Biodiversity offsets for engineering infrastructure project: Improvements to bio banking strategies

Mathur, Apeksha (2018) Biodiversity offsets for engineering infrastructure project: Improvements to bio banking strategies. Honours thesis, Murdoch University.

Abstract

The increasing popularity of the BioBanking scheme in NSW, in order to balance the biodiversity losses caused from urban development with equivalent offsets implemented elsewhere, has recently stirred a controversy in NSW. This has left everyone questioning whether the concept of BioBanking biodiversity offsets is useful and effective, and if not, what more NSW needs to do in that regard. In search of the answer to this question, this thesis investigates the shortfalls in the current NSW scheme and suggests ways to improve that. It does so by drawing inspiration from other national and international offset policies. The thesis reviews NSW infrastructure project- NorthConnex’s BioBanking plan, to address the shortfalls. The thesis digs deep into the issues of uncertainty, risk, longevity, time lag, efficiency and equivalency, surrounding the offset program. Understanding and resolving these issues are essential for safeguarding NSW’s biodiversity. It then proceeds to provide relevant examples of how different national and international projects deal with the present shortcomings. After reviewing the information, the paper goes on to provide suggestions on improvements to the offset scheme that can be implemented by NSW.

Item Type:	Thesis (Honours)
Murdoch Affiliation(s):	School of Engineering and Information Technology
Supervisor(s):	Anda, Martin
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/44871

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