Mitigation Banking: Securing No Net Loss to Biodiversity?
By William Hill, David Hill - Latimer, Latimer View PublicationEnvironmental advisors and planners are frequently confronted with the issue of ecological mitigation for losses due to development, the uncertainty over whether the proposed compensation is adequate and how the mitigation will function over time. The advantages of acquiring and retaining land in advance for ecological mitigation required by subsequent development has been demonstrated primarily in the USA where the process, termed Mitigation Banking, was pioneered for the conservation of wetlands. It has been in operation for over 15 years and is considered a valid approach in the regulatory framework. Elsewhere it may be termed Conservation Banking, Habitat Banking or Biodiversity Offsets and has been applied in a number of other countries (ten Kate, Bishop & Bayon, 2004).