Institutional conditions for biodiversity offsetting

Eeva Primmer, Finnish Environment Institute

Ecological compensation: Greenwashing or washing-proof green? Scientific, societal and cultural

approaches to biodiversity offsetting 9-10 June 2017

Twitter @EevaPrimmer

Rules: what can, should or should not be done

Institutions

● Compensations imply changes in rules○ Or in the interpretations of existing rules

► Expectations on these changes depend on the currentand historical rights and positions of different actors

● This presentation draws on:○ The Habitat Bank of Finland workshops○ A review of habitat bank regulation and mechanism○ A Bioeconomy survey○ An EU Public consultation○ Earlier work on conservation payments and mechanisms2

4

Biodiversity continues to decline

Source: WWF 2016. Gobal living planet index.

5

7

8

1000 Eur

9

Biodiversity conservation is a public goaland activity but is increasingly scarce

Source: Finnish state budget

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

400000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Environmental administration

Environemental and nature protection

Protected area establishment

BiodiversityConvention AichiTargets: Offset

EU Biodiversity StrategyNo net loss through

compensations or offsets

Ecological compensation

10

The actors degrading habitatscompensate the damage they

generate by conservingbiodiversity or restoring nature

11

Rules set roles for actors: mitigation hierarchy andno net loss

12

Biod

iver

sity

degr

adat

ion

impa

ct+

-Prevention

Mitigation

Remaining impact

No net loss

Land-owners’ conserve and

restore

Researchprovides metrix

Companies’ mitigateand compensate

Authoritiescontrol

HabitatBank

mediates

Citizens and consumers

generate demand

Offset

● Do you see that practices reducing sustainability could becompensated?

13

Finnish bioeconomy authorities moreinterested than permit holding companies

% o

f res

pond

ents

010203040506070

Voluntary Mandatory No compensation

Authorities (n=52)Companies (n=68)

Holma, A., Leskinen, P., Primmer, E. 2015.Lainsäädännön esteet ja pullonkaulat viranomaisten ja toiminnanharjoittajien näkökulmista. Julkaisussa: Punta, Eeva – Alaranta, Joonas (toim.) Niukat resurssit viisaasti käyttöön - sääntelystä biotalouden edistäjä Valtioneuvoston selvitys- ja tutkimustoiminnan julkaisusarja 6/2016.

14

EU consultation on no net loss shows sectoraldivergence on role division expectations

020406080

Business (n=177)Very important

Important

No opinion

Not very important

Not at all important

020406080

Government (n=24)

020406080

NGO (n=154)

020406080

Research (n=9)

Source: EC 2014 No Net Loss of

Biodiversity public consultation

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Matching institutions andexpectations

From a system that serves different sectors, different gradients of habitat loss to much more:

Institutional challenges we need to meet

● Managing expectations: ○ easing regulatory burden ○ generating additionality in biodiversity conservation

● Choosing governance mechanisms:○ voluntary offsets & reputational benefits ○ mandatory compensations & requirements

● Drawing the line between: ○ existing precautionary or sustainable management principles and new

compensation requirements

● Negotiating fairly between different: ○ actors ○ Administrative levels○ geographical areas

► Identifying rights and changing and rules 16

More on institutional constraints on conservation policy● Holma, A., Leskinen, P., Primmer, E. 2015.Lainsäädännön esteet ja pullonkaulat viranomaisten ja toiminnanharjoittajien

näkökulmista. Taustaraportti. Julkaisussa: Punta, Eeva – Alaranta, Joonas (toim.) Niukat resurssit viisaasti käyttöön -sääntelystä biotalouden edistäjä Valtioneuvoston selvitys- ja tutkimustoiminnan julkaisusarja 6/2016. http://tietokayttoon.fi/documents/1927382/2158283/Lains%C3%A4%C3%A4d%C3%A4nn%C3%B6n+esteet+ja+pullonkaulat+viranomaisten+ja+toiminnanharjoittajien+n%C3%A4k%C3%B6kulmista.pdf/754e9722-2eb7-492d-850d-8a7a2cee43ce

● Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge UK.

● Primmer, E. 2017. Institutional constraints on conservation auction: organizational mandate, competencies and practices. Land Use Policy 63, Pages 621–631. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.05.011

● Primmer, E., Jokinen, P., Blicharska, M., Barton, D.N., Bugter, R., Potschin, M. 2015. A framework for empirical analysisof ecosystem services governance. Ecosystem Services 16, 158-166. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2015.05.002

● Primmer, E., Paloniemi, R., Similä, J., Tainio A. 2014. Forest owner perceptions of institutions and voluntary contractingfor biodiversity conservation: Not crowding out but staying out. Ecological Economics 103, 1-10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.04.008

● Primmer, E., Paloniemi, R., Similä, J., Barton, D.N. 2013. Evolution in Finland's forest biodiversity conservationpayments and the institutional constraints on establishing new policy. Society & Natural Resources 26(10), 1137-1154. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2013.820814

● Primmer, E., Similä, J., Salokannel, V., Raitanen, E. 2016. Habitaattipankkiin liittyvä sääntely ja toimintamalli Selvitys. 27.2.2017. http://www.ym.fi/download/noname/%7BE8DC5E9F-1D8F-4FD2-BF5E-B87C4EF6BCDF%7D/125763

● Raitanen, E., Similä, J., Siikavirta, K., Primmer, E. 2013. Economic Instruments for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Conservation & the EU State Aid Regulation. European Environmental & Planning Law 10(1), 6-28. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/18760104-01001002

● Rinne, J., Primmer, E. 2016. A Case Study of Ecosystem Services in Urban Planning in Finland: Benefits, Rights and Responsibilities. Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning 18:3, 286-305. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2015.1076721

17

BANK

Email: eeva.primmer@ymparisto.fiTwitter: @EevaPrimmerHabitat Bank: @NOWBiodiversity

Thank you, kiitos!

● The Habitat Bank of Finland project● The Helsinki Challenge award by the

University of Helsinki● Ministry of the Environment● Finnish Environment Institute● Colleagues:

○ Jukka Similä○ Elina Raitanen○ Veera Salokannel○ Jussi Kauppila○ Olli Ojala○ Markku Ollikainen○ Minna Pekkonen○ Janne Kotiaho○ Anne Holma