A database of schemes that prioritize sites and species based on their conservation value: focusing business on biodiversity

摘要

BackgroundBiodiversity offsets are conservation projects used mainly by business to counterbalance the environmental impacts of their operations, with the aim of achieving a net neutral or even beneficial outcome for biodiversity. Companies considering offsets need to know: (1) if there are areas of such biological importance that no impact is acceptable, and outside of these no-go areas, (2) the relative importance of biodiversity in the impacted site versus the site(s) proposed for protection, to ensure that the offset is of equal or greater status than that lost through the company's operations. We compiled a database of 40 schemes that use various methods to assess conservation priorities, and we examined if the schemes would allow companies to answer the above questions.