Operational sites owned, leased, managed in, or adjacent to, protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas

[G4-EN11]

Scope: Forestry

Note: As in previous years, the above figures include the Company’s own land and partners’ areas. Development areas were excluded as they are not administered by the Company.

The increase in legal reserve areas reflects the conversion of eucalyptus plantation areas through the ecological restoration program. The reduction in of permanent preservation areas was due to the reduction in planted areas due to the sale of land.

The environmental recovery and ecological restoration of legal reserves and permanent preservation areas is achieved by converting commercial eucalyptus forest into natural areas, as well as through natural regeneration. In certain less resilient locations, the Company plants native seedlings to ensure the fulfillment of their ecological role, resulting in one hectare of natural area for every three hectares of cultivatable land.

Private Natural Heritage Reserve (RPPN)

With the aim of preserving biodiversity and protecting an important river basin, IP Latin America created a 793 hectare Private Natural Heritage Reserve (RPPN) near Brotas (SP), corresponding to 7% of its total land holdings in the municipality. It is the first in this region and the fifth largest in the state of São Paulo. In accordance with the legislation, RPPNs are private areas, aiming at permanence and the preservation of biodiversity and where the only interventions permitted are for scientific research and visits for the purpose of tourism, recreation and education. The Brotas RPPN is called Floresta das Águas Perenes (Forest of the Perennial Waters), a name designed to demonstrate that an area planted with eucalyptus in a responsible manner for over 40 years can produce water at a normal rate, allowing the natural recovery of the cerrado (savanna).

The Reserve is considered a High-Value Conservation Forest within the ambit of the international FSC forest management certification obtained by the Company. Currently, IP maintains a partnership with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) to carry out biodiversity research in the area. The Reserve has more than 100 bird species and 12 large mammal species, including the cougar, according to studies carried out in association with the University of São Paulo (USP). It is the company's second RPPN.

The first is the 187-hectare Parque Florestal São Marcelo, created in 2002 in Mogi Guaçu and Mogi Mirim, also in São Paulo state. In 2010, the park was recognized by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as a benchmark for sustainable stewardship in Latin America thanks to its sustainable practices. The creation of the Floresta São Marcelo RPPN underlines the consistency of IP’s responsibility in regard to environmental conservation. Of the company's 102,000 hectares of forest, more than 26,000 are dedicated to the conservation of biodiversity, comprising legal reserves, Permanent Preservation Areas (APPs) and RPPNs.

Description of significant impacts of activities, products, and services on biodiversity in protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas

[G4-EN12]

Scope: Forestry

IP’s Forestry Division has a solid structure for preventing and fighting forest fires, equipped with an emergency plan, trained personnel, a monitoring system through fire towers, and specially adapted tanker trucks.

Forest fires continue to be a source of concern. In 2013, incidents of this type affected 246 hectares of vegetation in protected areas that were in the initial or intermediate stages of ecological succession. These cases were reported to the competent environmental authorities. In order to ensure the recovery of the damaged biodiversity, IP monitors the natural regeneration of the affected areas and, in extreme cases, intervenes to accelerate the process.

One of the Company’s preventive techniques is the elimination of any flammable plant material in the firebreaks (strips of land around rural properties that have been stripped of vegetation using chemical and mechanical controls). In addition to observation towers and the appropriate fire prevention equipment, the Company has a virtual forest-monitoring system in Mogi Guaçu, Casa Branca, Aguaí and Espírito Santo do Pinhal, which sends real-time images to a control center at the Mogi Guaçu Seedling Nursery.

International Paper has an ecological recovery program whereby, in most areas, it removes the eucalyptus to allow the native vegetation can grow naturally. This type of reforestation is especially recommended for cerrado areas.

Habitats protected or restored

[G4-EN13]

IP implements measures for the restoration of protected habitats in accordance with studies conducted by research institutions and with the approval of the environmental agencies.

Notes: The Company participates in discussions on state public policies that aim to establish and revise laws related to reforestation with a high diversity of native species. It also gives lectures aimed at disseminating knowledge of ecological restoration technologies in its surrounding communities.

IP conducts studies on ecological restoration in partnership with research institutions, including the São Paulo State Botany Institute and EMBRAPA. It also offers support to students enrolled in master’s or doctoral programs who wish to conduct environmental research in the Company’s natural areas.

Total number of IUCN red list species and national conservation list species with habitats in areas affected by operations, by level of extinction risk

[G4-EN14]

In 2013, according to flora and fauna surveys conducted by IP in partnership with research institutes and universities, including the Chico Mendes Biodiversity Conservation Institute (ICMBIO), the Botany Institute (linked to the São Paul State Department of the Environment), the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), and the University of São Paulo (USP), the following species were identified in the transition area between Forest (semi-deciduous seasonal forest) and the cerrado: