CBD

1

BBOP
Biodiversity offsets and the CBD

• CBD offsets
• Approach and philosophy
• Programmes
• Relevance of offsets
• Please can you (the CBD community) help us?
• Can we help you?
• Final thoughts

2

BBOP
CBD offsets approach philosophy

• 2010 target, MEA results
• Sustainable development solutions
• Conservation, sustainable use and
• benefit-sharing
• Ecosystem approach
• Landscape-level planning . . . NBSAPs
• Mainstreaming
• Engagement of the private sector
• (strategic plan)

3

BBOP
CBD offsets programmes

• In-depth
• islands, drylands, GTI, ABS,8(j), Article 13
• Thematic
• forests, inland waters, marine coastal,
  agriculture
• Cross-cutting
• Protected Areas, incentive measures, impact
  assessment, liability and redress, climate change

4

BBOP
More and better conservation

• Rational conservation planning avoid compromised
  sites and place efforts in larger areas with
  better prospects.
• Focus conservation efforts on priorities, in
  context of landscape/regional planning.

Sources 2004 Insight/IUCN White Maze.
5
BBOP
Offset conservation component

• Conserve representative sample of biodiversity
• Persistence of ecological processes
• Targets What area needed for a living landscape?
  
• Link development projects to achieving priority
  conservation outcomes.

6
BBOP
Offset livelihood component

• Address underlying causes of loss of biodiversity
  at offset sites
• Meet biodiversity-related livelihood needs of
  local communities (e.g food, energy)
• Link offsets to achieving priority development
  outcomes.

7
BBOP
Offsets the CBD please help us

• Please bring know-how, methodologies and ideas
  (including TK) to our attention
• Land-use planning
• Conservation prioritisation
• Working with local communities to support
  sustainable livelihood initiatives
• Quantification methodologies
• Involve us in national/regional policy dialogue
• Help us find pilot projects

8
BBOP
Offsets CBD can we help you?

• Happy to share our ideas, approaches,
  methodologies with interested people
• Methodologies tools
• Pilot projects and case studies
• Collation of related law and policy
• Collaborate on events similar to this one

9
BBOP
Final thoughts

• Lets work together to develop best practice and
  see if it works by trialing it in real
  situations.
• Lets look for opportunities to continue this
  policy debate between COP8 and COP9.
• If we can work together to design and implement
  biodiversity offsets that
• achieve no net loss/net gain and
• meet livelihood needs,
• . this would be better than the status quo
  and a useful contribution to the 2010 target.

10
BBOP
Secretariat Contacts
Kerry ten Kate ktenkate_at_forest-trends.org Assheto
n Carter a.carter_at_conservation.org Mira
Inbar minbar_at_forest-trends.org Mahlette
Betre m.betre_at_conservation.org
www.forest-trends.org/ biodiversityoffsetprogr
am
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SPARE MATERIALS
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BBOP
Business Biodiversity Offsets Program

• Opportunities
• Conservation
• more better conservation, mainstreaming
  mechanism, gives value to biodiversity
• Business
• economically efficient means to secure license to
  operate reputation influence policy market
  mechanism not regulation
• Policy-makers
• involve private sector in achieving 2010 target
  use market mechanism
• Local communities
• means to minimise impact on livelihoods and
  secure additional benefits

• Risks
• No substitute for no go areas
• Failure to deliver
• Controversy
• Credible standards

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BBOP
Business Biodiversity Offsets Program
Objectives PILOT PROJECTS Portfolio of pilot
projects worldwide demonstrating no net
loss of biodiversity and livelihood
benefits TOOLKIT Develop and test in the
pilots How to toolkit on biodiversity
offset design and implementation POLICY
Influence policy and corporate
developments on biodiversity offsets so
they meet conservation and business
objectives.
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Why should business offset the harm it causes
to biodiversity ?
BBOP

• Legal requirements
• Law that mandates offset (US, EU, Brazil,
  Australia)
• Law that facilitates offset (EIA, planning law,
  concession agreements)
• The business case
• for voluntary biodiversity offsets

15

BBOP
The business case for biodiversity offsets

• Better relationships with local communities,
  government regulators, environmental groups and
  other important stakeholders
• An enhanced reputation and therefore social
  license to operate
• Increased regulatory goodwill which could lead
  to faster permitting
• Easier access to capital
• Competitive advantages
• The possibility of influencing emerging
• environmental regulation and policy
• First mover advantage for innovative companies

16
BBOP
Biodiversity Offsets company initiatives
Groups of companies ? EBI BP, Chevron
Texaco, Shell, Statoil, CI, FFI, Smithsonian,
IUCN, TNC No net loss of biodiversity at
project site. Should be minimum standard.
? ICMM 16 leading mining companies report,
position paper. Corporate policies ?
Principles no harm no net loss positive
contribution net benefit
enhance biodiversity ? BP Lord Browne,
CEO We can have a real, measurable and positive
impact on the biodiversity
of the world. (April 2000) ? Rio Tinto
net positive effect - committed to
accomplishing this through offsets. Company
activities ? on-site EIA,
mitigation, rehabilitation, restoration in
concession contracts, host
government production supply agreements ?
off-site Some specific biodiversity offset
activities
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Learning Network

Advisory Committee
Pilot 1
Pilot 2
BBOP Structure
Secretariat
Pilot 4
Pilot 3
18

BBOP
What are pilot projects?

• New projects in the field
• Objective demonstrate no net loss (or net gain)
  of biodiversity
• How?
• Work with the developer, stakeholders and experts
  
• Calculate the biodiversity impact of the project.
• Design biodiversity offset - in situ conservation
  and livelihood projects.

19
BBOP
How ?
Quantify impact, then plan offset with
conservation livelihood components
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The Business Biodiversity Offsets Program
(BBOP)
Ensuring no net loss of biodiversity in
development projects through prioritised in
situ conservation and livelihood outcomes
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BBOP
What are biodiversity offsets?
Conservation actions intended to compensate for
the residual, unavoidable harm to biodiversity
caused by development projects, so as to ensure
no net loss of biodiversity. Before developers
contemplate offsets, they should have first
sought to avoid and minimise harm to
biodiversity. Insight IUCN, 2004
22

BBOP
Vision for the Program

• All future major development projects
• (in the private and public sectors alike),
• and certainly those which will have a
  significant impact on biodiversity,
• should ensure that they bring about no net
  loss
• (and preferably a net gain) in biodiversity.

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The Role of Biodiversity Offsets in Conservation
An open roundtable discussion
CBD COP8 Curitiba, Brazil 21 March 2006