Rio Tinto's QMM ilmenite mine: net positive impact pledge and biodiversity offset (Madagascar)
- About 1,600 hectares of my forest were lost.Coastal forest reported as being destroyed by the mine, per the World Rainforest Movement.
- Company or project Rio Tinto: Committed in 2004 to a net positive impact on biodiversity covering the QMM mine; dropped the commitment in 2016.
- Communities and civil society World Rainforest Movement: Reported that about 1,600 hectares of coastal forest were being destroyed and that the offset project imposed severe restrictions on local communities. World Rainforest Movement
- Company or project Rio Tinto: No response to the World Rainforest Movement report is on record in the sources reviewed.
Rio Tinto made a 'net positive impact' pledge on biodiversity in 2004 that covered its QMM ilmenite mine in Madagascar, and dropped it in 2016. Accounts record all members of its biodiversity committee resigning, and the World Rainforest Movement reported forest destruction and restrictions on local communities at the offset project.
As stated by the World Rainforest Movement, 2016–2017.
Status As of the latest material reviewed (2017 reporting): Rio Tinto had dropped its net positive commitment in 2016; no court case, company response or independent evaluation found.
- Rio Tinto — Held the pledge as a public biodiversity commitment for its ilmenite mine.
- Reed weavers around the mine — Reported to have lost their livelihoods; compensation came late.
- Coastal forest — About 1,600 hectares reported as being destroyed. World Rainforest Movement
- Local communities at the offset site — Severe restrictions on use of land, per the World Rainforest Movement. World Rainforest Movement
What happened
QMM (QIT Madagascar Minerals) operates an ilmenite mine in Madagascar. In 2004 Rio Tinto made a 'net positive impact' commitment on biodiversity that covered the QMM mine. It dropped the commitment in 2016, and every member of its biodiversity committee resigned.
The World Rainforest Movement (WRM) reported in 2016 and 2017 that about 1,600 hectares of coastal forest were being destroyed, and that Rio Tinto's biodiversity offset project imposed severe restrictions on local communities. Reed weavers around the mine were reported to have lost their livelihoods, with compensation arriving late; the details of the compensation are not given.
No court case, complaint or independent ecological evaluation is recorded in the sources reviewed, and no response from Rio Tinto to the WRM report is on record.
- 2004Rio Tinto commits to a net positive impact on biodiversity, including at the QMM mine
- 2016Rio Tinto drops the commitment; the members of its biodiversity committee all resign
- 2017World Rainforest Movement reports restrictions on local communities at the offset project and about 1,600 ha of coastal forest being destroyed (reporting dated 2016–2017)
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Committed in 2004 to a net positive impact on biodiversity covering the QMM mine; dropped the commitment in 2016.
Reported that about 1,600 hectares of coastal forest were being destroyed and that the offset project imposed severe restrictions on local communities.
World Rainforest MovementNo response to the World Rainforest Movement report is on record in the sources reviewed.
How it looked
Shown
- A 'net positive impact' on biodiversity at the QMM mineRio Tinto, commitment of 2004
Recorded
- Rio Tinto dropped the net positive impact commitment in 2016 and all members of the biodiversity committee resigned.
- About 1,600 hectares of coastal forest were being destroyed; the offset project imposed severe restrictions on local communities.
- Reed weavers around the QMM mine lost their livelihoods; compensation came late.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- rio-tinto: No response to the World Rainforest Movement report, or explanation of the 2016 decision, is on record in the sources reviewed.
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Disputed Did the mine and its offset deliver a net positive impact on biodiversity?
Court
- None on record No court case on record.
Accounts
- None on record Rio Tinto: No response to the World Rainforest Movement report is on record in the sources reviewed.
Record
- Unclear Whether the net positive target was ever met at QMM: not on record in the sources reviewed.
- None on record The details of the late compensation to reed weavers and other users: not given.
- None on record Rio Tinto's own account of why it dropped the commitment, and its response to the WRM report: no source states them.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: villagers at the offset site said they were banned from planting cassava, received no compensation and did not know the site was an offset.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: a 2012 forecast that Rio Tinto would reach net positive at QMM, said to rest on a report prepared jointly with the company.
Did the harm stop?
Not recorded. Rio Tinto dropped its net positive commitment in 2016; the sources reviewed do not say whether the forest clearing or the restrictions on communities stopped.
Who paid?
Local users of the offset site and reed weavers are reported to have lost access or livelihoods; the forest is reported to have been destroyed.
Sources
Communities and civil society
- Rio Tinto's biodiversity offset project in Madagascar imposes severe restrictions on local communitiesWorld Rainforest Movement · 2016-2017
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