– A first for the Lékédi Biodiversity Foundation, created last year, one of whose objectives is to contribute to a better understanding of major environmental issues
– At the heart of the exchanges between specialists gathered at Lékédi Park: the commitments to Climate and Biodiversity, the roots of our future.
This Thursday, the first edition of the Biodiversity Meetings was held at Lékédi Park. Two panels brought together Climate and Biodiversity specialists around Michel Stéphane Bonda, Deputy Minister for Water and Forests.
André MASSARD, Director of Public Relations and Communication at Comilog and Loïse TAMALGO, General Delegate of the Eramet group in Africa, co-organized the first “Biodiversity Meetings” for the young foundation at the Lékédi Park.
Sharing best practices
On this occasion, members of the government and its environmental services, members of civil society as well as representatives of Comilog and Setrag gathered to share their good practices in terms of biodiversity. The event took place at Lékédi Park, where Comilog has been maintaining and developing Gabon’s largest fenced-in wildlife park since 1993. Inaugurated in 2021, the Foundation has endowed it with new resources to preserve biodiversity, rehabilitate orphaned primates and develop scientific research.
Gabon’s leadership in the fight against global warming is affirmed by a national strategy to address the climate emergency, the Deputy Minister reminded his audience gathered at the Lékédi Park in Bakoumba. Matching his words with his actions, he outlined the prospects for Gabon’s climate planning, one of the topics to be discussed at the “One Forest Summit”, announced for next March, on a joint initiative of Gabon and France.
A decarbonation objective
Leod-Paul BATOLO, Managing Director at Comilog, recalled the company’s decarbonization trajectory. He mentioned the project to replace reducing agents with bio-reducing agents, which is currently underway at Group level. Eventually, the biomass resource in Gabon could allow for the local production of bio-reducers. The installation of an electric conveyor equipped with a potential energy recovery system, to replace rolling trucks, thus reducing CO2 emissions, was also mentioned.
“Decarbonizing our mining and metallurgy activities requires us to overcome technological barriers through innovation. This implies even more Research and Development,” said Pierre Gueudet, Climate Director at Eramet. “Decarbonization is a race, and we need to accelerate. Our commitment to climate change, validated by the Science Based Targets initiative and compatible with the UNFCCC, is a key element of our strategy”.
The roots of our future
On the issue of biodiversity, the second panel of these Meetings, Georgette Koko, former Deputy Prime Minister and former President of the Economic and Social Council (CES), was the first to plead for a respect for the “roots of our future”. Christian MAGNI, General Manager at Setrag, reminded the audience of the environmental issues related to the company and the actions implemented to preserve biodiversity.
Frédérique Desmoulins, biodiversity expert at Eramet, recalled the precautions that a mining and metallurgical company must take to “avoid, reduce, rehabilitate or compensate for impacts. Our experience since the 1970s, developed internally and with international experts, enables us to integrate the preservation of biodiversity into our mining model”.
Other biodiversity experts also took part in these panels: Michel Stéphane BONDA, Deputy Minister to the Minister of Water and Forests, Sea and Environment, as well as Alexis LEMEK, French Ambassador to Gabon. “This first meeting on biodiversity is a platform for expressing the social commitment of Eramet and its subsidiaries,” said Mr. Tamalgo. This event is being held on the sidelines of the COP 15 on biodiversity, which began on December 7, and in the run-up to the “One Planet Summit” scheduled for March 2023 in Gabon, which will focus on forestry issues, at the heart of climate and biodiversity issues.
