Standards Development

Scope

This document specifies a process to design, implement, maintain and monitor BNG outcomes through the lifecycle of spatially explicit development projects and until the expected outcome on biodiversity has been realized.

It does not cover the detailed requirements associated with the delivery of biodiversity enhancements or management. It provides a framework to demonstrate that a project has followed a process that is based on The BBOP Principles on Biodiversity Offsets and aligns with the vision, goals and targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Global Biodiversity Framework. Complying with the requirements within this document is to follow a process to achieve BNG that is based on good practice.

This document is for any sector of industry, including residential, mixed-use, energy, water, extractive industry, transport, communications agriculture, forestry and infrastructure. It is for any scale of project from individual house-builds to larger developments and will be of use by anybody involved in development including ecologists, planners, biologists, auditors, developers, conservation organisations, land managers, planning authorities and organisations and investors. It can also be used by land managers aiming to generate BNG through management of their land. Hereafter the term “project” refers to both development projects and land management activities.

This document covers terrestrial and freshwater habitats, and intertidal habitats down to the mean low water mark as the process and methods to deliver net gain for marine habitats are different from the approach set out here. This document is applicable for projects that affect biodiversity and those with limited or no impact on biodiversity, as well as projects aiming to achieve BNG on- and/ or off-site.

It first sets out requirements that apply throughout the BNG process; these requirements are in Clause 5.Clause 6 to Clause 9 contain requirements for each of these stages of the BNG process:

a) Clause 6: Preparation

b) Clause 7: Environmental assessment and Design

c) Clause 8: Implementation

d) Clause 9: Maintenance and management

A project may involve requirements to achieve BNG from, for example, a planning requirement or compliance with legislation. This document covers a process to achieve BNG, notwithstanding any such requirements. It does not infer compliance with any planning condition, legislation or statutory requirement, and is independent from any mandatory or legislative requirement for BNG.

Furthermore, following the BNG process in this document does not substitute the requirements to assess ecological beneficial and adverse impacts and report them, e.g., as part of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Rather, this document builds on, and is not intended to repeat, existing good practice for biodiversity surveys, impact assessments, mitigation and compensation for projects.

Projects with adverse impacts on irreplaceable biodiversity features, such as irreplaceable habitats cannot achieve BNG. These projects can follow the process in this document for biodiversity features that are not irreplaceable but cannot claim project-wide achievement of BNG. These projects need to transparently and comprehensively refer to the adverse impacts on irreplaceable biodiversity features in communications and reports. Projects that will impact irreplaceable biodiversity features areas should be actively avoided.