PPP projects in Georgia + Tanzania

In Tanzania: A Tree Nursery for quarry rehabilitation and for the local community

In the quarry of Tegeta - roughly 25 km away from the city centre of Dar es Salaam – supplying raw materials for our TPCC cement plant in Tanzania, HeidelbergCement initiated a public private partnership project with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The objective of this project is to promote sustainable land-use management around the mining site.

Very concretely, our local subsidiary has established a tree nursery and prepared it for additional production for external supply to an urban reforestation project.

A network composed of local authorities, representatives of local population, NGOs, universities, colleges and schools, and other industries is established.

The rehabilitation of the urban forest area is today initiated and first trees will be supplied in 2012. A regular knowledge transfer of sustainable land-use management focusing on the rehabilitation of post-mine landscapes is also planned.

In Georgia: Biodiversity Protection through Restoration of Quarries

Modern restoration concepts can only be successful if developed and implemented in cooperation with the stakeholders: licensing authorities, the general public, and nature conservation groups. In order to assure successful implementation of the new approaches and to foster the communication among stakeholders, we set up a Public Private Partnership (PPP) project called “Promotion of Biodiversity through restoration of quarries”. For this project HeidelbergCement PLC is supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, working on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The project started in 2009 and will last until 2012. The idea is to develop a model for the entire Caucasus region, which can later be applied to various post-mining landscapes. Unlike the typical recultivation practices previously seen in Eastern Europe, a modern restoration plan should allow diverse habitats to adapt themselves to the natural surroundings. In this way, environmental protection, agriculture, forestry and recreation are brought together.

In addition to the cooperation with local organisations, agencies, educational institutions and universities, a dialogue with the people living in the region and addressing their expectations with respect to possible post-mining uses of the areas comprise a key element of the project. Local farmers and landscapers, for instance, are involved in conception and realisation of the new measures. At the same time, informational and educational seminars are held for all participating cooperation partners, and a long-term monitoring programme is being set up to measure the results.