«AUCUNE PERTE NETTE» DE BIODIVERSITÉ : UNE FAUSSE SOLUTION

This report by Friends of the Earth International critiques the concept of "No Net Loss" (NNL) of biodiversity, arguing that biodiversity offsetting mechanisms serve as a "false solution" that allows the continued destruction of nature by treating biodiversity as interchangeable assets within a financial accounting framework.

• The concept of "No Net Loss" (NNL) does not prevent biodiversity loss but rather functions as a form of accounting where destruction in one area is offset by protection or restoration elsewhere, effectively permitting continued environmental degradation.
• Biodiversity offsetting often relies on "avoided loss," where protecting an existing habitat is calculated as a gain against a theoretical, unverifiable scenario of what would have happened without that protection.
• The creation of biodiversity credits has spawned a commercial sector, particularly in the United States where over 400 biodiversity banks and private companies operate, leading to the erosion of legal pollution and destruction thresholds without transparent legislative processes.
• The annual market for biodiversity offsets is estimated between 2.4 and 4 billion dollars, with a potential value exceeding 45 billion dollars if 9% of the planet's ecosystems are restored through these mechanisms.
• While the mitigation hierarchy—avoid, minimize, restore, and finally offset—is intended to prioritize avoidance, offsetting is increasingly used as a primary tool, despite the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) recommending it as a last resort.
• Biodiversity offsetting poses significant risks of land grabbing and the violation of rights for indigenous peoples and local communities, as these mechanisms require vast areas of land that may not be available in many countries.
• The report argues that biodiversity is not composed of interchangeable elements, making the idea of "equivalence" central to offsetting mechanisms fundamentally erroneous.

APA

Collins, A., & Rojas, I. (n.d.). «AUCUNE PERTE NETTE» DE BIODIVERSITÉ : UNE FAUSSE SOLUTION. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Aucune-perte-nette-de-biodiversite_Amis-de-la-terre-internationale.pdf

Chicago

Collins, Amelia, and Isaac Rojas. «AUCUNE PERTE NETTE» DE BIODIVERSITÉ : UNE FAUSSE SOLUTION. Friends of the Earth International, n.d. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Aucune-perte-nette-de-biodiversite_Amis-de-la-terre-internationale.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Collins |first1=Amelia |last2=Rojas |first2=Isaac |title=«AUCUNE PERTE NETTE» DE BIODIVERSITÉ : UNE FAUSSE SOLUTION |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Aucune-perte-nette-de-biodiversite_Amis-de-la-terre-internationale.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{collinsndaucune, author = {Collins, Amelia and Rojas, Isaac}, title = {{«AUCUNE PERTE NETTE» DE BIODIVERSITÉ : UNE FAUSSE SOLUTION}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Aucune-perte-nette-de-biodiversite_Amis-de-la-terre-internationale.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }