Biodiversity Offsetting Considerations for Landowners and Advisers

Biodiversity Offsetting Considerations for Landowners and Advisers

ISBN 978 1 901 434 79 8

Price: £40

Foreword

White papers, conferences, seminars, policy and academic papers all canvas biodiversity offsetting and payments for eco-system services as an important element of policy, giving a value to nature in decision making. In a liberal market economy, the theoretical arguments are attractive, harnessing creativity of the market to environmental issues. The market can find voluntary answers to the challenges posed, opening the way to new and innovative solutions, but also, if the cost of offsetting is too great, serving to deter damaging development that will not stand the cost of the necessary offsetting.

However, all this means noting if land cannot be found to deliver the offsetting or new eco-system services. While policy papers have seen the advantages for policy makers and considered the position of developers, the reactions of landowners, usually individuals and families with existing businesses on the land, to these proposals are critical to the practicality of the policy. What might interest a landowner in agreeing to bind the uses of his land on a long term basis?

To help find the answers to this important question, the CAAV has sponsored this Scholarship paper, following the predecessor paper, Water Resources: Generating Value and Minimising Loss, as a practical exploration of the issues involved. In this paper, Charlie Russ reviews and analyses the operation and experience of two of Australia’s biodiversity offsetting schemes. Combined with an account of the development of these proposals and early experience in the United Kingdom, he concludes with a review of significant issues for landowners and those advising them.