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Oil and gas exploration and production in sensitive ecosystems presents both risks and opportunities for biodiversity conservation. Any petroleum E&P project in a sensitive environment should have as a goal ensuring that the project's presence in an area results in a positive net benefit for biodiversity conservation. This strategy has two, integrated components: minimizing the negative impacts, both direct and indirect, of project activity, and making a positive contribution to conservation, to ensure that benefits outweigh costs. This paper discusses the concept of positive net benefit and then briefly reviews examples of positive contributions to biodiversity conservation by oil and gas companies operating in sensitive environments. Introduction The growing presence of oil and gas exploration and production projects in sensitive ecosystems around the world presents both significant risks and opportunities for biodiversity conservation in these areas. While operations can lead to serious direct and indirect impacts on air, water, soil, habitats and ecosystem health, the presence of large energy companies also often represents an important resource for support of and contributions to conservation on the ground. Increasingly, energy companies are recognizing that their ethical responsibilities in highly sensitive, often remote and undeveloped ecosystems may go beyond simply mitigating any potential negative environmental impacts. It is becoming more accepted that the "cost of doing business" in such areas may also include contributing to conservation in a proactive and meaningful way. A standard goal for any project in a sensitive ecosystem should be that the project's presence results in a positive net benefit to biodiversity conservation.1 In this paper, we discuss the concepts and methodologies behind the idea of ensuring a positive net benefit and then briefly review a series of cases where oil and gas companies have made positive contributions to conservation at project sites around the world. What does it mean to have a positive net benefit? Ensuring a net benefit to conservation in an area means, simply, that the positive benefits of a project's presence outweigh its negative impacts, so that the end result is improvement rather than degradation of an ecosystem. This equation has two basic components: minimizing and mitigating the negative impacts of an operation, and making some form of positive contribution to conservation. Minimizing negative impacts. Petroleum exploration and production can have profound and wide-ranging impacts on the delicate and complex biodiversity in sensitive ecosystems. Direct impacts can include land-clearing, habitat loss, and soil, air and water pollution. Indirect impacts that result from the opening of access to undeveloped areas can be an even larger threat. These indirect effects include the deforestation and habitat conversion that result from spontaneous settlement and agricultural colonization along access roads and pipeline paths. Minimizing negative impacts. Petroleum exploration and production can have profound and wide-ranging impacts on the delicate and complex biodiversity in sensitive ecosystems. Direct impacts can include land-clearing, habitat loss, and soil, air and water pollution. Indirect impacts that result from the opening of access to undeveloped areas can be an even larger threat. These indirect effects include the deforestation and habitat conversion that result from spontaneous settlement and agricultural colonization along access roads and pipeline paths.
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