Biodiversity credits
Creation of biodiversity credits
The number and class of credits that may be created from a biobank site will be specified in the biobanking agreement. The Director General may create a biodiversity credit if satisfied that the relevant management actions have been, are being, or will be carried out in accordance with the biobanking agreement.
Once created, the Director General must register the credit on the register of biodiversity credits. The register of biodiversity credits will track the ownership and status of the credits, for example, whether they are retired or are in force. A credit remains in force unless it is cancelled or retired under the scheme.
Trading of credits
Anyone is able to buy credits subject to the regulations. A typical purchaser could be a developer seeking to offset their projects' impacts on biodiversity. Other buyers could be government bodies using the market to achieve conservation outcomes. A third type of purchaser could be philanthropic organisations using the scheme's robust structure to ensure the benefits of their endowments are maintained in perpetuity.
Ultimately, the market will determine the overall price paid for each credit. The landowner and credit purchaser will be free to negotiate any price as long as the prescribed amount from the initial sale of credits is paid in the BioBanking Trust Fund.
In principle, there would be few limits on the trading of biodiversity credits that would limit the effectiveness of the market. However, there are rules that restrict the use of credits to offset particular impacts on ecological grounds. These offset rules are contained in the Biobanking Assessment Methodology.
To ensure the new system is implemented reliably, and to allow DECC to keep track of credits, the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 provides that all trading of credits must be registered by the Director General of DECC. The Department will oversee the credit transactions to ensure integrity of the scheme to transfer credits from one owner to another, an application to transfer credits must be made to DECC and approved.
Retirement of biodiversity credits
Biodiversity credits can be retired to offset the impact of a development on biodiversity values, and comply with a biobanking statement. The number and class of credits to be retired will be specified in a biobanking statement. Biodiversity credits can also be retired voluntarily, for example by philanthropic organisations. The application to retire credits must be submitted to DECC before credit retirement is approved.
Additional information about biodiversity credits can be found in the Guide to the Biodiversity Credit Register (not yet available).
Information about credit holdings, transactions, price history is shown on the BioBanking Public Register.
Download the application form to transfer credits (08432BioBankingCreditTransferForm.pdf, 186 KB)
Download the application form to retire credits (08433BioBankingCreditRetirementForm.pdf, 194 KB)