In nearly all of the cases below, a service has been scoped out for one of three reasons.

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1 24A Ecosystem Services Screened Out of the Impact Assessment The pre-screening exercise in Section of the Ecosystem Services chapter scopes out a number of ecosystem services based on predicted impacts of minor to no significance. A further explanation of these services and the justification for the ratings applied in the screening exercise are provided in this annex. In nearly all of the cases below, a service has been scoped out for one of three reasons. The function of the ecosystem service is not significantly impacted by the Project because it is a landscape scale service and only a very small portion of the habitat required to provide this service is impacted. Examples of this in the port area include impacts to water purification services, pollination services and local air quality regulation. In the case of provisioning services, the service may be of high importance, but it primarily exists or is primarily collected in habitats that are not predicted to be significantly impacted by the footprint or other Project activities. In a few cases, the service is of low importance to local communities and is not widely collected in the area. Supporting services are excluded from the impact assessment because they are intermediate ecological outcomes that are captured elsewhere in the provisioning, regulating, and cultural services that they support. For example, changes to primary production are captured in the effects on food resources and non-use services of biodiversity. In a number of cases, a chapter reference within the SEIA has been provided for services that have been screened out of the ecosystem services chapter; in these instances, other chapters of the SEIA are able to provide additional information on the service, including a more detailed analysis of the baseline conditions, Project design measures and magnitude of potential impacts, all of which contribute to the ratings assigned below. Simandou SEIA Volume III Port Annex 24A 24A-1

2 Table 24A.1 Provisioning Services Service Preliminary Screening Food: Livestock Livestock breeding is a secondary activity for people in the port area. Typical animals include chickens, goats and sheep, in small numbers. Animals are typically kept close to the house. A few cattle herders are present in the study area, mostly towards the north-eastern part of Kaback, outside the main agricultural zones. Within the fishing villages, a few households declare owning cattle outside the port study area, in Forécariah Prefecture. According to baseline data, over 43% of households do not own any livestock. Grassland and wooded are typically used for grazing. Bas fonds may also be used for grazing during the dry season. Damage caused by marauding animals is a regular cause of conflict and cited as a reason why the population owns so few animals. No additional / relevant information on threats or trends relating to the service. Grassland; bas fonds Land acquisition for construction of the port is not expected to significantly impact pasture land utilised by villages in the study area. Grazing land for use in livestock farming is of relatively low importance in the port area, with small numbers of animals such as goats and chickens typically kept close to residents homes. As a result, loss of grazing land is not a relevant concern for most households in the port area. 24A-2

3 Service Preliminary Screening Food: Bushmeat Hunting is not a primary source of food or income in the study area. Agouti ( 1 ) is regularly caught and sold in local markets. According to baseline studies, the majority of households in the study area do not accrue any income from either forest-based collection or hunting. Hunting is likely to be more important further inland, for example in the area of Maférinyah, but many people likely purchase bushmeat from the Forécariah market which has been hunted further inland. In the past other species were hunted such as deer, antelope and roe deer but these are now rarely hunted due to overexploitation. It should be noted that authorities from the Service des Eaux et Fôrets have regulated hunting activities in the area and generally hunting is only allowed during the few months preceding the wet season. Woodland; plantations Land acquisition for construction of the port is not expected to significantly impact bushmeat availability or access to hunting areas, as these are not prevalent in the area designated for port infrastructure. Availability of bushmeat in markets such as Forécariah due to the rail project is assessed separately in the Rail SEIA. As discussed there, the service is not considered to be sustainable and mitigation by the project is aimed at natural resource management efforts and provision of alternative protein and livelihood support. Small to medium magnitude impacts on bushmeat are likely to occur as a result of inmigration of people to the port area and to Maférinyah in particular. Due to the low value of the service to beneficiaries, impacts are predicted to be minor. As discussed in Chapter 20: Land Use and Land Based Livelihoods, mitigation measures directed at maintaining food security and providing support for alternative livelihoods will be an important part of the In-Migration Plan and will help to mitigate potential impacts on bushmeat. (1) Agouti refers to a number of species of rodents. 24A-3

4 Food: Wild Plants Gathering of wild plants is not a major source of food or livelihood in the area. Households reported gathering wild fruits and Néré seeds. Traditional herbs (Kinkiliba) are also collected. In the MOF area, 17% of households gather fruit, but only 6% of households reported this activity on average in the wider area. Kola nuts are also collected in woodland areas. Given the small % of the population that harvests wild fruits and nuts it is likely that there are sufficient replacement services available ie alternative woodland areas where villagers can go to collect them. Woodland; Based on baseline data, the value of plant collection to communities in the port area is considered low. Direct and indirect impacts from in-migration and settlement expansion are estimated to be minor. As a precautionary measure, plant collection will be addressed along with other natural resource use issues in the In-Migration Plan and Agriculture and Food Security Programme. Natural Medicines Local communities use natural medicine as an alternative to expensive drugs sold at markets. Baseline surveys indicate that fewer than 10% of households collect medicinal plants in the study area. However, many more households may utilise medicinal plants collected by local healers. Given the low income of local populations and the high cost of drugs on sale in the markets, traditional medicine remains an important custom in the Simandou Project zone. Kola nuts are often considered to have some medicinal characteristics and are collected in the area. Gathering plants for use in traditional medicine is generally a sustainable use of the resource. Only certain plants can be used for medicinal purposes. If these are impacted by the port, people will have to travel further and pay more for the same medicines. The forest cover in the Maférinyah subprefecture has seen a gradual decline over the last two decades. rock outcrop As in the case of wild plants collected for food (above), the availability of medicinal plants will be considered as part of in-migration management and community investment programmes. If needed, nurseries and other mitigation measures will be explored in order to maintain access to sufficient medicinal plant resources in the study area. 24A-4

