England’s biodiversity net gain (BNG) scheme has 40 challenges across demand, supply, governance, and its metric to sort out for it to become a success, according to a report released this week.
Since the launch of BNG over five months ago, requiring developers of major projects to boost biodiversity within the project area by 10%, challenges have surfaced that are preventing the policy from reaching its full potential, the Green Finance Institute (GFI) said in a roadmap.
The register of BNG sites – of off-site units from conservation initiatives that developers can buy as offsets – has listed just nine entries totalling less than 300 hectares, contrasting with the government’s 2019 forecast of creating over 5,000 ha.
“Early feedback suggests that demand for sites is low due to exemptions and other routes being relied on to circumvent BNG obligations,” GFI said.
“Even fewer of these have been approved, reflecting critical gaps in the capacity and resources of local planning authorities (LPAs).”
GFI’s nature team Hive convened over 100 experts in a working group to assess the BNG market, suggesting which solutions the government should prioritise, while informing market stakeholders. The GFI is an independent advisor to the UK government.
Despite challenges, government actions could make the world-leading policy fully effective in time, it said.
In response to the report, a spokesperson for the UK’s environmental department told Carbon Pulse: “We are committed to working closely with the sector to make BNG work effectively … without weakening environmental protections.”
“Our new towns and housing will have nature at their heart.”
THE CHALLENGES
The report reframed the 40 challenges over four pillars as recommended actions, spread out over the short-term of one to two years, and medium-term of three to five years, GFI said.
On the demand side, many of the challenges discussed were related to the lack of ready off-site units and the different approaches taken by LPAs.
Other challenges focused on developers’ own requirements within the planning process, and the long-term obligations afterwards.
For example, high-priority demand actions stemming from challenges included:
- Supporting the increased availability of off-site units that have both land agreements and appear on the BNG register
- Reviewing the exemptions process for BNG, as LPAs have reported difficulty in its application
- Addressing the difficulty in matching smaller demands for BNG units
- Standardising planning document templates for LPAs
- Clarifying reporting requirements for on-site habitats over the 30-year period
A POSITIVE NOTE
While it faces numerous challenges, BNG can help promote sustainable development and restore nature in England, one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, GFI said.
“Any policy undertaking of this scale is sure to face nascent stage challenges, and many of the stakeholders engaged in its development have drawn parallels with growing pains faced by other ambitious market-led policies, including those of the renewable energy sector,” said the report.
“As the climate and nature crisis is the greatest long-term global challenge that we face, BNG policy will surely be iterated upon to ensure its full effectiveness.”
Over the last month, Carbon Pulse reported on a lack of BNG transparency, a developer having to buy units 200 miles away due to a lack of supply, and the risk of LPAs exposing developers to exploitation from landowners.
By Thomas Cox – t.cox@carbon-pulse.com
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