Defra’s 25 Year Environment Plan sets the ambitious goal of leaving the planet in a better place than we found it. Central to this is the restoration of biodiversity. Nature Recovery Strategies are expected soon and the imminent UK Biodiversity Net Gain Policy aims to increase national biodiversity by requiring developers not only to compensate for the habitat that they destroy but to increase this by an additional 10%.
Eunomia can help councils develop (and publish) 5-year biodiversity plans to offset their development plans. This can help predict the levels of demand and supply for biodiversity offsets within the council and identify (in advance) potential need to trade with neighbouring councils and ensure development does not exceed the local ability to offset.
Eunomia also has expertise in carbon offsetting and water governance and therefore we can help councils go beyond just a biodiversity strategy to develop a more holistic ‘environment’ strategy that includes biodiversity offsetting, carbon offsetting, providing amenity value, and managing water (flooding and water quality) within their authority. Developers can then pay their offset money into a central pot and it will be invested as part of this plan. By coordinating projects, the council can increase the efficiency of the time and money required to audit/monitor projects, as monitoring small patches of land is often as expensive as monitoring large patches.
Contact one of our team if you are concerned about local biodiversity and would like to start developing solutions which help you plan for the future.
