The Role of Biodiversity offsets in conservation An open discussion

1
The Role of Biodiversity offsets in
conservationAn open discussion

• Annelisa Grigg, Director of Corporate Affairs,
  Fauna Flora International
• Saturday, March 18th 2006, Curitiba Brazil

2
Overview

• Introduction
• Definitions
• A short history of offsets
• Why all the interest?
• The business case
• The conservation case
• Questions and uncertainties

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Introduction

• There are clear links between poverty
  alleviation, development and biodiversity.
• Natural resources are, in many cases, key to
  promoting development and social equity in
  developing countries.
• Global commitments have been made to social
  development through the MDG and to biodiversity
  conservation through the CBD 2010 targets
• The net effect of any development activity needs,
  therefore, to be simultaneous social, economic
  and environmental improvement.

4
Defining offsets

• Conservation actions intended to compensate for
  the residual, unavoidable harm to biodiversity
  caused by development projects, so as to ensure
  to no net loss in biodiversity.
• Before developers contemplate offsets, they
  should have first sought to avoid and minimise
  harm to biodiversity.
• (ten Kate, Bishop and Bayon 2004)

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A short history of offsets

• First formalised in the 1970s in the USA system
  of wetland mitigation.
• Now legislation is in place in Europe, Brazil,
  Switzerland and USA.
• Discussion on going in Australia, New Zealand,
  Uganda and Mexico.
• Corporate commitments within Rio Tinto, Newmont
  and others
• Interest from investors e.g. Insight Investment,
  IFC
• Multi-stakeholder initiatives e.g. the Business
  and Biodiversity offset programme

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The business case

• Access to land and resources Significant overlap
  between resources and areas of high conservation
  value.
• The nature of development for example, mine
  viability is dependent on the location of
  geologically unique mineral deposits
• Legislation Legislation in a number of countries
  (Brazil, Canada, Europe, the USA) requires
  compensatory measures for land use and impacts.
• Maintaining license to operate Stakeholders are
  showing increasing concern for the conservation
  of natural resources.
• Environmental stewardship Commitments to
  environmental best practice, including
  biodiversity

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The conservation case

• More and better conservation
• Greater connectivity of areas
• Securing additional finances for conservation
• Focusing of investment on priority conservation
  areas rather than degraded areas
• Potential for pooled resource and development of
  conservation based markets e.g. wetland banking
• Balancing of development and environmental issues

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Uncertainties and questions

• Appropriateness of development decisions
• Shared responsibility
• Measurement of impacts and offsets primary vs
  secondary impacts
• Priority setting lack of consensus on priorities
• Prediction of underlying baseline in the context
  of underlying trends
• Comparability and currency how to measure
  impact and determine a suitable offset, like for
  like or like for not like?
• Scale issues distance and ratio of offset

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Uncertainties and questions

• Timing
• Equity equitable distribution of the economic,
  social and environmental costs and benefits
• Integration with other issues ensuring the
  rights and concerns of local communities are
  considered
• Additionality and leakage
• Sustainability ensuring offsets are designed to
  operate for the duration of the impact
• Assurance assurance to stakeholders that
  offsets are operating effectively