WASHINGTON D.C., October 8, 2008: Formed in 1988, the Ad-Hoc Industry Natural Resource Damage Group (Group), a large coalition of multinational companies, has collectively, and by the actions of its individual members, helped to transform the way government and business restore rivers, estuaries, forest and other natural resources injured by industrial activities. The Group’s focus on collaboration has lead to smarter and timelier restoration. The Group is proud of its accomplishments and credits both state and federal government staff for working with industry to move both the assessment and restoration process forward.“The Group has successfully transitioned from litigation support toward environmental sustainability by using principles of collaborative environmentalism”, says Brian H. Davis, an early Group participant who was 3M’s first full-time environmental attorney, and is now in private practice.
In 1988, six companies founded the Group in order to share resources and establish better communication, but not to lobby. In the beginning, the process was complex, litigious and accomplished little restoration. Over time, companies learned that they could better the environment and their bottom line by proactively finding solutions to restore natural resources and the services they provide. Currently, natural resource services are being restored to active use more quickly, more cost-effectively and more globally -- as restoration objectives are linked to other government, community and corporate objectives -- which these days often turn out to be the same. And the numbers are impressive – thousands of acres restored, hundreds of parcels of lands transferred to the public, and numerous cases settled. Over the past two decades, nearly 80% of the land restored nationwide to compensate the public for lost resource use has resulted from direct action or funding by Group members.
The Group’s efforts are not limited to the United States. For the past several years, the Group has been working with the European Commission to help develop “best practices” governing its implementation of the EU Environmental Liability Directive, embodying liability and resource restoration requirements similar to those found under US laws. The Group will convene its second seminar for Member State and other experts in February 2009 in Brussels.
Today, the Group is reflecting on its accomplishments – the most important of which have been to advance scientific and economic methods for assessing natural resource injury and damage, sponsor various forums and website resources in order to share key findings, and create meaningful dialogue with the government and other interested parties. While challenges remain, the Group is confident that, with government and tribal collaborators, the remaining areas of uncertainty will be addressed.
To further mark its 20th anniversary, the Group plans to publish a detailed review of natural resource damage assessment and restoration policy and practice over the past two decades and convene a roundtable discussion of key stakeholders in Washington, DC in mid-January 2009.
For over 20 years, the Group has served as instigator, facilitator, commenter, collaborator and innovator, collectively and via its individual member companies, earning the respect of key government officials in the US and in Europe -- a powerful foundation on which to build the next 20 years.
Source: Ad-Hoc Industry Natural Resource Damage Group
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