Offsets the Queensland Way Development of the Queensland Government Environmental Offsets Policy

The Queensland Government Environmental Offsets Policy provides an overarching framework for environmental offsets in Queensland. The policy provides a consistent and transparent approach to the use of offsets. It contains principles and guidelines for developing and applying more detailed ‘specific-issue’ policies for offsetting important environmental values such as vegetation or fish habitats. Currently, offsets use in Queensland can be characterised as a compliance mechanism as they are required to meet development conditions. Developers will face higher costs if they need an offset and this provides a greater incentive to avoid and minimise impacts on areas with significant environmental values. The paper canvasses opportunities to now move to develop efficient offset markets in Queensland.environment, offsets, policy, market based instruments.,

Voluntary Provision of Public Goods for Bads: A Theory of Environmental Offsets

This paper examines voluntary provision of a public good that is motivated, in part, to compensate for other activities that diminish the public good. Markets for environmental offsets, such as those that promote carbon neutrality to minimize the impact of climate change, provide an increasingly salient example. An important result, related to one shown previously, is that mean donations to the public good do not converge to zero as the economy grows large. Other results are new and comparable to those from the standard model of a privately provided public good. The Nash equilibrium is solved explicitly to show how individual direct donations and net contributions depend on wealth and heterogenous preferences. Comparative static analysis demonstrates how the level of the public good and social welfare depend on the technology, individual wealth, and an initial level of the public good. Application of the model in an environmental context establishes a starting point for understanding and making predictions about markets such as those for carbon offsets.

Environmental offsets and other market approaches with specific reference to the Olifants River (East) and Berg River

Biodiversity offsets for a river create the incentive for cooperation amongst stakeholders with benefits to the environment. Because of the isolation paradox supporting institutions need to be created to facilitate cooperation. Environmental pollution caused by mining activity is a problem in the Olifants River (East) in South Africa. The catchment surface is fractured by mining activities and water is drained into underground aquifers, after which it seeps into streams. Mines have been permitted to release nutrients in the streams during periods of high flow, which is called the “controlled release schemeâ€. A main problem is the effluent leakage from old disused mines during times when river flow is low and not sufficient dilution of nutrients is possible. DWAF (Department of Water Affairs and Forestry) has accepted ownership of these mines but they may not have the technology (which is expensive) to desalinate the effluent. In an offsetting arrangement, incentives can be provided to existing mines to desalinate water from these defunct mines by allowing them to discharge a given amount in the Olifants when the water flow is sufficiently high. The above arrangement will cost the taxpayer nothing while discharge during low flow periods is reduced. A discussion was held with stakeholders of the Olifants River Forum during 2006 and support was received for some of these policy options. It is shown how offsets can mitigate negative effects of dam construction. It is further proposed that tradable pollution permits be adopted which are subject to a rule that discharges in the river are only allowed when flow is sufficiently high and that trades may only occur within certain parameters.environmental offsets, pollution permits, Olifants River (East),

Effective engagement of conservation scientists with decision-makers

This chapter offers advice on how the conservation science community can effectively engage with decision-makers. The rationales for why we, as scientists, need to do this have been widely discussed in the literature. Often, the reasons offered are normative, pragmatic, or instrumental (de Vente, 2016); in other words, there is a belief that engaging with decision-makers leads to better informed, more acceptable decisions. Indeed, better engagement may lead to the greater uptake of evidence for conservation decisions, something which some scholars argue is a priority for effective management (e.g. Gardner et al., 2018; Sutherland and Wordley, 2017)

Western Highway Project Section 2 Beaufort to Ararat assessment under Environment Effects Act 1978

