The Live Coral Project off the coast of Bahia, Northeast Brazil, works to conserve coral reefs and recover degraded areas

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PROTECTION OF BIODIVERSITY

Petrobras biodiversity management has been systematized since 2006 by the Corporate Standard of the Management of Potential Impacts on Biodiversity. It provides criteria and procedures for the management of these impacts in the areas influenced by the company operations by the systematic assessment of risks and impacts on biodiversity and recovering of the ecosystems impacted, among other actions.

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The Strategic Project for Excellence in HSE establishes objectives relating to the management of biodiversity to be achieved by the business areas and subsidiaries by 2015. They are: identification and mapping of the protected, sensitive and vulnerable areas in the vicinity of company operations; assessment of the impacts of the operations on protected, sensitive and vulnerable areas and diagnosis of the ecosystems impacted by the operations.

In the downstream refining and fertilizer plants, the protected areas with a high diversity rate were mapped inside the units and in the adjacent regions.

Petrobras has operated since 1988 in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, where its Urucu unit operates, occupying an area of 500 km2. This unit is considered to be a benchmark in conservation and recovery of biodiversity. Some of the actions worth mentioning are the maintenance of an orchidarium, where 80 local species of orchid and bromeliad are studied, and a nursery with 86,000 seedlings of 60 native species. The intensive replanting program exceeds the milestone of one thousand seedlings planted per day to restore the forest covering in clearings opened for drill wells, and 90% of the area of deforestation has been recovered.

Transpetro pipelines and terminals also have important interfaces with sensitive and protected areas, for example, bays, mangroves, estuary regions and the Amazon rainforest.

In the international area it is worth mentioning the Petrobras assets in Paraguay, oil and gas exploration off the coast of Angola and the E&P facilities in Bolivia and Peru, since they interface with protected areas.

The Macau wind energy plant in Rio Grande do Norte is located in a region with a high diversity of bird species. However, studies have not identified significant impacts on these animals.

PROTECTED OR RESTORED HABITATS

Petrobras environmental management processes involve initiatives of protection and recovery of the main habitats located in the area of influence of its operations or elsewhere considered relevant to the conservation of biodiversity. When planning new projects, the existing protected habitats and preserved fragments of native vegetation are avoided.

In the various business units and subsidiaries of the Petrobras System, different actions of recovery and protection of habitats are executed by the company or receive its support. In Rio de Janeiro, the highlights are the projects addressing the Atlantic rainforest, including Itatiaia National Park and the biological reserves of Poço das Antas, União and Tinguá. A revitalization project of the Canal do Fundão and its surroundings in Guanabara Bay is also being developed, with an investment of R$ 195 million.

STRATEGIES AND FUTURE PLANS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF IMPACTS ON BIODIVERSITY

Refining and fertilizer plants are adopting action plans for biodiversity, which until 2009, provide actions such as demarcating the area of direct influence of the unit, characterizing the biodiversity in that area and preventing or mitigating possible impacts associated with their plant operations.

The future plans for the management of impacts on biodiversity include the implementation of the revegetation index, which considers the total degraded areas and restoration efforts in these areas, besides improvement and implementation of the Geographic Information System (GIS) in the downstream operational units.

In the Isaac Sabbá Refinery (Reman), in Manaus, Amazonas State, the pilot project of biodiversity diagnosis in the area of the unit was conducted, with the participation of approximately 80 researchers from Brazilian institutes and universities. Physical, chemical and biological data of the Negro River, adjacent narrow channels and fragments of onshore vegetation were studied. A management plan for the area inside the unit and a plan of monitoring the biodiversity were also prepared.

In exploration & production activities, some of the actions referring to biodiversity until 2015 are the creation of a regional monitoring model of projects for offshore petroleum basins. These projects will help in the integrated assessment of the plant’s environmental impacts and the best use of the resources invested.

PRESENCE OF ENDANGERED SPECIES

Petrobras operate in several countries with high biodiversity. In many places there is a lack of information about the characterization and distribution of fauna and f lora. In this scenario, it is not yet possible to list all endangered species in the areas close to Petrobras plants. In order to fill these gaps, the company promotes and supports studies for the best knowledge of the biodiversity in these surroundings and identification of most suitable actions for its protection.

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endangered species identified in the operations' area of influence
	Brasil	Angola	Peru	Bolivia
Flora	18	-	3	13
Fauna	176	8	74	-
Total identified endangered species	194	8	77	13
Present in IUCN list (1)	168	7	70	13
Present in Brazilian lists	90	-	19	-
Present in both IUCN (1) and Brazilian lists	80	-	12	-

1) IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature and natural resources.

The above table gives, as an example, information collected by Petrobras or available from outside sources about the presence of endangered species in the surroundings of the company’s operations.

ENVIRONMENTAL SPONSORING

During the year Petrobras invested about R$ 53.8 million in support of 188 projects and social initiatives focusing on the environment. The Petrobras Environmental Program (PPA), launched in 2003 and adopted in Brazil, is responsible for 98.6% of the total amount invested by the company.

In 2008, the program was reformulated, in line with the new management challenges of the company concerning social responsibility and climate change, aiming to potentialize its results. Its theme was extended to “Water and Climate: contributions to sustainable development ”.

The program has three strategic actions: investments in sponsoring environmental projects; strengthening of environmental organizations and their networks; and dissemination of information for sustainable development. The first action invests, in a transparent, planned and monitored manner, in projects that contribute to the sustainable development of Brazil and focus on the following lines of performance:

• > management of surface and underground water bodies, including the reversal of degradation processes of water resources and encouraging and practice of the rational use of water resources;
• > recovery or conservation of coastal, marine and freshwater species and environments;
• > carbon fixing and avoiding emissions based on the productive reconversion of areas, recovery of degraded areas or conservation of forests and natural areas.

The second strategic action of the Petrobras Environmental Program is designed to promote partnerships and networks for interaction between the third sector, public sphere and other companies, which includes contributions for capacity building of partner institutions. The third focuses on communication actions, which discuss models and roles for performance striving for sustainable development.

One of the initiatives of the program, the Savanna Waters Project promotes the recovery and conservation of water resources (35 springs, seven streams and one river) in the region of Ceres (Goias), Midwest Brazil. It concerns Brazil sustainable rural development, with community participation and undertaking a participative socioenvironmental diagnosis.

The objective of the Sustainable Management of Coastal Lagoons, on the Mid and Southern Coast of Rio Grande do Sul State, is to study, assess, provide and disseminate information and tools for better use of water and sustainable management of the water resources in the region. The project includes a morphological and ecological study of 19 coastal lagoons.

The Live Coral Project off the coast of Bahia, in Northeast Brazil, works to conserve the coral reefs and recover organisms that inhabit degraded ecosystems.

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