1. Opportunities for protected
areas - offsetting
Tom Tew
Chief Executive
The Environment Bank

2. 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

3. 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

4. Where to offset?
Valuing residual
impact
Valuing
previously
Improving on S106
unvalued
agreements

5. 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

6. 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

7. Protected area receptor sites
• Sites that receive funding, from
development gain, via conservation credits
– n.b. Additionality!
– More, bigger, better, joined
(need management plans…..)

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

9. Essex opportunity map

10. Protected area receptor sites
• Conservation credits enable funding through
voluntary corporate investment
• Funding from other offsetting

11. Carbon offsetting
• Voluntary corporate investment
• Natural solutions for ‘zero carbon’ housing?
• Need carbon metrics, trading systems
• Stacking payments for ecosystem services

12. 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.

13. English Market
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….
Including coastal Excluding coastal
habitat habitat
Management £140m - £230m £75m - £125m
agreement only
Land purchase £400m - £470m £210m - £240m
and management

14. Biodiversity offsetting
www.environmentbank.com
htttps://environmentbank.mmearth.com