1.1 Purpose of this Document This is the assessment of environmental effects (Assessment) under the Environment Effects Act 1978 (EE Act) for the Western Highway Project Section 2 Beaufort to Ararat (WHP2). It represents the final step in the Environment Effects Statement (EES) process under the EE Act by providing advice to decision-makers on the likely environmental effects of the proposal, their acceptability and how they should be addressed in relevant statutory decisions. The Assessment is informed by the report of the recent Inquiry together with the EES and public submissions. This Assessment will inform the decisions required under Victorian law for the proposal to proceed, in particular approval decisions under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (P&E Act). It will also inform the approval decision under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). 1.2 Project Description VicRoads proposes to duplicate the Western Highway between Beaufort (Martins Lane) and Ararat (Warrayatkin Road) as part of a larger project to duplicate the highway between Ballarat and Stawell. It is proposed to upgrade Section 2 Beaufort to Ararat to freeway standard in the long term. The project does not involve bypasses of Beaufort or Ararat. The project would mainly involve construction of a second carriageway adjacent and parallel to the existing highway on adjacent land. At Box’s Cutting and Buangor, new dual carriageways are proposed, and the existing highway would revert to a local road. When traffic conditions warrant and funding becomes available, it is proposed to upgrade Section 2 to a rural freeway standard. This would require construction of service roads for local access and grade separated interchanges. The EES addresses the effects of both the interim upgrade to a divided rural highway and the ultimate upgrade to a freeway. The project covers a route length of approximately 38 km through the Shire of Pyrenees and the Rural City of Ararat. The alignment spans six significant waterways and would require a new crossing of the Ballarat – Ararat railway line. It would affect land that is predominantly used for a variety of agricultural uses including plantations, grazing and cropping. A detailed description of the project is provided in Chapter 6 of the EES. 1.3 Structure of this Assessment Section 2 of this Assessment outlines both the EES process and statutory approvals required for the proposed development. The core part of this Assessment is Section 3, which first provides an outline of the process undertaken by VicRoads for analysing a range of potentially suitable alignment options, resulting in a short list of two options which would meet the project objectives. Section 3 then assesses the potential environmental effects of the two short-listed options evaluated in detail in the EES. Section 3 concludes with an assessment of the proposal and its overall outcomes in the context of applicable legislation, statutory policy as well as the relevant objectives and principles of ecologically sustainable development (ESD). Table 3 provides specific responses to the recommendations of the Inquiry

Biodiversity offsets can be a valuable tool in achieving sustainable development: Developing a holistic model for biodiversity offsets that incorporates environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development

The interpretation and use of biodiversity offsets in planning and development is a contentious issue because they rarely encompass each of the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development. While currently agreed best practice for biodiversity offsets includes consideration of scope, scale, location, timing and duration, and monitoring, current literature on these components does not consider all aspects of sustainable development. Furthermore, much of the current agreed best practice focusses on the design of biodiversity offsets, without consideration of ongoing management or end-of-life. This manuscript reviews current best practice for biodiversity offsets, giving consideration to the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development. In particular, we report that consideration of cost and risk is key and the use of planning frameworks, bonds and advanced offsets could mitigate these risks and allow for long-term success. Following this approach, a holistic model for design, implementation and ongoing management of direct biodiversity offsets that balances all aspects of sustainable development is presented

Biodiversity Offset Program Design and Implementation

Biodiversity offsets are applied in many countries to compensate for impacts on the environment, but research on regulatory frameworks and implementation enabling effective offsets is lacking. This paper reviews research on biodiversity offsets, providing a framework for the analysis of program design (no net loss goal, uncertainty and ratios, equivalence and accounting, site selection, landscape-scale mitigation planning, timing) and implementation (compliance, adherence to the mitigation hierarchy, leakage and trade-offs, oversight, transparency and monitoring). Some more challenging aspects concern the proper metrics and accounting allowing for program evaluation, as well as the consideration of trade-offs when regulations focus only on the biodiversity aspect of ecosystems. Results can be used to assess offsets anywhere and support the creation of programs that balance development and conservation.TU Berlin, Open-Access-Mittel – 201

Exploring the practical implementation of marine biodiversity offsetting in Australia

Biodiversity offsetting with associated aims of no net loss of biodiversity (NNL) is an approach used to align economic development with conservation. Biodiversity offsetting may be more challenging in marine environments, with recent evidence suggesting that the current application of the approach in Australian marine environments rarely follows 'best practice' and is unlikely to be meeting stated policy aims. To understand how and why this deviation from best practice is taking place in marine systems, we analysed current practice in Australia through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 31 participants with professional experience in the development and implementation of associated policy. Thematic analysis of results indicated that, despite commitment to best practice in principle, practitioners recognised that operationalisation of marine biodiversity offsetting was inconsistent and unlikely to be meeting stated goals such as NNL. Participants described the central barrier to the adoption of best practice as the technical complexity of assessing and quantifying biodiversity losses and gains, and uncertainty in restoration in marine contexts. With offsetting described as an integral part of development consent for marine economic development, both these barriers and their navigation presents threats to users setting off a chain of accepted activity leading away from best practice. These threats were perceived to arise from low governmental capacity or prioritisation for environmental management, institutional needs for a social licence to operate, and overarching demands for economic growth. We conclude that marine biodiversity offsetting has come to be ambiguous in its practical definition, with a range of conflicting factors influencing its use and preventing the standardisation required to meet rigorous interpretations of best practice necessary to ensure biodiversity protection and NNL