The absence of net loss of biodiversity, sense and nonsense

In 2018, Biotope continues to be active in scientific debates on biodiversity and regional development.

Fabien Quétier, Research Director at Biotope, contributed to an article entitled “The many meanings of no net loss in environmental policy“ published today in the first issue of “Nature sustainability”. This article focuses on the sense (and nonsense) of the absence of net loss of biodiversity.

Référence Bibliographique : Maron M., Brownlie S., Bull J.W., Evans M.C., von Hase A., Quétier F., Watson J.E.M. & Gordon A. (2018): The many meanings of No Net Loss in environmental policy. Nature Sustainability, January 2018.

Résumé (anglais) :

‘No net loss’ is a buzz phrase in environmental policy. Applied to a multitude of environmental targets, like biodiversity, wetlands, and land productive capacity, no net loss (NNL) and related goals have been adopted by multiple countries and organisations, but these goals often lack clear reference scenarios: no net loss compared to what ? Here, we examine policies with NNL and related goals, and identify three main forms of reference scenario. We categorise NNL policies as relating either to overarching policy goals, or to responses to specific impacts. We explore how to resolve conflicts between overarching and impact specific NNL policies, and improve transparency about what NNL-type policies are actually designed to achieve.