BUSINESS: 294 PRACTICES
IMERYS Group is the world leader in mineral-based industrial solutions, offering specialized solutions necessary for its customers. IMERYS INDUSTRIAL MINERALS GREECE SINGLE MEMBER SOCIETE ANONYME mines and processes industrial minerals, mainly bentonite and perlite.
The initiative of removing invasive plant species from the areas our company (Imerys) restored has the purpose of protecting biodiversity. With this initiative we improve its protection procedures that currently exist and we add one more weapon in the preservation of biodiversity in our restorations in the island of Milos.
The removal of invasive plants benefits the biodiversity and the total, high in biodiversity value, Milos ecosystem, aiming to minimize the effects of mining and hence the living conditions of the inhabitants and visitors of the island.
November 2021 – May 2022 (7 months)
The rehabilitation/restoration of the mines on the island of Milos began in the 80’s. Many times in the early years foreign species of plants were used. One of the plants used then was the species Carpobrotus acinaciformis. These plants have mechanisms that help them to successfully establish in the disturbed soils of the restorations. Thus the above plants withstand environments with drought, salinity, exposure to excess light and grazing.
The above characteristics made these plants very popular as a restoration plant in the mines of Milos. Later in the late 1990s it was realized that they were competing with native plant species and their use was slowly stopped. But these types of plants have remained in several restorations of our company as well. Realizing that the protection of the Biodiversity of our island is threatened by these invasive plants, we decided in November 2021 to start a program to remove these species from our mine restorations. The Agia Irini Mine was chosen first for the total removal of the above species. The uprooting started in the winter of 2021 and was successfully completed at the end of May 2022. It should be noted that the uprooted plants, in order not to contaminate other areas, were chosen to be placed in mining waste disposal areas of our company.
The initiative to eradicate invasive plants from the company's restorations was designed in such a way as to prevent possible reinfection either during the eradication or later. This ensures prolonged protection of the restored area.
It was enthusiastically accepted and will be a model for local agencies to extend it to other parts of the island (e.g. protection of the sea lily in the area of Plathiena).
It is certain that this initiative can find application in many mine restoration areas that share the same threats to biodiversity. In the past, the sensitivity to the introduction of alien species that could potentially threaten the biodiversity of an area was not so great. Today we have the opportunity and the knowledge to look at the matter with a fresh eye and correct past mistakes.
Imerys is aware of the importance of biodiversity protection and management, not only in the areas it manages but also in the protection and preservation of the natural environment in general. Initiatives like this contribute to reducing our environmental footprint and creating a positive climate and acceptance by the local community and our shareholders, adding to the good practices we cultivate on the island.
