It is possible to take biodiversity into account throughout the entire life cycle of the project when it is taken into account already during the layout planning phase by utilizing nature surveys, mappings and available open data. By taking biodiversity and existing habitats into account, the ecological footprint caused by quarrying operations can be reduced.
Envineer Oy has prepared a preliminary plan for biodiversity promotion for the layout planning of the talc project. The plan describes the measures by which biodiversity has been taken into account in the layout planning of the project and provides recommendations for its preservation and increase during the construction, production and closure phases.
In the layout planning of the quarrying operations, wetlands and water bodies in particular have been identified as the most important habitat types to be preserved in the area. By placing structures on the mineral land side, the risks to wetlands and the solid load on water bodies can be reduced. Erosion risks are taken into account in water management and erosion protection is built in the riverbeds where necessary. Correspondingly, dense placement of activities reduces deforestation during construction in the area and reduces the area that is “open” in the phases of earthworks. Good water management planning and implementation on the banks of the area’s ponds and in the areas of the streams that flow from them preserves or even improves the natural annual variation of small waters, which maintains the wetlands and the species that depend on them.
Measures to preserve and increase biodiversity during the construction, production and closure phases are phased in accordance with the construction phase. During construction, the aim is to preserve valuable sites and in addition, additional measures can be taken in the area to increase diversity, such as increasing the amount of rotten wood in connection with the removal of trees and re-margining the mire areas by blocking ditches. Various types of biodiversity-increasing measures can be integrated into the closure phase, such as sunlit slopes on the southern and western slopes of the dump areas.
