Biodiversity offsets schemes are based on the idea of requiring actions to be undertaken to compensate for ecological damage caused by development projects or other human-induced activities.
Species or communities that are endangered will have a higher value in a biodiversity offset market compared to species not under threat. These values are reflected in the price of biodiversity credits that can be bought and sold.
For example, a developer can offset loss of biodiversity in one location by purchasing biodiversity credits from a landholder with a stewardship site. Stewardship sites are locations where native vegetation and threatened species and habitats are protected and managed into the future.
The goal of offsetting is to achieve no net loss, and ideally a net gain, in biodiversity values, even in the face of development and other human activities. It also:
- incentivises landholders to protect biodiversity
- provides landholders with a source of income
- protects biodiversity into the future.
The challenge
Participating in the NSW Biodiversity Offsets Scheme can be confusing: keeping track of the changing market price of biodiversity credits can be complex and difficult to manage.
Before the Biodiversity Credits Market Sales Dashboard was developed, interested parties had to access and understand raw data on publicly available spreadsheets without having the tools to process and use that data.
