This is a guest post by The Biodiversity Consultancy, a UK-based consultancy specialized in biodiversity offsets. This is the expression of the author’s thoughts and experiences and as such is acknowledged as a fruitful contribution to the discussion on biodiversity offsets. If you want to react or clarify your own position , please leave a reply below!
At the recent World Parks Congress in Sydney, a lively discussion session focused on a new paper by John Pilgrim and Leon Bennun (from The Biodiversity Consultancy). Published in the journal Conservation Letters, this viewpoint article examines the issue of biodiversity offsets in Protected Areas (PAs). Increasingly, offsets are being seen as an innovative financing mechanism for PAs – an approach welcomed by cash-strapped Governments that are struggling to meet protected area goals. It is also viewed positively by developers, who gain a clear route to transfer management responsibility, assurance of long-term outcomes and high-profile delivery of compensation.
But is this apparent ‘win-win’ all it seems? Continue reading