5 Table 24A.2 Regulating Services Service Local Air Quality and Climate Regulation Forests provide shade, local cooling effects and can capture pollutants from the atmosphere, with benefits for the local climate. Vegetation can act as a natural barrier or filter for road dust and dust winds. In the town of Bamboukhoun, large fruit trees (mango) and acacia line the road and provide both shade and protection against the dust kicked up by passing traffic. The importance of this service is considered high for local inhabitants. Fruit and shade-grown crops are planted in woodland areas to benefit from the shade provided by larger trees. Coastal air is too salty to support coffee growing, therefore the importance of this service is relatively low. Local air quality is good and forest vegetation is plentiful relative to the scale of the potentially impacted area. Replaceability at the landscape level is relatively high. The regulation of roadside dust is important to Bamboukhoun and not easily replaceable except with re-planting, which will take time to establish. Replaceability at the local level is therefore low. Replaceability is rated moderate for the area as a whole, but may be higher or lower at the village level. Woodland; plantations Wider, landscape scale effects are not considered as important in the area given low levels of air pollution. Trees providing dust and air filtering services along the road between Maférinyah and Senguelen will be cleared during widening of the road during construction of the MOF. This impact is assessed separately in the MOF SEIA and therefore not considered here. It is also expected that some shade trees will be cleared for construction of the port. No additional impacts are anticipated during the construction phase. These impacts will be of minor significance for a few villages in the port area. Under the PARC Framework, direct impacts on shade trees due to land occupation by the project will be fully compensated through replanting of the resource and compensation for intervening years to recovery if needed. 24A-5

6 Service Climate regulation: global Forests capture and store carbon dioxide. Benefits accrue globally. The amount of forest and other vegetation converted as a result of land occupation by the mine is relatively small in terms of CO 2 sequestration. However, the Rio Tinto GHG Guidelines require CO 2 emissions from land use change to be included within land clearance activities as a Scope 1 emissions source. As a result, these impacts are accounted for in Chapter 10: GHG Emissions. Pest Regulation Woodland, wetland and mangrove habitats are home to bats, birds, snakes and other species that predate upon key crop pests. An example is the plagues of caterpillars which have recently emerged from the larger forest blocks south and west towards Liberia and Sierra Leone. Landscape scale service The spatial scale of the project is small enough and there is sufficient occurrence of similar vegetation within the region to support pest control species at current levels of the service (this will vary depending upon the predator species in question). Overall impacts are predicted to be not significant minor. Pollination services Birds, insects (and possibly small mammals as bat species) pollinate some flora species, including some agricultural crops. Woodland and habitats in the area probably plays some role in providing pollinators to the surrounding area and the cultivated crops nearby. Landscape scale service Woodland; The spatial scale of the project is small enough and there is sufficient occurrence of similar vegetation within the region to support local pollinators at current levels of the service. Overall impacts are predicted to be not significant minor. 24A-6

7 Service Water purification and waste treatment Vegetation, wetlands and streams play a role in the filtration, decomposition and detoxification of pollutants and wastes. In coastal areas, mangroves and wetlands play a particularly important role in water purification and waste treatment. In the study area, the relationship between this regulating function and potable water supplies is minimal. Many coastal villages rely on rainwater, bottled water and some groundwater whereas Maférinyah relies primarily on a reservoir. Reliance on surfacewater bodies that benefit from water purification services by vegetation is minimal. Mangrove and wetland habitats are abundant in the port study area but are susceptible to loss due to settlement expansion and conversion to rice cultivation wetland Impacts to mangroves and wetlands due to land clearing for the port are not expected to be significant enough to reduce the functioning of this service in the study area. Blockage of mangrove creeks leading to loss of mangroves further upstream would potentially be a more serious concern; however, project design measures aimed at maintaining natural water flows in the area are considered sufficient to make this a low probability event. Regardless, additional mitigation measures for impacts on regulation of water flows are included in the main text of the assessment and will benefit this end-use service as well. Loss of some mangrove habitat due to increased conversion to rice fields as a result of in-migration to the study area is likely. However, for the most part the impact on potable water supplies as a result of these changes is expected to be negligible. 24A-7

8 Table 24A.3 Supporting Services in the Port Area Service Soil formation Primary Production Soil formation is fundamental to the existence of ecological communities. At the project site, soil formation is as important as at any other terrestrial site. The vegetation communities at the project site all perform primary production. The importance of primary production is intrinsic to the ecological communities listed elsewhere in this assessment, but holds no specific significance to this project. surface water Supporting services are not included in the impact assessment because they are intermediate ecological outcomes that are captured elsewhere in the provisioning, regulating, and cultural services that they support. For example, changes to primary production are captured in the effects on food resources and non-use services of biodiversity. Changes in landscape disturbance are captured in natural hazard regulation and impacts to biodiversity. surface water Nutrient Cycling Approximately 20 nutrients essential for life, including nitrogen and phosphorus, cycle through ecosystems and are maintained at different concentrations in different parts of ecosystems. Particularly important nutrient cycling services are provided by mangrove habitats in the port area, with particular significance for bogoni rice fields bordering mangrove areas. Influx of water from mangrove lined canals is actively managed by rice farmers. Salt marsh plants also play a nitrogen fixing role and are used as mulch for market gardens. surface water 24A-8

9 Service Landscape disturbance regime Natural vegetation patterns on the landscape generate characteristic frequency and intensity of biophysical disturbance that support numerous ecosystem outcomes. For example, changes in land use patterns due to land clearing may increase the frequency and intensity of flood events. 24A-9