Biodiversity Offsets in German Impact Mitigation Regulation; IÖR Dresden, Marianne Darbi, 29 July 2010 Marianne Darbi, IÖR Dresden 29 July 2010 Biodiversity

Biodiversity Offsets in German Impact Mitigation Regulation; IÖR Dresden, Marianne Darbi, 29 July 2010

Marianne Darbi, IÖR Dresden

29 July 2010

Biodiversity Offsets in German Impact Mitigation Regulation


Outline

1. Biodiversity Offsets: What? Why? Who?

2. Characteristics of Biodiversity Offsets and implementation

3. German Impact Mitigation Regulation

4. Loss-gain calculations in German Impact Mitigation Regulation


1. Biodiversity Offsets: What? Why? Who?


What?“Biodiversity Offsets are conservation

activities intended to compensate for the

residual, unavoidable harm to biodiversity

caused by development projects” ten Kate et al.

2004

“Biodiversity offsets seek to ensure that

unavoidable adverse environmental

impacts of development are

counterbalanced by environmental gains” Escorcio Bezerra 2006


Mitigation Hierarchy

8/27

Follow subsequent steps:

Step 1: avoid or prevent negative impacts on biodiversity

Step 2: address unavoidable impacts through minimization and

rehabilitation measures

Step 3: establish compensation measures („Biodiversity Offsets“) as a last

resort for residual adverse impacts: restitution or compensation payment


What?

Why? • Polluter Pays Principle

• Environmental legislation and liability

• Business Initiatives and Corporate

Social Reponsibility


What?

Why?

Who?• Governments

• Business

• NGOs


2. Characteristics of Biodiversity Offsets and implementation


• Functional relation to the impact

• Spatial relation to the impact

• Timing

• Responsibility

• Compensation measures: What are Biodiversity Offsets used

for?

Characteristics of Biodiversity Offsets


Strong loosened

functional relation

spatial relation

In kind Out of kind

On site Off site

Case-by-case Aggregated Offsets(Pool and Banking Models)

Functional and spatial relation to the impact


Timing

Full Compensation

RestorationResidual Impact

Impact

Problem of time lag

Offset implemented after impact Offset implemented before impact


Responsibility

Developer

implements offsets

Third party

implements offsets

Measures on the

ground

Compensation payments

and Biodiversity credits


Compensation measures: What are Biodiversity Offsets used for?

Conservation /

Preservation

Restoration /

Enhancement

Risk that Biodiversity Offsets

replace conservation

obligations of governmental

bodies (Nature Conservation

Authorities etc.)


3. German Impact Mitigation Regulation


German Impact

Mitigation Regu-

lation after Nature

Conservation Act

Brazilian Project

Developers Offsets

after Protected

Areas Law

Diskussion about

(Voluntary)

Biodiversity

Offsets

US Wetland

Mitigation after

Clean Water Act

Australian Green

Offsets in New South

Wales after Native

Vegetation Act

CBD Art. 14:

Impact Assessment

and Minimizing

Adverse Impacts

1976 1985 1992 1997 2000 ca. 2004

Milestones in Environmental and Biodiversity Offsetting


German Impact Mitigation Regulation

Impact Mitigation Regulation (“Eingriffsregelung”) is the major landscape conservation instrument to

address mitigation and compensation for impacts from developments and projects in Germany:

entered into force as part of the Federal Nature Conservation Act 1976

comprehensive approach (for all impacts, on all scales, not restricted to

specific areas)


German Impact Mitigation Regulation

2002 and 2009 amendments to the Federal Nature Conservation Act:

loosening of spatial and functional connection between impact and

compensation

compensation pools: provision and bundling of compensation sites and

measures


Compensation agencies (‘Flächenagenturen’)

“Compensation agencies are new service providers in the field of nature

conservation, which establish compensation pools and procure sites and

measures for developers“ (BFAD e. V. 2008).

Compensation agencies are experts on compensation pools – including

planning, implementation and long-term management. They provide services

and support to investors, authorities and all local partners“ (BFAD e. V. 2008).

