Companies should also monitor and evaluate any closed tailings dams to assess risks to the environment, communities and workers, and take adjusted mitigation measures.236 For all rehabilitation and restoration efforts, companies should partner with Indigenous Peoples and other local communities to promote their self- determination, identify end-uses for the land, make decisions about rehabilitation, embed Indigenous and traditional knowledge and ensure equitable benefit sharing.237 For example, Freeport-McMoRan exceeded regulatory requirements at a former mill site in Arizona and co-designed the 87-acre “Man in the Maze Trails” park with the town of Sahuarita and the local tribe, focused on conservation and STEM education. This four-year project included implementing formal reclamation, establishing nearly 2 miles of trails, sowing 8 acres of pollinator habitat, transplanting plants considered culturally significant by the Tohono O’odham Nation, constructing traditional Wa:tos (shade structures), and more. By increasing the overall project budget by 2.5% and deeding the park over to the town, it was possible to achieve greater community and conservation benefits and facilitate use by schools and the public.238 Compensate for unavoidable residual impacts When companies have taken steps to rigorously apply the mitigation hierarchy, they should compensate for unavoidable residual impacts as a last resort after all other attempts at preventing or reducing impacts have been considered.239,240 Efforts should be aligned with an NNL or BNG goal for each project.241 It is important to note that there are certain cases where compensation is not appropriate and should not be used. Compensation efforts should follow specific principles, such as those outlined by The Nature Conservancy,242 UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), 243 IUCN,244 and the Business and Biodiversity Offsets Programme (BBOP),245 including additionality, equivalency, location and temporal considerations. In many regions, compensation is supported by government policies, where the number of countries with biodiversity offset policies doubled from 60 to 115 from 2001 to 2017. Currently, 43 countries make offsets a regulatory requirement for mining developments in at least some scenarios, while 63 countries enable and facilitate voluntary offsetting, and 26 countries are undertaking initial research, discussions or exploration of policy options. Analysis by the Global Inventory on Biodiversity Offset Policy indicates that most countries that are both biodiversity- rich and highly mining-dependent tend to have advanced offset policies, such as Peru and Colombia. However, there are still regions where more regulatory development is needed or where compliance is weak, and companies can work with governments to strengthen policies, policy compliance and implementation.246 Nature Positive: Role of the Mining and Metals Sector 38

Nature Positive Role of the Mining and Metals Sector