Image: female surveyor writing on notepad in field
The biodiversity net gain (BNG) policy, which was created under the Environment Act of 2021, has been implemented.
Biodiversity net gain (BNG) is supposed to help in the recovery of England’s ecosystems. It demands that developers secure at least a 10% net increase in biodiversity for every development project they undertake.
The alternative to biodiversity net gain (BNG) on the development site is delivering it elsewhere and most often biodiversity net gain (BNG) is delivered through a combination of these two options. Therefore, there is a good amount of discussion occurring about which is going to be the best choice.
There is an expectation that, at some point, all developers have to provide some off-site biodiversity net gain (BNG) in addition to improvements on-site. So how do you find quality BNG units off-site that actually meet your biodiversity net gain (BNG) obligations?
Developers may choose to work directly with the landowner for creating the off-site mitigation required to satisfy BNG requirements or they may work with a specialized third-party provider that will reduce their risk and handle the off-site mitigation (i.e. a Habitat Bank).
This brings us to the differences between ‘land banking’ and ‘habitat banking’ for biodiversity unit providers. There is an important distinction that should be understood between the two.
How do ‘land banking’ and ‘habitat banking’ differ?
Generally, there are two types into which the external biodiversity net gain (BNG) providers fall and clear differences between them may be distinguished:
The companies owning the land are land bankers since they establish a portfolio of land, intending to use it in developing habitats and to create and sell biodiversity units to developers. Working to implement the habitat improvements only happens following an agreement being reached with a developer.
Habitat Banking providers have a portfolio of restoration project sites at which restoration work is underway on nature creation and improvement. This enables them to offer stockpiled biodiversity units to developers.
Therefore, habitat banks are parcels of land which are or have been developed into habitats, whereas land banks are not yet in the process of being improved.
When a developer buys biodiversity units from a land bank, he/she is simply making a reservation on a habitat that has not presently been created. However, when the developer buys units from a habitat bank, the nature restoration is already underway.
Why does this matter to the developers?
Habitat creation is specialist work, requiring ecological consultation if the right land is to be uplifted correctly. Of course, then it can achieve biodiversity net gain for developers.
The biodiversity metric supports the habitat banking model. Once a habitat bank is set up, the value of the biodiversity it contains starts rising year after year, meaning the same tract of land now earns more units than it earned the prior year.
The developer needs to consider how a “land banking” provider will actually deliver biodiversity net gain (BNG). The market for biodiversity net gain BNG Is fairly early and so a “land banking” provider might not have much experience in habitat creation and the generation of biodiversity units. If they can’t demonstrate to the developer that they can produce biodiversity net gain (BNG), then the developer has to worry about the planning authority coming after them for supposed violations—because the developer is essentially relying on the “land banking” provider to do what they said they would.
By contrast, habitat banking providers have to vividly express their track record in habitat development. Before selling a site in their portfolio, a habitat banker has to have surveyed that particular site and have prepared a habitat plan with execution.
Therefore, developers will be assured that the projects will not meet the problems encountered with the non-performing biodiversity units since habitat banks provide the insurance for such outcomes. Habitat banks indeed help in the offsetting process of negative impacts that development activities have with respect to biodiversity.
Image: students learning how to conduct a biodiversity survey.
Learn more about the function of off-site biodiversity units.
It won’t always be possible for developers to provide the entire project’s biodiversity net gain (BNG) on-site, and many will have recognised the strategic and cost-effective benefits of good off-site solutions. Yet, even with these scenarios, developers will still need to identify the off-site biodiversity units that can reliably deliver what they promise.
All this means that developers who have any kind of off- site solution (or potential off-site solution) will be required to know exactly what this “off-site” looks like and how it works in the context of their broader biodiversity net gain (BNG) strategy.
The surveyors on our panel examine the possibilities for achieving biodiversity net gain beyond development sites, incorporating important perspectives from those already working in this space. We can help you find and finance high-quality biodiversity units that are both helpful in achieving long-term conservation outcomes and in aiding the planning process.
To gain a better understanding of how to incorporate off-site biodiversity units into a working biodiversity net gain (BNG) strategy, contact us today.
