A global overview of biodiversity offsetting governance

We analyze the development of biodiversity offsetting governance through a research-weaving approach. Here, we combine information from a systematized review of the literature and a qualitative analysis of the institutional developments in different world regions. Through this triangulation, we synthesize and map the different developmental streams of biodiversity offsetting governance around the globe over the last four decades. We find that there is a global mainstreaming of core principles such as avoidance, no-net-loss, and a mitigation hierarchy, as well as pooling and trading of offsets for unavoidable residual damages. Furthermore, we can observe an ongoing diversification of institutional designs and actors involved. Together this constitutes an emerging regime complex of biodiversity offsetting governance that comes with both a set of shared norms and a growing institutional complexity. While this may imply institutional innovation through diversification and policy experimentation, it also raises questions regarding the effectiveness of offsetting practices.

Automated summary

Using a research-weaving approach, we analyze the development of biodiversity offsetting governance through a combination of literature review and qualitative analysis of institutional developments. Our findings indicate a global mainstreaming of core principles, such as avoidance, no-net-loss, and a mitigation hierarchy, as well as the pooling and trading of offsets. We also observe a diversification of institutional designs and actors involved, leading to a complex regime of biodiversity offsetting governance. While this suggests institutional innovation and policy experimentation, questions arise regarding the effectiveness of offsetting practices.