INSEE Group to enrich biodiversity in Asian quarries

Signed at the Siam City Cement headquarters in Bangkok, the MOU sealed a three year partnership that aims to protect limestone hills in the group’s quarrying sites in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The partnership’s ultimate goal is to turn the limestone quarrying sites into forests through rehabilitation programmes.

The mission of IUCN is to influence, encourage, and assist societies throughout the world in the conservation of the integrity and diversity of nature. Founded under the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, IUCN’s network of members includes government agencies, international and national non-governmental organisations, and affiliates.

In Sri Lanka, it is hoped that the MOU will strengthen the capacity of INSEE Cement to rescue and release threatened wildlife, prepare mine restoration guidelines, and carry out the annual ecological monitoring of restored mines in the company’s quarry sites in Aruwakkalu and Puttalam.

The MOU was signed for Siam City Cement by Paul Heinz Hugentobler, the company’s chairman, Siva Mahasandana, the company’s CEO, and Aiden Lynam, CEO of Chip Mong INSEE Cement Corp. For IUCN, the MOU was signed by Jake Brunner, Head of the Indo-Burma Group of IUCN. Phatchada Muenthong and Wilailak Suraphruk also attended from IUCN.

“The Group’s initiative has been acknowledged and appreciated by our chairman Paul Heinz Hugentobler, a renowned strong supporter of biodiversity conservation and management, who commented that Siam City Cement Group is committed to protecting the planet by being the responsible industry leader in biodiversity management and conservation in the Asia region,” said Nandana Ekanayake, CEO of INSEE Cement Sri Lanka. “We are pleased to be an integral part of this endeavor. In Sri Lanka, we have worked with IUCN since 2007 to ensure conservation in quarry sites, as the partnership is focused on delivering practical solutions that protect the Sri Lankan ecosystem. We take pride in meeting the expectations of our local stakeholders and join hands with our Group and OpCo’s on the dedicated commitment to enhance forestry and quarry management in Asia.”

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/asia-pacific-rim/23012019/insee-group-to-enrich-biodiversity-in-asian-quarries/