Wolfgang Wende · Graham - M. Tucker Fabien Quétier · Matt Rayment Marianne Darbi Editors Biodiversity O sets European Perspectives on No Net Loss of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Biodiversity Offsets Wolfgang Wende • Graham - M. Tucker • Fabien Quétier • Matt Rayment • Marianne Darbi Editors Biodiversity Offsets European Perspectives on No Net Loss of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Editors Wolfgang Wende Graham - M. Tucker Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Institute for European Environmental Policy Regional Development and TU Dresden London, UK Dresden, Germany Fabien Quétier Matt Rayment BIOTOPE Consultant Mèze, France London, UK Marianne Darbi Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig, Germany ISBN 978-3-319-72579-6 ISBN 978-3-319-72581-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72581-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018933588 © Springer International Publishing AG 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Preface The intensification of land use and increasing urbanisation seen in Europe are causing a loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services on a dramatic scale. In response, Europe has successfully established Natura 2000, a Europe-wide network of protected sites, and protected many species of threatened fauna and flora. This is certainly an important step in the right direction. Yet outside of protected areas and beyond protected species, there are so far—at least on a pan-European level—few measures to reduce the loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services, and this despite the fact that the intensification of land use shows no sign of letting up. This policy gap in the wider environment is also a reason why the decline and loss of species has not (yet) been stopped in the EU. Outside Europe, in countries as diverse as the USA, Australia, Brazil and South Africa, considerable efforts are being made to introduce and implement policies in the wider environment that strengthen or expand requirements to avoid, mitigate and, if necessary, offset impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Offsets implement the “polluter pays” principle and thereby incentivise the reduction of impacts and require no net loss (or a net gain) to be achieved where residual impacts are unavoidable. With its Wetland Mitigation programme, the USA has long been a pioneer in this field. Australia can point to its Bushbroker scheme set up several years ago, while compensation instruments have also been introduced in South Africa. Brazil has its own system to address deforestation in private land and access private funding for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration. There is now a lively international debate among practitioners and scientists alike on the optimal design of mitigation hierarchies and offset systems to ensure their success and to minimise the risks of the failure or misuse of offsets. This debate is also taking place in Europe. However, offsetting in Europe needs to take into account the continent’s unique natural heritage, where some of its current biodiversity is associated with habitats that have been modified by human activities and culture. As a contribution to this debate, this book aims to present the activities and practices of biodiversity offsetting already under way in selected EU member states and the lessons that can be learnt from them. Readers may be surprised at how v vi Preface much experience already exists in these countries. It is also notable that in many countries, the focus of offsetting policies is justified by the intrinsic value of biodiversity, including threatened species and habitats. But some countries have also considered a more diverse set of values tied to nature, including people’s sense of place, or the historical or cultural values tied to certain features. Building on this experience, and recent scientific developments, there is a trend towards broadening the scope of offsetting in Europe by considering natural capital and ecosystem services. A further aim of the book is to offer grounded insights on the road ahead and foster a more intensive and fruitful discussion on how offsetting can be extended and improved upon, so that it becomes a key and effective component of Europe’s biodiversity conservation policy framework. Dresden, Germany Wolfgang Wende London, UK Graham - M. Tucker Mèze, France Fabien Quétier London, UK Matt Rayment Leipzig, Germany Marianne Darbi October 2017 Acknowledgements This book is an outcome of IOER activities around the topic “Biodiversity Offsets: Towards a European No Net Loss Strategy for the Protection of Biodiversity”. The book has been initiated by the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development Germany (IOER) and is implemented and compiled by editors from IOER, the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), BIOTOPE and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ). The activities on this publi- cation have been supported by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. The preparation of the book benefited from support from the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme under Grant Agreement No. FP7-ENV-2012- 308393-2 (OPERAs). We would kindly like to thank all the authors for providing fruitful and inspiring contributions illustrating already so many activities on biodiversity offsets around Europe. We also would like to thank Derek Henderson for language polishing. We particularly would like to say thank you to Sabine Witschas, Dipl.-Ing. Cartography at IOER, and her team comprising Margitta Wahl, Natalija Leutert, Jenny Herbrich and others for improving the figures and for helping us compile and review the text. Special thanks to our Director of IOER, Prof. Bernhard Müller, who did a lot to make this book a reality. The organisation and the cooperative effort with our publisher, Springer, was carried out in a notably pleasant atmosphere. “Where now cities stand, a meadow will be” “Wo jetzt noch Städte stehn, wird eine Wiese sein” Andreas Gryphius ca. 1630 Excerpt from the poem “All is Vanity” translated by Scott Horton Disclaimer: This book is a review by independent researchers and does not represent the views of the Commission. vii Contents Introduction: Biodiversity Offsets—The European Perspective on No Net Loss of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services ............. 1 Wolfgang Wende, Graham Tucker, Fabien Quétier, Matt Rayment, and Marianne Darbi Introduction of a European Strategy on No Net Loss of Biodiversity ... 5 Wolfgang Wende, Lucie Bezombes, and Marie-Eve Reinert Principles of the Business and Biodiversity Offsets Programme ....... 17 Kerry ten Kate, Amrei von Hase, and Patrick Maguire Austria .................................................. 27 Martina Artmann Belgium ................................................. 55 Valérie Dupont, Hendrik Schoukens, and Charles-Hubert Born The Czech Republic ........................................ 91 Adéla Boučková and Juliane Albrecht France .................................................. 99 Anne-Charlotte Vaissière, Fabien Quétier, Adeline Bas, Coralie Calvet, Stéphanie Gaucherand, Julien Hay, Céline Jacob, Charlène Kermagoret, Harold Levrel, Aurore Malapert, Sylvain Pioch, and Pierre Scemama Germany ................................................ 123 Wolfgang Wende, Juliane Albrecht, Marianne Darbi, Matthias Herbert, Anja May, Jochen Schumacher, and Martin Szaramowicz Lithuania ................................................ 157 Vytaute Bacianskaite ix x Contents Spain ................................................... 173 David Álvarez García, Marianne Darbi, and Wolfgang Wende The Netherlands ........................................... 191 Astrid J.A. van Teeffelen United Kingdom ........................................... 211 Jonathan Baker, Liza Papadopoulou, and William Sheate Other EU Member States .................................... 241 Wolfgang Wende Conclusions: Lessons from Biodiversity Offsetting Experiences in Europe ................................................ 245 Graham Tucker, Marianne Darbi, Wolfgang Wende, Fabien Quétier, and Matt Rayment List of Contributors Juliane Albrecht Leibniz Institute