IOGP actions to protect Biodiversity

On May 22^nd, IOGP recognises the International Day for Biological Diversity.

IOGP seizes the opportunity to increase awareness and understanding of biodiversity issues, celebrate achievements in the conservation of biodiversity nationally and globally, but also to reflect on the ongoing negotiations around a post-2020 biodiversity framework under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the recently published EU Biodiversity Strategy.

Why Does It Matter?

The oil and gas industry both depend and impact upon biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES).

That is why IOGP jointly with IPIECA acknowledges that responsible management of BES across the life cycle of oil and gas operations is vital for nature protection. Good biodiversity management can play a decisive role in the success of projects, including meeting stakeholder expectations, avoiding costly redesigns and project delays, maintaining our license to operate, and gaining access to new business opportunities.

IOGP and our members are engaged in many different activities to support biodiversity; here we highlight four IOGP’s initiatives that address biodiversity management in different ways:

• Funding peer-reviewed research on biodiversity
• Collating knowledge and develop guidelines to broaden use of good practices
• Sharing our knowledge and technical means to assist the scientific community

Environmental monitoring provides actionable insights into environmental conditions over large and sometimes remote areas, but this can be logistically challenging or impractical – in situ surveys can pose a risk to personnel safety and carry a high financial cost. Remote sensing – observations of our planet from satellites, manned aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles – has the potential to provide timely and holistic data on potential environmental impacts across the whole industry lifecycle from exploration to decommissioning.

IOGP’s new Report 629 – Environmental sampling and monitoring from airborne and satellite remote sensing provides clear guidance and good practices to environmental professionals and demonstrates how remote sensing may be applied for environmental monitoring across the asset life cycle using real-world examples.

Download the report for free at the IOGP Bookstore, together with the one-page summary.