With the adop­tion of its 2020 Bio­di­ver­sity Strat­egy the EU has made a com­mit­ment to halt “the loss of bio­di­ver­sity and the degra­da­tion of ecosys­tem ser­vices in the EU by 2020, and restor­ing them in so far as fea­si­ble”. To reach this goal the Euro­pean Com­mis­sion works towards an ini­tia­tive to ensure there is no net loss of ecosys­tems and their ser­vices (e.g. through com­pen­sa­tion or off­set­ting schemes) by 2015. This action is accom­pa­nied by a pub­lic con­sul­ta­tion on the planned No Net Loss Ini­tia­tive (see my pre­vi­ous post for more details). The dis­cus­sion on the intro­duc­tion of bio­di­ver­sity off­sets as part of this ini­tia­tive is very lively and con­tro­ver­sial: some expect a Euro­pean legal frame­work on bio­di­ver­sity off­sets would set min­i­mum stan­dards to pro­tect and restore the nor­mal land­scape out­side pro­tected areas, oth­ers fear that this would fos­ter even more devel­op­ment and envi­ron­men­tal degradation.

This post is the fourth and last in a short-run series on the Bio­di­ver­sity Off­set Blog encour­ag­ing you to have your say on the con­sul­ta­tion on the EU No Net Loss Ini­tia­tive until Fri­day, October17 (con­sul­ta­tion closes) and to help you to make an informed decision. 

Today is the final day of the con­sul­ta­tion on the EU No Net Loss Initiative!

The core of the pro­posed No Net Loss Ini­tia­tive focuses on com­pen­sa­tion for envi­ron­men­tal impacts and bio­di­ver­sity off­sets. One of the most impor­tant ques­tions to be answered through the con­sul­ta­tion is whether the imple­men­ta­tion of a No Net Loss Ini­tia­tive will occur through manda­tory legal stip­u­la­tions, or vol­un­tary com­pli­ance, i.e. a Euro­pean reg­u­la­tion or direc­tive vs. a com­mu­ni­ca­tion or guidance.

If you have a clear answer or state­ment to this or not, strongly sup­port a Euro­pean frame­work on bio­di­ver­sity off­set­ting or are com­pletely opposed to it – don’t hes­i­tate to have your say before the con­sul­ta­tion closes – even if it’s a MAYBE! Your con­cerns, require­ments and com­ments will help shape this ini­tia­tive to the best pos­si­ble outcome.

More from the short-run series on the con­sul­ta­tion on the EU No Net Loss Initiative

The short-run series on the Bio­di­ver­sity Off­sets Blog on the con­sul­ta­tion on the EU No Net Loss Ini­tia­tive includes the fol­low­ing posts:

1. Con­sul­ta­tion on the EU No Net Loss Ini­tia­tive: Bio­di­ver­sity off­set­ting can, under cer­tain cir­cum­stances, improve nature and bio­di­ver­sity con­ser­va­tion — a com­ment by Heidi Wittmer

2. Why would you say NO to the EU No Net Loss initiative?

3. Why would you say YES to the EU No Net Loss initiative?

4. Have your say – even if it’s a MAYBE: Con­sul­ta­tion on the EU No Net Loss Ini­tia­tive closes today! (this post)