Voluntary Biodiversity
As the world rallies around the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, voluntary biodiversity credits are gaining recognition for their potential to drive meaningful action. These credits serve as a critical mechanism to advance the shared vision of becoming nature-positive by 2030—restoring ecosystems, conserving habitats, and ensuring the survival of vital species.
Key Principles for High-Integrity Voluntary Biodiversity Credits
These principles position voluntary biodiversity credits as a powerful tool for driving measurable, lasting impact in the fight against nature loss, supporting organisations in making meaningful investments for a thriving planet.
Additionality
Biodiversity credits must be generated exclusively through actions that create or restore new habitats for nature. This ensures that credits reflect genuine and measurable contributions to biodiversity, going beyond existing conservation obligations or baseline activities.
Deliver Maximum Good
Projects should prioritise restoring or enhancing critical habitats to achieve an overall net gain for biodiversity. While some initial intervention may be necessary, the long-term goal must be to respect and improve ecosystems, supporting thriving habitats and species over time.
Avoid Offsetting
Unlike other environmental credits, such as carbon offsets or Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) developer credits, voluntary biodiversity credits should not be used to compensate for environmental harm elsewhere. Instead, organisations should focus on reducing their own environmental impacts while investing in meaningful actions that extend beyond their value chains to enhance biodiversity.
Transparent Measurement and Impact
Voluntary biodiversity credits must incorporate robust, science-based methodologies to measure biodiversity gains and transparently demonstrate the outcomes of investments. This credibility ensures that these credits reflect tangible benefits to nature and build trust among stakeholders.
Alignment with the UK Government's Nature Market Principles
High-integrity biodiversity credits must align with the UK Government's framework, emphasising fairness, accountability, and ecological effectiveness. This alignment ensures projects contribute meaningfully to national and global biodiversity goals, fostering a nature-positive future.