Tory shadow Environment secretary, Nick Herbert has announced plans to stop Biodiversity loss in the UK, by putting a financial cost to nature’s wildlife.

How much is a rabbit, a bird, a hedgehog – yes, this is the proposed deal by the Conservative MP, to put a financial

cost to the animals destroyed in the development of a project, by adopting a “bio-credits” policy, similar to that in Malaysia, the US and Australia. (Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/09/conservatives-biodiversity)

Bio-credits would act as an incentive to prevent the destruction of animals by assigning a financial value to the ‘animal loss’, which is to be paid by the developer.

This sum of money will be traded in to alternative projects which aim to improve biodiversity in another location.  The scheme is simply trading the loss of species in one project, to be protected in another.

There are 47 Wildlife Trusts in the UK alone, with 765,000 members who think that the scheme is perhaps a good idea, but as Dr Tony Whitbread of the Wildlife Trust comments:

“The bio-credits idea is interesting but, as always, the devil will be in the detail. Bio-credits raise many questions, for example: how would they work with the current planning system? How would they be funded, especially if they don’t put extra costs on businesses? And where would raised funds be spent? It is also vital that any new system recognises that some habitats are irreplaceable and cannot be traded.”

The benefits of the Tory proposed Bio-credit scheme also depends on being able to generate a regulatory framework strong enough to ensure that developers really will pay the costs, in supporting new Eco friendly projects, if they are to eliminate local wildlife, which goes completely against the principles of sustainability.

But as the government is encouraging firms to build three million more homes by 2020, how will developers view the new proposed “Bio credit” costs, in this difficult financial climate, and can the “Bio-Credits” policy be monitored and managed effectively. (Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1567489/New-homes-target-’not-enough-to-avert-crisis’.html)

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