What are 'biodiversity offsets'?

In recent years, "biodiversity offsets" and "credits" have been promoted as one of the key ways to finance nature conservation and support global biodiversity goals. Simply put, 'biodiversity offsetting' is a system of assigning value to a habitat, plant or animal, meaning that a 'credit' or 'unit' can be bought or sold to 'compensate' for the damage caused, creating a financial incentive to protect natural wealth elsewhere. Biodiversity-rich developing countries are asking developed countries for more public funding and "debt relief" - which is different from climate finance - to help meet their biodiversity goals. (Aruna Chandrasekhar)

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