Pool and banking models

4/18

Compensation pools: aggregation of compensation sites

Eco-accounts: aggregation of compensation sites and advanced implementation

of compensation measures

Compensation agencies: provision of compensation sites or measures to a third

party


Core parameters of Pool and Banking Models

blabla What are the core parameters that influence the functioning and financing of

compensation agencies in Germany?

1. form of organisation / legal form

number of employees

focus solely on compensation vs. compensation as one of a multitude of

fields of action

more nature conservation orientation vs. more economic orientation

2. area of influence and clients

3. availability and safeguarding of compensation sites

4. financing and cost recovery


Advantages and potentials of Pool and Banking Models

steered development / inclusion into an overall concept is beneficial both economically and

ecologically (simpler and speed up lincensing procedure, creation of ecological networks,

measures are implemented where it is most useful from a nature conservation point of

view)

can lead to a reduction of land consumption

bundling increases the efficiency of the implementation and maintenance of measures

recovery of complex ecosystems and possibility to implement also cost-intensive measures

diminution of time lag effects

bundling of capacity and technical know-how

broad participation and acceptance (reduction of land use conflicts etc.)


4. Loss-gain calculations in German Impact Mitigation Regulation


Balancing and Evaluation methods

Multitude of methods:

• Compensation area coefficients

• Biotope valuation procedures

• Cost-of-restoration approaches

Surrogate:

• Area equivalent

• Value-area equivalent

• Cost equivalent


Discussion points on Biodiversity Offsets and Pool and Banking Models

blabla risk that the appropriateness to compensate may not always be considered

advance financing

How to secure measures in perpetuity?

uncertainty (refinancing of sites and measures cannot be guaranteed)

need for trained personnel

preference for low cost measures

price dumping can have a negative effect on the quality of the measures

to date: lacking transparency and transferability (valuation techniques to balance impact and

compensation and cost calculation differ very much)


Thank you for your attention!

Leibniz Institute of ecological and regional development Marianne Darbi

Weberplatz 1 Fon: 0351 463 42356

01217 Dresden Fax : 0351 4679 212

www.ioer.de E-Mail: [email protected]


5. Criticism of Biodiversity Offsets


License to trash

When is an offset appropriate?

Distinguish between

offsettable and not

offsettable impacts

Criteria: irreplaceability,

vulnerability etc.

Need to define thresholds


How to ensure equivalence between impact and offset?

Problem to measure and value biodiversity

Different „currencies“

Indirect and cumulative impacts

Multitude of existing evaluation

and balancing methods

Comparing apples and oranges


How long lasts perpetuity?

Duration of impacts vs. Duration of offsets

Short and long-term impacts

Temporary and permanent impacts

Criteria: reversitbility, feasibility etc.

In practice different timeframes

are applied

Biodiversity Offsets should last

as long as the impairment

persists

need for Follow Up


Shift of responsibility

What are the physical and financial compensation means used for?

Negative use: MERE use for the

management and maintenance

of existing protected areas

Biodiversity Offsets should not

replace Conservation and other

obligations of governmental bodies

(Nature Conservation Authorities etc.)


6. Potentials of Biodiversity Offsets


Trading up

Preference for „in kind“ offsetting

However sometimes not feasible

or not effective

Trading up: substituting a less

valuable asset by an asset that

is more valuable in terms of

either its quality or quantity


Landscape Level Planning and Green Networks

Small sites can require a disproportionate effort of management

and sometimes not prove to be efffective

Landscape and habitat pattern

Advantages of Aggregated Offsets

and Banking: Compensation Pools

and Mitigation Banks are effective

instruments to implement Biodiversity

Offsets with a minimum of land

consumption, bureaucracy and

costs and a maximum of nature

conservation value

Documents

Biodiversity Offsets in German Impact Mitigation Regulation; IÖR Dresden, Marianne Darbi, 29 July 2010 Marianne Darbi, IÖR Dresden 29 July 2010 Biodiversity