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SEI working paper

No net loss of what, for whom? Stakeholder perspectives on Biodiversity Offsetting in England

This working paper presents and analyses the views on current Biodiversity Offsetting practice in England of a range of stakeholders – from academia, local government, civil society and business.

Oliver Taherzadeh / Published on 28 October 2016
Citation

Taherzadeh, O. and Howley, P. (2016). No net loss of what, for whom? Stakeholder perspectives on Biodiversity Offsetting in England. SEI Working Paper No. 2016-11.

Market-based instruments (MBIs) have become a popular approach to balance development and conservation objectives. However, their ability to accomplish this is often hindered by poor implementation. There is a widening gap between, on the one hand, the relatively rapid rate of policy development and implementation of MBIs, and the sluggish pace of research and evaluation on their design and impact on stakeholders.

This Working Paper presents and analyses the perspectives of multiple stakeholders on the adoption in England of Biodiversity Offsetting, an instrument designed to enable biodiversity losses in one place to be compensated through conservation improvements in other nearby sites. The analysis reveals several doubts and challenges associated with social and ecological compensation of biodiversity loss.

The findings suggest that issues of distributive justice, access to nature, and the status of ownership over sites of common heritage need to be given broader consideration when accounting for biodiversity loss and compensation in relation to MBIs. This message is salient to both the UK context and the burgeoning international practice of Biodiversity Offsetting.

 

Download the working paper (PDF, 1MB)

 

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