"Temporary Nature"
HOFFMANN MINERAL was recognized with certificates by Bavarian Environment Minister Thorsten Glauber for having five mining sites as part of the program “Temporary Nature ” – alongside 45 other resource extraction sites. For more than 60 years, the company has been engaged in the reclamation of opencast mines and, for about 30 years, in the care of rare amphibians. The company was also immediately involved when the program “Temporary Nature” was launched nine years ago by the Bavarian mining associations ABBM and BIV, in collaboration with the LBV ( a non-profit Association for Bird and Nature Conservation) and the Bavarian Ministry for the Environment.
The project aims at promoting and preserving amphibian species in pits and quarries, combining economic and conservation interests. It can serve as a model for other industries and countries. During the award ceremony on October 10th in Ingolstadt, Bavaria’s Environment Minister Thorsten Glauber highlighted: “The project is a prime example of successful cooperation between nature conservation and mining operations. It demonstrates that much can be achieved together in protecting nature and biodiversity. In this strong alliance for biodiversity, economics and ecology are exemplarily united. My congratulations go to the project participants for their creative efforts.”
The Bavarian Nature Conservation Fund ensured that the necessary financial resources for implementation – totaling approximately € 320,000 – were made available. However, the companies involved do not rely on external funds for the establishment and maintenance of the biotopes. Dr. Norbert Schäffer, Chairman of the LBV, emphasized: “The mutual trust that has developed over the past nine years between nature conservation and industry cannot be planned on a drawing board. It is the result of honest and cooperative collaboration. This very foundation makes the program ‘Temporary Nature so successful – and ultimately leads to active species conservation.”
Open-pit mining contributes to the preservation of many threatened plant and animal species through the natural conditions of its mining areas, already during ongoing operations. The mining sites provide crucial habitat substitute for many endangered amphibian species, as they often replace natural wild river floodplains, which have largely disappeared in today's human-shaped cultural landscapes. Additionally, the raw soils predominant in mining areas are the preferred habitat of many rare plant, bird, reptile, and insect species. While these habitats can be easily created and maintained, bureaucracy often complicates their implementation. Nevertheless, legal certainty remains an essential foundation for collaboration between nature conservation and the resource industry.
The LBV considers it a significant success that the conservation regulations contractually secured for mining sites within the framework of the program “Temporary Nature” in Bavaria have been incorporated into the Federal Nature Conservation Act.