GHACEM Limited has taken its quest to conserve biodiversity through sustainable mining to another level. The cement manufacturer has partnered with the Ghana Wildlife Society (GWS) to better manage land and forest resources at its operation sites.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to consummate the new partnership was signed on Friday.

GHACEM and GWS have since 2011 cooperated on the global level through their mother organisations, Heidelberg Cement and Birdlife International, respectively.

The second phase of that global partnership, which initially focussed on Europe, has now been reviewed to incorporate Africa and Asia, from 2015 to 2017.

The signing of the MoU thus brings the global partnership to the national level, with the exemplary biodiversity records of GHACEM earning Ghana the first spot in Africa.

This is especially so, as GHACEM’s annual Quarry Life Awards (QLA) competition continues to seek and reward the most effective ideas on land reclamation.

Mr. Morten Gade, the Managing Director who signed on behalf of GHACEM, said the new partnership would strengthen both organisations to better protect biodiversity in Ghana.

Heidelberg Cement, he explained, continues to promote comprehensive environmental management systems through its subsidiaries across the globe, including GHACEM.

“The ultimate goal is for biodiversity values to be integrated into our environmental management practices, alongside stakeholder engagement and local community interests,” he emphasized.

Mr. Gade said the new partnership further enhances GHACEM’s unequalled position in terms of biodiversity management among cement manufacturers in the country.

Ghacem, he stressed has over many years demonstrated what it means to be a biodiversity friendly company reiterating that its quarry sites are not abandoned but proactive measures are taken to integrate environmental management and ecological restoration in the company’s daily quarry operations

 “We will forever enhance our knowledge about Ghana’s important biodiversity and the role of a responsible mining industry in conserving and promoting the added-value that such partnerships bring,” he added.

For her part, President of the Ghana Wildlife Society, Prof. Yaa Ntiamoa-Badu, hailed the agreement with GHACEM as “a strategic partnership” towards the achievement of the goals of GWS and Birdlife International.

Indicating that Birdlife International and its patrons across the world shared a joint mission, vision and objective for protecting biodiversity.

Speaking later in an interview with the media, Mr. Joseph Mensah, Environment Health and Safety Manager at Ghacem emphasized the importance of the partnership with GWS, noting that in protecting biodiversity and adding biodiversity values, GWS are the best professionals to rely on for advice and support during community engagement as well.

“Together we can achieve sustainable development,“ he said.