Office for Environmental Programs - Theses
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Item"Net gain" and offsets in Victoria: implementation of native vegetation policy under the Planning and Environment Act 1987( 2007)There is increasing enthusiasm for the use of biodiversity offsets as a conservation tool. There has, however, been little evaluation of their actual implementation. This paper considers biodiversity offsets in the context of the critique of "command and control" regulation and proposals for market based approaches to biodiversity conservation, examining their potential advantages and pitfalls. The actual implementation of a biodiversity offsetting scheme is considered with reference to implementation of native vegetation policy in Victoria, including the interpretation and application of that policy and associated planning scheme provisions by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. This analysis of the implementation of "net gain" under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Victoria) shows that the potential of biodiversity offsetting mechanisms can be undermined by a lack of strategic planning mechanisms, absence of clearly defined and upheld priorities for avoiding clearing of vegetation in the first place, and failures to monitor and enforce offsets. However some of the issues identified cannot be explained as simple failures in implementation. The issues arising in Victoria also illustrate some of the inherent problems with designing and implementing biodiversity offsetting schemes and the limitations of such schemes as biodiversity conservation mechanisms.