Biodiversity Net Gain

SNH Sharing Good Practice Event Vikki Patton

Senior Biodiversity Consultant, WSP

Thursday 26th Apr 2018 SNH, Battleby

Agenda

• Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) – the basics

• Mitigation Hierarchy

• Why BNG? Conventions, Strategies, Legislation and Policies

• BNG and Scotland

• Background to BNG in the UK

• The Defra Metric

• 10 Good Practice Principles

• The Business Case

What is Biodiversity? IUCN/Convention on Biological Diversity: The variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.

What is Biodiversity Net Gain?

Net Gain – A Lego Example

The Mitigation Hierarchy

Net Gain within International Conventions and Strategies

• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) • Aichi Biodiversity Targets (2010) 10th meeting.

• Target 5: By 2020, the rate of loss of all natural habitats, including forests, is at least halved and where feasible brought close to zero, and degradation and fragmentation is significantly reduced.

• European Union’s (EU) Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 • The EU 2020 Biodiversity Target: ‘no net loss’ and restoring at least 15%

of degraded ecosystems. Member states to produce national Biodiversity Strategies

• United Nations Sustainable Development Goals • Goal 15: Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and

reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss

Net Gain and Scottish Legislation / Strategies

• The Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 places a statutory duty (The Biodiversity Duty, 2004) on public bodies to further the conservation of biodiversity and have regard to the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy:

‘It is the duty of every public body and office-holder, in exercising any functions, to further the conservation of biodiversity so far as is consistent with the proper exercise of those functions.’

• Scottish Biodiversity Strategy: Scotland’s Biodiversity - It’s in Your Hands (2004) and 2020 Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity (2013):

‘to conserve biodiversity for the health, enjoyment and wellbeing of the people of Scotland, now and in the future.’

Net Gain and Scottish Planning Policy

• Scottish Planning Policy (SPP: 2014)

‘The planning system should...seek benefits for biodiversity from new development where possible, including the restoration of degraded habitats and the avoidance of further fragmentation or isolation of habitats’

• National Planning Framework 3 (NPF3; 2014)

• NPF4 and SPP review in 2018, publication in 2019

• 2018 - 2021 Scottish Government Biodiversity Offsetting Research

©Keith Robeson

UK Net Gain Standards and Updates

• Defra Biodiversity Offsetting Pilot (2012 - 2014)

• CIRIA/CIEEM/IEMA:

• BNG Good practice principles for development (2016)

• BNG Industry consultation events (2017)

• BNG Practical application of the good practice principles for the development industry (Publication in Summer 2018)

• Natural England – Defra metric update (Sept 2018)

• Natural Capital Coalition – Biodiversity Supplement (2019)

Many are already

applying Net Gain..

Net Loss, No Net Loss or Net Gain?

Baseline Biodiversity Units:

Area (Ha) x Distinctiveness x Condition (Non-linear)

Post-Development Biodiversity Units:

Area (ha) x Distinctiveness x Condition

Delivery Risk x Spatial Risk x Temporal Risk

Delivery Risk – Difficulty to recreate/restore habitats

Temporal Risk – Years to target condition

Spatial Risk – The further from the site of the loss, the greater the risk

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What’s the Business Case? • Social licence to operate

• CSR

• Customer relations

• Public relations

• Corporate Image

• Leadership

• Green awards

• Kudos – Project Managers

• Unique Selling Point (USP)

• Transparency

• Planning process

• ...

Biodiversity Net Gain

Vikki Patton

Senior Biodiversity Consultant

vikki.patton@wsp.com