Opportunities for protected areas - offsetting

Tom TewChief Executive

The Environment Bank

Conservation spend

• Total biodiversity protection estimate = $290-385bn pa – Actual spend = $36-38bn pa

• Natura 2000 network – management costs €5.8bn pa– Total EU actual spend 2007-13 = €1.3bn pa

• Biodiversity shortfall in England – c. £130m (EBS); Lawtonian estimate of up to £1bn for English site series

• Sustainable Responsible Investment assets = c.€5 trillion

Modified from Eftec (2011) report to EU

Biodiversity offsetting –what is it?

• Compensating for environmental impact in one place by paying for environmental gain in another

• Aim – net biodiversity gain enabled through sustainable development

• Measurable – accountable, transparent, consistent• Follows mitigation hierarchy – offset only for residual

impact

Valuing residual impact

Where to offset?

Improving on S106 agreements

Valuing previously unvalued

How does it work?

• Through the buying and selling of conservation credits• LPA offers, and developer chooses, offsetting as option for

planning consent – developer seeks to buy ‘conservation credits’ to offset residual impact

• National registry of receptor sites to sell ‘conservation credits’ - price set by provider

• Environment Bank brokers deal - effects legal agreements both to purchase with developer, and to manage with receptor site land manager

• Money transferred to receptor site land manager against conservation outcomes

• Monitoring and reporting systems

What’s needed?

• Market for conservation credits – buyers and sellers• Willing LPAs & developers• Network of receptor sites to deliver credits• Metrics for assessing credit requirements of

developments & credit-worthiness of receptor sites• Registry of conservation credits – to record creation

and use• Monitoring and reporting systems

Protected area receptor sites

• Sites that receive funding, from development gain, via conservation credits– n.b. Additionality!– More, bigger, better, joined

(need management plans…..)

Direct offsets where they contribute to:• ecological networks• strategic outcomes for priority habitats and species • based on local vision and opportunity

MakingConnections

Essex opportunity map

Protected area receptor sites

• Conservation credits enable funding through voluntary corporate investment

• Funding from other offsetting

Carbon offsetting

• Voluntary corporate investment

• Natural solutions for ‘zero carbon’ housing?

• Need carbon metrics, trading systems

• Stacking payments for ecosystem services

MARKET SIZE

Estimates for emerging biodiversity and ecosystem service markets (derived from Ecosystem Marketplace) are presented in the table in the slide drawn from the TEEB report looking at potential global growth to 2020 and 2050 compared to present day. The TEEB report for business concludes that new markets for biodiversity and ecosystem services are emerging and if scaled up, these markets could represent major business opportunities and a significant part of the solution to the ecosystem and biodiversity finance challenge.

English Market

Including coastal habitat

Excluding coastal habitat

Management agreement only

£140m - £230m £75m - £125m

Land purchase and management

£400m - £470m £210m - £240m

Range of offset costs in England (Defra 2011) – assuming 10,000 ha land needed for development, with a risk multiplier, assuming land developed is in moderate condition, etc….

Biodiversity offsetting

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