Improving Biodiversity Offset Schemes through the Identification of Ecosystem Services at a Landscape Level

Abstract

Biodiversity offsets aim to compensate the negative residual impacts of development projects on biodiversity, including ecosystem functions, uses by people and cultural values. Conceptually, ecosystem services (ES) should be considered, but in practice this integration rarely occurs. Their consideration would improve the societal impact of biodiversity offsets. However, the prioritisation of ES in a given area is still limited. We developed a framework for this purpose, applied in rangelands landscapes in Kazakhstan, in the context of uranium mining. We assumed that different landscapes provide different ES, and that stakeholders perceive ES according to their category (e.g., elders and herders) and gender. We performed qualitative, semi-structured interviews with a range of stakeholders. Using the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services, we identified 300 ES in 31 classes across 8 landscape units. We produced a systemic representation of the provision of ES across the landscapes. We showed a significant link between ES and landscape units, but not between ES and stakeholder categories or gender. Stakeholders mostly identified ES according to the location of their villages. Therefore, we suggest that the biodiversity offsets should target ES provided by the landscape unit where mining activities occur and would be most interesting in the landscapes common to all villages. By performing a systemic representation, potential impacts of some offset strategies can be predicted. The framework was therefore effective in determining a bundle of ES at a landscape scale, and in prioritising them for future biodiversity offset plans.