Biodiversity offsetting plans outlined by the government must be
strengthened if they are to “properly protect Britain’s wildlife”, MPs
have warned.
The scheme aims to ensure that when a development causes unavoidable
damage to biodiversity, “new, bigger or better nature sites will be
created”.
But the MPs say the assessment proposed by ministers appears to be
little more than a “box-ticking exercise”.
Six areas are taking part in a two-year pilot, which began in April 2012.
Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) chairwoman Joan Walley MP said
many witnesses that gave evidence to the EAC’s inquiry had voiced
concerns that key habitats – such as ancient woodlands and Sites of
Special Scientific Interest – would be included in the government’s
offsetting plans.
‘Not adequate’: “There is a danger that an overly simplistic
offsetting system would not protect these long-established
ecosystems,” she added.
“Biodiversity offsetting could improve the way our planning system
accounts for the damage developments do to wildlife, if it is done
well.
“The assessment process currently proposed by the government appears
to be little more than a 20-minute box-ticking exercise that is simply
not adequate to assess a site’s year-round biodiversity.
Ms Walley explained: “If a 20-minute assessment was carried out in a
British wood in winter, for instance, it would be easy to overlook
many of the migratory birds that may use it as habitat in summer.”
However, in their report, the MPs acknowledged that it was “too soon
to reach a decision” on offsetting while the pilot schemes had yet to
be completed and independently evaluated.
But they added that they were publishing their report now as ministers
were considering submissions made during a public consultation on the
proposals.
The consultation on how the scheme would be rolled-out across England
closed last week and officials are now considering the submissions.
Responding to the EAC’s findings, National Trust natural environment
director Simon Pryor said the MPs’ report showed that the government
had to take its time to ensure to get the scheme right.
“Offsetting could be a positive way to help avoid the loss of wildlife
that can result from development – but only if it is done properly,”
he observed.
“If a system is introduced too rapidly, and without adequate testing
and evidence, the prospect of a workable and supportable biodiversity
offsetting system would be undermined for many years to come.”
In its consultation document, the Department for the Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs (Defra) said that England faced “the twin challenges
of growing its economy and improving its natural environment”, adding:
“We will not achieve these goals unless our planning system is
fit-for-purpose.”
A Defra spokesman told BBC News: “Biodiversity offsetting could help
improve our environment as well as boost the economy.
“This report, along with other consultation responses, will help us
get the detail of the policy right,” he explained.
“We will formally respond to the report in due course.”
A number of reports, produced by the Ecosystem Markets Task Force and
the Natural Capital Committee, had identified biodiversity offsetting
as a way of delivering a sustainable planning system.
However, an independent review of England’s wildlife sites, led by
Prof Sir John Lawton, concluded in September 2010 that biodiversity
offsetting must not become a “licence to destroy” or damage existing
habitat of recognised value.
“In other words, offsets must only be used to compensate for genuinely
unavoidable damage,” the review recommended.
Defra said that offsetting schemes had been adopted in more than 20
countries, including Australia, Germany, India and the US, as a means
of protecting biodiversity.
Ms Walley also observed that the pilot schemes, which are scheduled to
run until April 2014, had “not had a good take-up”.
“That suggests that these sorts of schemes need to be mandatory, but
the government should exercise some caution about this because the
pilots need to be rigorously and independently assessed first to make
sure all the lesson are properly taken on board”. – BBC Environment
