Implementing an outcomes-based approach to marine biodiversity offsets: lessons from the Great Barrier Reef

Environmental offsets are widely used internationally, and are becoming a standard feature in project approvals in Australia, including in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR') region. Marine ecosystems are unique, and novel approaches to offsets are needed. The GBR region offers an interesting case study in this regard, with new initiatives diverting offsets imposed on seagrass removal projects into programs aimed at reducing diffuse-source pollution. This article will analyse the offsets framework in the GBR region, and consider whether any safeguards or reforms are needed. It concludes that outcomes-based offset conditions should be used, with impacts on a marine ecosystem only offset by establishing or rehabilitating another marine ecosystem. Reducing diffuse-source pollution is a means to achieve this goal, but it should be merely a vehicle rather than the destination.