Taming a Wicked Problem: Resolving Controversies in Biodiversity Offsetting

Research output: Journal contributionsScientific review articlesResearch

Authors

  • Martine Maron
  • Christopher D. Ives
  • Heini Kujala
  • Joseph W. Bull
  • Fleur J.F. Maseyk
  • Sarah Bekessy
  • Ascelin Gordon
  • James E.M. Watson
  • Pia E. Lentini
  • Philip Gibbons
  • Hugh P. Possingham
  • Richard J. Hobbs
  • David A. Keith
  • Brendan A. Wintle
  • Megan C. Evans

The rising popularity of biodiversity offsetting as a tool for balancing biodiversity losses from development with equivalent gains elsewhere has sparked debate on many fronts. The fundamental questions are the following: Is offsetting good, bad, or at least better than the status quo for biodiversity conservation outcomes, and what do we need to know to decide? We present a concise synthesis of the most contentious issues related to biodiversity offsetting, categorized as ethical, social, technical, or governance challenges. In each case, we discuss avenues for reducing disagreement over these issues and identify those that are likely to remain unresolved. We argue that there are many risks associated with the unscrutinized expansion of offset policy. Nevertheless, governments are increasingly adopting offset policies, so working rapidly to clarify and-where possible-to resolve these issues is essential.

Original languageEnglish
JournalBioScience
Volume66
Issue number6
Pages (from-to)489-498
Number of pages10
ISSN0006-3568
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.06.2016

Bibliographical note

Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (H2020) Funding Number: 655497

    Research areas

  • biodiversity offsets, conservation policy, environmental ethics, environmental governance, no net loss
  • Biology

DOI