Metrics for environmental compensation: A comparative analysis of Swedish municipalities

Söderqvist, Tore; Cole, Scott; Franzén, Frida; Hasselström, Linus; Beery, Thomas; Bengtsson, Fredrik; Björn, Helena; Kjeller, Elsie; Lindblom, Erik; Mellin, Anna; Wiberg, Johanna; Jonsson, Kjell

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113622

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Offset schemes are usually developed for a specific regional or local context (zu Ermgassen et al, 2019) and our results indicated condition metrics" development follows that pattern. There is evidence that using different offset metrics in a given offset scheme can result in divergent amounts of estimated gains to achieve no net loss (Bull et al, 2014b;Söderqvist et al, 2021). One of the likely reasons for this is that metrics can be specific to some habitats or regions and fail to capture important features of others (Bull et al, 2014b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The framework we created for the metric attributes" selection is flexible, as one can include any attribute as input. This enables practitioners to choose the attributes more relevant and/or that are available to their specific region, which sharply diminishes the problems of transposing metric"s among socio-environmentally distinct places (Bartkowski et al, 2015;Bull et al, 2014b;Söderqvist et al, 2021). In addition, our metric is spatially explicit, generating clear maps at each step of framework and metric implementation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, most CMs were created in Global North countries (Borges-Matos et al, submitted), frequently focused on their particular environmental contexts (zu Ermgassen et al, 2019). The problem is that one same metric is used in distinct places, even though it may work differently and inadequately (Söderqvist et al, 2021), mainly without cautious adaptions (Bull et al, 2014b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Compensação ambiental como mecanismo de conservação: dos métodos ao teste de cenários baseados no Novo Código Florestal

Matos¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Given the importance of environmental compensations and biodiversity offsets (i.e. compensations with no net loss of biodiversity) for conservation and their increasing use worldwide, it is critical to understand and improve these mechanisms. In this work, we sought to broaden our understanding and make suggestions for improvement, focusing on ways to measure and achieve ecological equivalence in compensation trades. First, we reviewed the academic literature on the condition metrics used in offsets. We unraveled and understood the main limitations of the metrics: the frequent lack of incorporation of the three dimensions of equivalence (biodiversity, landscape and ecosystem services), the inclusion of many ecological attributes highly aggregated in a single formula, generating a single value as a final result, and the fact they were developed in few countries, primarily from the Global North -yet, they are commonly applied in other countries, inclusive from the Global South. Thus, our next step was trying to overcome these limitations by developing a new metric. We created the Disaggregated Condition Metric, which presents flexibility in the number and identity of the attributes included, always in a disaggregated way. To make the metric simpler, we tested the synergy and trade-off relationships of the attributes and identified those most redundant that could be dismissed, always including the three dimensions of equivalence. Compensation trades are only allowed within spatial units (hexagons from 5 to 10 thousand hectares) of the same value for the three attributes selected at the end of the tests. Using the tropical biome Atlantic Forest within the state of São Paulo as our study system, these attributes were: bird richness, landscape connectivity, and potential pollination service. The Disaggregated Condition Metric has a high potential to be successfully transposed to other regions, especially those from the Global South. Our final step was to test the metric application in a real situation. For this, we used the Legal Reserve compensation scheme proposed in the Brazilian New Forest Code. Considering the same study area in São Paulo, we calculated for each hexagon values of deficit and surplus of Legal Reserve, areas possibly available for restoration of native vegetation, private areas in an irregular situation within public protected areas, where the compensation could be carried out, and the costs for employing these compensation strategies. We created six scenarios to test the performance of these strategies, always using the Disaggregated Environmental Condition Metric and including ecological equivalence in the trades. We showed that practically the entire deficit of the Atlantic Forest of São Paulo can be compensated by a combination of protection of Legal Reserve surplus with restoration, which is the scenario with the best cost-efficiency, considering the costs, deficit resolution and increase in forest cover (considered here as "additionality"). Therefore, we not only contributed to a better unders...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Compensação ambiental como mecanismo de conservação: dos métodos ao teste de cenários baseados no Novo Código Florestal

Matos¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Pathways for Restoring and Connecting with Nature in Australian Cities

Frantzeskaki,

Bush,

Kendal

et al. 2024

Theory and Practice of Urban Sustainability Transitions

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

With increasing focus on the importance of integrating nature spaces and nature-based solutions into our cities, what are the key priorities and pathways for action in Australian cities? Australia, a highly urbanised settler colonial country, has a rich biodiversity and cultural heritage, the result of thousands of years of custodianship and care for Country by the First Peoples. Their deep cultural and ecological knowledge and ongoing care and connection with Country, including urban Country, underpins approaches to restoring and connecting with nature in Australian cities. With continuing urbanisation and urban change, as well as increasing impacts of climate change, including heatwaves, wildfires, flooding, and extreme weather, we identify four pathways for just transitions with and for urban nature in cities. The pathways focus on ways of thinking, organising, acting, and knowing for prioritising urban nature. We highlight evidence-based planning for nature (ways of knowing); inclusive governance for just transitions (ways of organising); conserving, restoring, and maintaining nature (ways of acting); and emphasising First People’s and local communities’ knowledges and practices (ways of knowing). Our pathways, or stepping stones, point to interlinked and interrelated priorities for ensuring nature is actively and effectively integrated into Australian city planning and practice.

show abstract