Abstract
This paper describes the approach of TOTAL Exploration & Production concerning the protection of biodiversity during oil and gas exploration and production activities, particularly in sensitive environments such as tropical islands. This approach was developed according to three stages: knowing biodiversity, protecting biodiversity and, going further, by contributing to scientific research. This three step approach is embedded in an environment protection policy and an associated set of actions already implemented for many years. Knowledge of the biodiversity is an indispensable preliminary to evaluating the sensitivity of a site which is likely to be impacted by an industrial activity. TOTAL E&P Indonésie (TI) has been operating for over 30 years in the East part of Borneo Island in areas of increasing sensitivity with respect to mangrove ecosystems; for example the Mahakam delta which includes the Tambora, Handil and Tunu fields. This area was initially covered by dense mangrove vegetation. Regular biodiversity surveys in the delta, especially for fishes, birds and benthos, have allowed TI to witness the progressive changes occurring in the delta. Reducing significant impacts and conserving biodiversity is considered as an integral part of sustainable development. With regard to the Mahakam delta, in the last decades there has been a marked increase of local population activities and deforestation due to shrimp-culture development. TI has made significant efforts with environmental management actions to protect the mangrove ecosystem through several environmental programs such as minimizing land clearing and reinstating cleared areas. The programs have involved local communities and other stakeholders such as NGO’s and governmental bodies. Contributing to scientific knowledge of biodiversity is of mutual interest to both science and industry. The TOTAL Group, through its Foundation for Biodiversity and the Sea, has supported the establishment of a comprehensive inventory of the marine biodiversity of the island of Panglao, situated southwest of Bohol, Philippines. The Panglao Marine Biodiversity project was driven in collaboration between the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, and the University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines. Recently, another major biodiversity inventory has been also supported by the TOTAL Foundation: the Santo 2006 biodiversity project. On this island, located in the Vanuatu archipelago, the research program has focused on four themes: marine, forest, karstic environments and alien species. Furthermore, TOTAL in partnership with IFREMER, a French oceanographic research centre, has also developed a comprehensive biodiversity research and development program dedicated to Deep Sea ecosystems. Even if initially focused off Western Africa, this emerging issue is also of concern in most of the tropical areas in the world where deep offshore environments are present.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andersen AC, Hourdez S, Marie B, Jollivet D, Lallier FH, Sibuet M (2004) Escarpia southwardae sp. nov., a new species of vestimentiferan tubeworm (Annelida, Siboglinidae) from West African cold seeps. Can J Zool 82:980–999
Anker A, Jeng MS (2006) Richalpheus palmeri, N GEN,N.SP. an infaunal alpheid shrimp from the Philippines, with redescription of Amphibetaeous jousseaumei (Coutière, 1896) (Decapoda: Caridea). J Crust Biol 26:379–391
Anker A, Poddoubtchenko D, Jeng MS (2006) Acanthanas pusillus, new genus, new species, a miniature alpheid shrimp with spiny eyes from the Philippines (Crustacea: Decapoda). Raffles Bull Zool 54:341–348
Bouchet P, Le Guyader H, Pascal O (eds) (2009) Natural history of Santo. Patrimoines naturels 69. Coéd./Copubl. IRD éditions.
Bourgeois R, Gouyon A, Jésus F, Levang P, Langeraar W, Rahmadani F, Sudiono E, Sulistani B (2002) Socioeconomic and institutional analysis of Mahakam delta stakeholders. Final Report to TotalFinaElf, contract no 501125/DKI/204, 108 pp
Cauquil E, Adamy J (2008) Seabed imagery and chemosynthetic communities: examples from deep offshore West Africa. Paper OTC 19352 presented at the 2008 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, USA, 5–8 May 2008
Chan TY, Ho CK, Li CP, Chu KH (2009) Origin and diversification of the clawed lobster genus Metanephrops (Crustacea: Decapoda: Nephropidae). Mol Phylogenet Evol 50:411–422
INRR (2006) Mahakam Delta in space and time: ecosystem, resources, and management. Bogor: BPMigas, TOTAL, 190 pp
Kreb D, Budiono (2005) Cetacean diversity and habitat preferences in tropical waters of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Raffles Bull Zool 53:149–155
MacKinnon K, Hatta G, Halim H, Mangalik A (1996) The ecology of Kalimantan. The ecology of Indonesia series, vol III, s.1. Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd., Singapore, xxiv, 802 pp
Mitsuhashi M, Chan TY (2008) Pontoniine shrimps of the genus Apopontonia Bruce, 1976 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Palaemonidae) from the Philippines PANGLAO 2004 expedition, with a description of one new species. Raffles Bull Zool 19:27–38
Reid DG, Dyal P, Lozouet P, Glaubrecht M, Williams ST (2008) Mudwhelks and mangroves: the evolutionary history of an ecological association (Gastropoda: Potamididae). Mol Phylogenet Evol 47:680–699
Savoye B, Sibuet M, Morash A, Miné J (2003) Zaïango-BioZaïre—exploring the depths. Energies-Technology special issue-winter (2002–2003), pp 24–33
Sibuet M, Galéron J, Khripounoff A, Menot L, Olu-Leroy K, Durrieu J, Miné J (2002) Deep-sea ecosystems on the equatorial African margin: First results of a pluridisciplinary environmental programme and discovery of chemosynthetic based ecosystem. Paper SPE 78875 presented at the SPE international conference on health, safety and environment in oil and gas exploration and production, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 20–22 March 2002
Siebenhüner B (2007) Administrator of global biodiversity: the secretariat of the convention on biological diversity. Biodivers Conserv 16:259–274
Suripno, Najib M, Asmaradewi G (2004) Management of oil & gas exploration and production in sensitive social environment and mangrove ecosystem. Paper SPE 86578 presented at the SPE international conference on health, safety, and environment in oil and gas exploration and production, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 29–31 March 2004
Sutton C, Miné J, Canovas S (2004) Environmental baseline surveys in deep waters: the lesson learned offshore West Africa. Paper SPE 86775 presented at the SPE international conference on health, safety, and environment in oil and gas exploration and production, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 29–31 March 2004
Van Zwieten PA, Sidik AS, Noryadi, Suyatna I, Abdunnur (2006) Aquatic food production in the coastal zone: data-based perceptions on the trade-off between mariculture and fisheries production of the Mahakam delta and estuary, East Kalimantan. In: Hoanh CT, Tuong TP, Gowing JW, Hardy B (eds) Environment and livelihoods in tropical coastal zones. CAB International, Indonesia, pp 219–236
Acknowledgments
The authors thank TOTAL E&P Borneo B.V. for its support, Michel Grandprat from TOTAL S.A. and Joelle Galeron from IFREMER who kindly checked the article. The authors are grateful to the reviewers and to the editor for their comments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chaîneau, CH., Miné, J. & Suripno The integration of biodiversity conservation with oil and gas exploration in sensitive tropical environments. Biodivers Conserv 19, 587–600 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-009-9733-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-009-9733-0