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Abstract Using the method in Biodiversity Risk and Opportunity Assessment Handbook of British American Tobacco Biodiversity Partnership, we assess biodiversity risks and opportunities in BAT and China's cooperative tobacco-growing arcas. The assessment results indicate that there are 8 risks and 1 opportunity. Action and monitoring plans have been made for medium and high risks as well as opportunity, to reduce impact on biodiversity.
Key words BAT, Cooperative tobacco-growing area, Biodiversity, Risk and opportunity assessment
1 Introduction
Biodiversity risk and opportunity mean that some events with uncertainties have adverse or beneficial impacts on biodiversity due to some man-made or natural factors ' . The biodiversity risk and opportunity assessment is to identify, assess and process the risks threatening biodiversity, make full use of opportunities, and develop action and monitoring plan, to reduce the threats to biodiversity and better conserve biodiversity " . British American Tobacco, known as BAT, cooperated with three non-governmental environmental protection organizations ( Earthwatch Institute; Fauna & Flora International; Tropical Biology Association) to launch British American Tobacco Biodiversity Partnership in 2001. BAT contributes 1.5 million pounds to this union annually, and participates in many biodiversity conservation projects in the world. The union developed professional Biodiversity Risk & Opportunity Assessment Handbook, as a professional tool to evaluate the risks and opportunities of biodiversity. The biodiversity risk and opportunity assessment tool is used to assess the dependence and impact of operation within agricultural landscape on biodiversity, grade the possible risks and opportunities caused by such dependence and impact, and develop action and monitoring plan based on these risks and opportunities. From May to December 2014, by inviting the experts from Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences as consultant, BAT Far Fast Leaf Co. , Ltd. launched the biodiversity risk and opportunity assessment activities in BAT-China cooperative tobacco-growing areas such as Qiubei County, Yanshan County and Guangnan County in Yunnan Province, Xingren County and Zliijin County in Guizhou Province, Dechang County and Miyi County in Sichuan Province.
2 Principles and methods for assessing the biodiversity risk and opportunity
2.1 Screening and confirmation of the risk The assessment tool provides a worksheet that contains a variety of risks from agricultural landscape, terrestrial and aquatic habitats, terrestrial and aquatic species, soil structure...