the ecological context for biodiversity offsetting in canada

Justina C. Ray, Ph.D. Executive Director & Senior Scientist

Wildlife Conservation Society Canada

Biodiversity: the variability among living organisms within species, between species, and between ecosystems (CBD 1992)

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005): 15 of the 24 ecosystem services evaluated have degraded over the past half century

Biodiversity is integral to many of the high-ranking problems on the public radar screen

Despite the widely acknowledged challenges in achieving a full recovery of the structure, functioning and composition of damaged ecosystems, policies that permit the compensated loss of natural habitat --“biodiversity offsets” -- have multiplied internationally over the past decade

Conventional Mitigation Justification for a bad development project Applicable in all circumstances Comprehensive environmental protection A Panacea

Minimise = reduce harm Mitigate = alleviate residual harm Offset = compensate for residual, unavoidable harm.

Biodiversity gains are comparable to losses from residual effects

Biodiversity gains are additional to

outcomes that would have resulted in the absence of the project

Biodiversity gains are lasting and protected against risk of failure

Sufficient ecological information

Currency Metrics for measuring biodiversity

Baseline Standard against which to measure no net loss

Equivalence Trading like for like

Longevity How long will they endure, especially in a dynamic environment

Time lag Temporal gap between development impacts occurring and the benefits of offsetting

Uncertainty Will the scheme work

Reversibility Whether or not impacts can be reversed

Thresholds Defining point beyond which offsets are not acceptable

BBOP 2012

Pilgrim et al. 2013

BBOP 2012

Understanding of probable negative ecological and social impacts in a regional context

Adequate baseline information is required

Regional-scale assessment of risk and impact, analysis of cumulative impacts

Integration of risk with other elements of feasibility

Consideration of biodiversity offsets

World Resources Institute

Intact Forest Landscapes

© Global Forest Watch Canada

Pulp and Paper Tenures

© Global Forest Watch Canada

All Logging Tenures

© Global Forest Watch Canada

Tenures + Roads + Oil & Gas

© Global Forest Watch Canada

20077 20107

Since the discovery in 2007 of world-class chromite-nickel-copper-gold deposits, there are currently at least 35 mineral exploration and mining companies with active claims in the Ring of Fire.

Unuk River

M. Fay

M. Fay

A biodiversity offset should be designed and implemented in a landscape context to achieve the expected measurable conservation outcomes taking into account available information on the full range of biological, social and cultural values of biodiversity and supporting an ecosystem approach.

Biodiversity is a complex, difficult-to-measure, and non-interchangeable resource, which challenges offsetting: scientific evidence for success is unfavourable

Canada is generally absent framework(s) that

enable best practices offsetting principles

This can and will promote BAU by another name

Ultimately, the value of any offset guidance depends on its integration with higher-level biodiversity policies/plans that clarify assumptions, specify conservation goals, address cumulative impacts, and are carefully monitored.