A new report commissioned by the Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership (OLNP) reveals the role new Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) payments can play in financing nature recovery in Oxfordshire.
With funding from the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and support from partners including Trust for Oxfordshire's Environment, Wild Oxfordshire, and Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust, the Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership supported a project by Isobel Hawkins to investigate the potential revenue that could be generated over the next ten years through purchase of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) offsets by developers in Oxfordshire, and the extent to which this could contribute to the estimated costs of nature recovery.
There is a major funding gap for delivering the UK’s nature recovery ambitions, including meeting the national and international ‘30×30’ target (30% of land protected and managed for nature by 2030). The report found that Biodiversity Net Gain payments from mandatory 10% BNG would only fund 10% of the estimated cost of reaching this target.
You can read the full report here
The Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership continues to advocate for Local Planning Authorities to adopt a target for Biodiversity Net Gain greater than 10%, and is also seeking innovative new funding to support nature's recovery in Oxfordshire
