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England's proposed mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain requirement for new developments might not deliver on promises to increase biodiversity, according to research being presented at British Ecological Society's Festival of Ecology.
A research team at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, analysed ecological changes occurring under Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)-type policies in four early-adopter councils in England. They found that although a net gain in biodiversity was being promised across the BNG assessments, these translated into considerable losses of habitat area. Habitat losses were compensated for by commitments to deliver higher quality habitats years later in the development project cycle.