CorpComms Magazine

It is not often that a global company champions the rights of the northern hairy-nosed wombat but mining giant Xstrata is about to enter the second year of a groundbreaking partnership with the Queensland government to secure the survival of the endangered mammal.

The three year deal, which is worth A$3 million (£1.4 million), is believed to represent the first time that a company has sponsored the survival of a species.

Just 115 of the nocturnal marsupials exist, residing in Epping Forest National Park in Queensland, 855 kilometres north west of Brisbane, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature last year placed the wombats on a list of critically endangered species.

Indeed, more than one in five Australian mammals are now at threat of extinction but the northern hairy-nosed wombat is one of the top ten most endangered species in the world.

So rare is the northern hairy-nosed wombat that just a few hundred people have ever seen one because none are in captivity.

With 4,500 full time employees in Queensland and a further 2,000 contractors on its payroll, Xstrata is a major employer in the region, where it has coal, zinc and copper mining interests. So when the local government was looking for a corporate sponsor for an innovative conservation project, it is hardly surprising that the FTSE 100 listed mining company was top of its list.

SPONSORSHIP FIRST

'It is the first sponsorship deal of its type in the world,' concedes Claire Divver, general manager, group corporate affairs, at Xstrata in London. 'The Queensland government first approached us in 2007, and we came to an agreement in early 2008. It is the type of project we like to be involved with. It was an opportunity to save the species, but it was also in line with our commitment to conservation and biodiversity.' Each site operated by Xstrata is required to implement a biodiversity conservation plan, and the company has already created a nature reserve adjacent to its coal mining operation in Queensland, where several threatened ecological communities and species have been identified.

One of the biggest threats to the survival of the northern hairy-nosed wombat, which can sleep up to 16 hours a day, is the fact that the entire population lives in one location, placing the species at great risk by making it highly susceptible to disease, fire, drought, predators or flooding. In 2001, for example, dingos attacked the colony and eliminated ten per cent of the population. Dog proof fences were subsequently installed.

Environmental officials working for the Queensland government decided that a radical approach would be needed to save the northern hairy-nosed wombat.

They started to search for an appropriate site to create a second colony. At the same time, environmentalists tested whether it was possible to relocate the mammals. Two sub adult wombats were trapped and moved to an unoccupied area of Epping Forest, where starter burrows were provided. The move proved successful.

A suitable site with appropriate soils and vegetation was found on the property of Eddie and Gabby Underwood who are based in Yarran Downs in south west Queensland, 700 kilometres south of Epping Forest, which is where Xstrata came in.

The mining group's sponsorship funds have helped to secure the land in perpetuity, which will become a nature refuge, and to prepare it for the relocation of a handful of wombats.

Since November, a six kilometre electric predator proof boundary fence has been erected. Parasites and predators have been removed from the site while new water sources and food stations, identical to those in Epping Forest, have been introduced to improve the probability of survival.

The funds will also be used to establish a camp to house researchers monitoring the wombats, build phone and power lines and supply computers and other technology, including infrared cameras to monitor the mammals' movements and genetic profiling equipment.

Last month, Queensland's Environ-mental Protection Agency captured suitable wombats for relocation, fitting them with radio tracking devices. They will be recaptured in the autumn, when they will be transferred to Yarran Downs.

Divver says Xstrata's employees in Queensland have greeted the partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency with enthusiasm. 'It has created a tremendous amount of goodwill,' she says. 'We have had some really good feedback.'

A small group of employees, including Peter Freyberg, chief executive of Xstrata Coal, was also allowed to visit Epping Forest, and view the northern hairy-nosed wombats in their natural habitat. Staff bonding sessions working in the camp are out, however, as too many visitors and noisy disturbances can upset the mammals.

SUBTLE BRANDING

Despite one cheeky (and untrue) media report suggesting the wombats would be branded, Xstrata's name will appear on everything that the Queensland government produces regarding the northern hairy-nosed wombat. This includes websites, educational DVDs and the shirts worn by the workers on the reserve. Xstrata executives will also appear in documentaries about the northern hairy-nosed wombat and speak at media events.

Peter Coates, chairman of Xstrata Australia, says: 'Through our financial contribution, the Environmental Protection Agency will now have the resources to help prevent these magnificent creatures from becoming yet another footnote in our natural history.

'Xstrata aims to make a positive contribution to biodiversity conservation and to the long-term prosperity of the communities and countries in which it operates around the world.' 

share me: del.icio.us | digg | reddit