Towards strategic offsetting of biodiversity loss using spatial prioritization concepts and tools: A case study on mining impacts in Australia

Abstract

Governments and industries increasingly use offsets to compensate for the unavoidable impacts of development on biodiversity. However, high uncertainty about the biodiversity outcomes of offsetting strategies has led to significant criticism in the academic and policy literature, while the ad-hoc application of offset rules within a region may lead to offsets favouring some species and communities at the expense of others. Here we explored opportunities to improve offsetting outcomes through strategic regional offset approaches, underpinned by concepts of complementarity and irreplaceability from the conservation planning literature, in comparison to more commonly used like-for-like approach..