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7.3
CoMPENSATING FoR LoSSES:
oFFSETS AND BIoDIvERSITy BANKS
Developments linked to economic growth often lead
to habitat loss and degradation, pollution, disturbance
and over-exploitation. These impacts can often be
avoided or substantially reduced through measures
at the design stage (see Chapter 4) and during opeand
adaptive management).
Even with avoidance and other measures, it is
to avoid ongoing cumulative
losses of bio-diversity and ecosystem services.
offsets and biodiversity banks are the main instruments
for this purpose. They are suited for use in
habitats that can be restored within a reasonable timeframe
and/or may benefit from additional protection
(see Box 7.6). offsets can play a key role in delivering
‘no net loss’ policies (Bean et al. 2008). They are
implicitly required as part of an overall policy package
where biodiversity policy targets aim to halt the loss
of biodiversity (such as in the EU).
“measurable conservation outcomes resulting from actions designed to compensate
for significant residual adverse biodiversity impacts arising from project development and persisting after
appropriate prevention and mitigation measures have been implemented. The goal of biodiversity offsets
is to achieve no net loss, or preferably a net gain, of biodiversity on the ground with respect to species
composition, habitat structure and ecosystem services, including livelihood aspects”.
a market system, based on biodiversity offsets, for the supply of biodiversity credits
and demand for those credits to offset damage to biodiversity (debits). Credits can be produced in advance
of, and without ex-ante links to, the debits they compensate for, and stored over time. Such banks include
habitat banks and species banks, and are often known as conservation banks.
Biodiversity banking resembles carbon trading to some extent but is more complex because
(i) there is no such thing as a unit of biodiversity as there is for carbon;
(ii) the location of biodiversity damage and/or compensation matter can present constraints; and
(iii) while there are policy instruments and regulations supporting carbon trading, regulations controlling
biodiversity loss are weak and therefore demand for biodiversity trading is low.
TEEB FoR NATIoNAL AND INTERNATIoNAL PoLICy MAKERS - ChAPTER 7: PAGE 11