered ecosystems.
ecosystem
an entity formed by a natural habitat (e.g. forest, desert, pond) and its living organisms
- Declared by the United Nations as the Year of Biodiversity, 2010 marks a new step that will raise the general public’s awareness of the current situation and the consequences of the decline of biodiversity in the world. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), one bird species in eight, one mammal in four, one amphibian in three, and 70% of all plants are endangered.
A multitude of living organisms
Biodiversity is all life that inhabits the planet, from plants and animals, to fungi, bacteria, viruses, and so on.
There are 3 levels of biodiversity:- Diversity of living environments or ecosystems, ranging from the largest (oceans, forests, deserts) to the smallest (ponds, tree trunks),
- Diversity of species which live in these environments, and the complex interactions between them (through predation , cooperation
Predation
when an organism survives by eating prey in the form of animals or vegetation
, symbiosiscooperation
Voluntary association between two species in which each derives an advantage
) and their ecosystem,Symbiosis
Permanent and essential association between two species, in which each one finds the elements necessary to its survival
- Diversity of individuals within each species, in other words, each organism’s individual genetic heritage.
Genetic Heritage
The combination of genes that characterize an individual or a species
Guaranteeing the security and richness of the natural environment
The more varied an ecosystem, the more it is stable and capable of maintaining its natural equilibrium. Biodiversity is also a source of many things that are vital for human survival: food, oxygen, raw materials, and therapeutic molecules.
Animal species such as insects (bees, moths, butterflies), bats and birds act as pollinators of flowering plants and commercial crops, and guarantee agricultural production. Large areas of forest serve as the “lungs” of the planet.
Biodiversity at risk
Five major factors are currently accelerating the erosion of diversity:
- species natural habitat is being damaged and broken up, because of growing urbanization and the expansion of land used for agriculture.
- climate change, is disturbing the reproduction periods of animals and vegetation, animal migrations, vegetation growth, and the frequency of parasitic infestations and illnesses.
- a proliferation of invasive species , either by the direct introduction into nature of new species that hunt, infect or enter into competition with native species, or because of disequilibrium.
Invasive species
A species which propagates outside its area of origin and threatens the biodiversity of its new habitat
- the overexploitation of natural resources, which are either consumed or exhausted more quickly than it takes them to renew.
- pollution and nuisances caused by industrial, agricultural or domestic activities, nitrates and phosphates present in water sources, industrial waste, noise, light pollution.
These 5 mechanisms are leading to a rapid disappearance of a large number of species. Some scientists believe that human activity could, over time, lead to a massive extinction of species.
Massive extinction
Sudden disappearance of a large proportion of living creatures
Identify our interaction with the natural environment
Our approach in this area has always been both proactive and pragmatic. As early as 2006, AREVA, supported by specialists in the field, committed to thoroughly investigating the relationship between its activities and biodiversity. This first effort was followed in 2008 by a supplementary study "AREVA and biodiversity" which concluded that the group’s activities resulted in five processes of erosion.
AREVA integrated this theme into its 2008-2011 environmental policy, with the objective to limit and reverse its impact on biodiversity.
Measuring the impact of our industrial activities
An in-depth study of the group’s activities demonstrated that their main impact on biodiversity concerned the mining activity and certain high-stakes environmental sites.
After bringing together international biodiversity specialists, AREVA developed an adapted tool for evaluating the interaction of group activities and biodiversity. This program can be used by each site in question, and also:
- helps raise awareness among employees,
- provides methods for evaluating impact on biodiversity,
- offers a guide for implementing action plans.
Preserving biodiversity
These actions can be either local (limited to the sites in question), or global (encompassing the entire group). They are in line with AREVA’s continuous improvement process. Some are preventative and aim to increase monitoring of sites; the extension of the ecological section of impact studies for uranium mine and SEVESO sites; and a soil management policy that takes into account the entire life cycle of the industrial site.
AREVA is finalizing a strategy that complies with international best practices, in order to take into account the challenges of protecting biodiversity at each step in a mine’s life cycle.
Several initiatives have already been undertaken by AREVA in order to limit its environmental impact. These initiatives have made it possible to limit the mechanisms of biodiversity erosion.
Over the 2004-2011 period, while revenues remained stable, the group:
- reduced use of natural environments (-35% in water consumption), consumption of resources (-30% in paper), and energy consumption (-20%), thus taking action against the overuse of resources,
- reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 50%, thus fighting against climate change,
- increased by 40% the rate of conventional wastes reused, by reducing and controlling its industrial wastes.
AREVA’s activities lead to five erosion processes.
The group compensates for its effect on biodiversity by:
- protecting the natural habitat,
- reducing the levels of CO2 emissions and putting in place compensation measures,
- Reducing consumption of natural resources,
- Reducing and controlling levels of industrial waste.
The following are some examples of actions we have taken at either specific sites, or within the wider group.