A NEW scheme is launching to compensate for environmental damage caused by large-scale developments.
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) is joining a partnership project focusing on “habitat banking”.
It is one of 27 schemes nationally to drive private investment in nature, and is supported by the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund.
The trust will join Warwickshire, Cheshire and Surrey Wildlife Trusts to create three pilot habitat bank sites in Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, and Cheshire over the next year.
Dr Prue Addison, conservation strategy director at BBOWT, called the pilot scheme a game-changer.
Habitat banking designed to address developers’ need to deliver biodiversity net gain, she said.
This will soon become a law through the Environment Bill.
“The scheme enables habitats to be created or restored before any biodiversity loss is caused by developments, rather than afterwards, which is much better news for wildlife,” she said.
“This is a game changer as it means that habitat banks can be planned strategically to support large scale habitat creation projects that benefit nature and people, creating a pipeline of biodiversity credits for the development sector.”
Environment minister Rebecca Pow, said it is crucial for natural environment projects to attract private investment alongside public sector support.