HOW BIODIVERSITY OFFSETTING AND CREDITING DESTROYS NATURE AND UNDERMINES THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLES

The document critiques biodiversity offsets and credits, asserting they are based on a flawed 'mitigation hierarchy' and fail to maintain ecosystem integrity. It argues that these schemes, often modelled on dysfunctional carbon markets, lead to greenwashing, land grabbing, and human rights violations, particularly against Indigenous Peoples. The authors call for a shift away from market-based financial flows toward non-market approaches, debt and tax justice, and the protection of land tenure rights.

• Biodiversity offsets are divided into 'habitat restoration' and 'avoided loss'. Restoration is deemed nearly impossible for complex ecosystems, with species richness potentially taking a century to reach old-growth reference values. Avoided loss offsets are criticized for institutionalising destruction by treating potential loss as a baseline and often excluding Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) from their territories.
• The 'mitigation hierarchy'—which prioritizes avoidance, minimisation, and restoration before offsetting—is frequently bypassed. Companies often move directly to compensation because it is cheaper and faster than avoiding or mitigating biodiversity loss, which disincentivises the earlier, more effective stages of the hierarchy.
• Biodiversity crediting systems are modelled on carbon markets and are predicted to fail due to the lack of a common unit of trade. Unlike carbon, biodiversity is unique to each species and ecosystem, making the creation of interchangeable 'standard units' conceptually flawed and prone to manipulation through proxy measures.
• Market-based biodiversity finance is viewed as ineffective compared to reducing negative financial flows. The report notes that in 2023, public and private financial flows responsible for biodiversity loss were estimated at US$7 trillion, while funding for land tenure rights and stewardship has averaged only US$517 million per year since 2020.
• Several institutional developments are expanding biodiversity markets, including the UK's compliance biodiversity offset programme (launched February 2024), which requires developers to offset 110% of residual nature destruction. Other influential bodies include the International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits (IAPB) and the Biodiversity Credit Alliance (BCA).
• Biodiversity offsets and credits are described as colonial instruments that facilitate 'fortress conservation' and land grabbing. They transform nature into fungible units, often disregarding the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of Indigenous Peoples and ignoring Traditional Indigenous Knowledge (TIK).
• The implementation of biodiversity offsets has significant gender and human rights implications, including forced evictions, arbitrary detentions, and increased sexual harassment and violence against women in areas where extractive projects, such as commercial plantations, are established.

APA

Marien, N., Fernandez, M., Counsell, S., Dellasta, H., Hache, F., PhD, T. L. G., Martínez, V. F., & Ching, L. L. (2024). HOW BIODIVERSITY OFFSETTING AND CREDITING DESTROYS NATURE AND UNDERMINES THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLES. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/04-FoEI-Biodiversity-offsets-report-full-rlr-online-only.pdf

Chicago

Marien, Nele, Mirna Fernandez, Simon Counsell, Heitor Dellasta, Frédéric Hache, Tamra L Gilbertson PhD, Valentina Figuera Martínez, and Lim Li Ching. HOW BIODIVERSITY OFFSETTING AND CREDITING DESTROYS NATURE AND UNDERMINES THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLES. Friends of the Earth International, 2024. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/04-FoEI-Biodiversity-offsets-report-full-rlr-online-only.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Marien |first1=Nele |last2=Fernandez |first2=Mirna |last3=Counsell |first3=Simon |last4=Dellasta |first4=Heitor |last5=Hache |first5=Frédéric |last6=PhD |first6=Tamra L Gilbertson |last7=Martínez |first7=Valentina Figuera |last8=Ching |first8=Lim Li |title=HOW BIODIVERSITY OFFSETTING AND CREDITING DESTROYS NATURE AND UNDERMINES THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLES |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=October 2024 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/04-FoEI-Biodiversity-offsets-report-full-rlr-online-only.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{marien2024how, author = {Marien, Nele and Fernandez, Mirna and Counsell, Simon and Dellasta, Heitor and Hache, Frédéric and PhD, Tamra L Gilbertson and Martínez, Valentina Figuera and Ching, Lim Li}, title = {{HOW BIODIVERSITY OFFSETTING AND CREDITING DESTROYS NATURE AND UNDERMINES THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLES}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/04-FoEI-Biodiversity-offsets-report-full-rlr-online-only.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }