Sentiment and attitudes toward offsetting and the biodiversity market in online media articles.

Biodiversity offsetting, a conservation approach to offset loss of habitat and ecosystem services, has been widely accepted and implemented in different legislative frameworks around the globe. I assigned sentiment scores (from -3 [very negative] to +3 [very positive]) to online news articles to examine public sentiment toward offsetting. I identified 86 pertinent articles published from 2013 to 2023 by web scraping online media outlets through keywords. I examined article content based on topics commonly associated in scientific literature with offsetting, such as risks or financial aspects. Most articles were from Australia (44%), 16% were from the United Kingdom, and 5% were from Colombia and Madagascar. Three distinct groups covered finances (n = 47), species, and social impacts of offsetting (n = 23) and offsetting frameworks (n = 16). Articles covering monetary and finance aspects had a lower predicted sentiment score (-0.72, 95% CI -0.98 to -0.47) than articles that covered new, alternative offsetting forms (-0.15, 95% CI -0.46 to 0.17), such as mitigation banking and credits. In articles focused on charismatic species and loss of livelihood, offsetting risk and social issues were associated with low sentiment scores (<-0.85). Sentiment scores were high for articles on offsetting at a multicountry or global scale (0.47, 95% CI -0.06 to 0.99), and scores were the lowest in Australia (-1.03, 95% CI -1.36 to -0.70). Public sentiment based on media articles was generally negative toward offsetting, and many of the ecological and methodological issues and risks were reflected in the articles, but mitigation measures as a prerequisite to offsetting were mentioned in only 18% of all articles. With the seemingly high public interest in conservation and hence offsetting, it will be imperative to expand the current breadth of information about offsetting that is being communicated or made available to the public.

Sentimientos y actitudes hacia la compensación y el mercado de biodiversidad en los artículos de medios virtuales Resumen La compensación por biodiversidad, una estrategia de conservación para compensar la pérdida del hábitat y de los servicios ambientales, ha sido aceptada e implementada ampliamente en diferentes marcos legislativos alrededor del mundo. Le asigné puntajes de sentimientos (desde ­3, muy negativo, hasta +3, muy positivo) a los artículos virtuales de noticias para analizar el sentimiento que tiene el público por la compensación. Identifiqué 86 artículos pertinentes publicados entre 2013 y 2023 mediante un raspado web de medios virtuales y palabras clave. Examiné el contenido de los artículos con base en temas asociados comúnmente en la literatura científica con las compensaciones, como los riesgos o aspectos económicos. La mayoría de los artículos provenían de Australia (44%), 16% del Reino Unido y 5% de Colombia y Madagascar. Tres grupos distintivos abordaban las finanzas (n = 47), las especies y el impacto social de las compensaciones (n = 23) y el marco de las compensaciones (n = 16). Los artículos que abordaban los aspectos monetarios y financieros tuvieron un puntaje de sentimientos más bajo al pronosticado (­0.72, 95% IC ­0.98 a ­0.47) que los artículos que abordaban formas nuevas y alternativas de compensar (­0.15, 95% IC ­0.46 a 0.17), como los bancos de mitigación y los créditos. En los artículos que se enfocaron en especies carismáticas y la pérdida del sustento, el riesgo de compensación y los temas sociales estuvieron asociados con puntajes bajos para los sentimientos (<­0.85). Los puntajes de sentimientos fueron altos para los artículos sobre las compensaciones a escala global o para varios países (0.47, 95% IC ­0.06 a 0.99) y los puntajes fueron los más bajos en Australia (­1.03, 95% IC ­1.36 a ­0.70). El sentimiento público basado en los artículos de los medios fue en general negativo hacia las compensaciones y muchos de los temas ecológicos y metodológicos y los riesgos se reflejaron en los artículos, pero sólo se mencionó a las medidas de mitigación como prerrequisito para la compensación en 18% de los artículos. Con un aparente interés elevado del público en la conservación, y por lo tanto en la compensación, es imperativo que se expanda el alcance actual de la información sobre la compensación que se está comunicando o que está disponible para el público.

What Makes A Bank A Bank? Differences and Commonalities in Credit Calculation, Application, and Risks in Mitigation Banks Targeting Freshwater Fish Species and Associated Ecosystems.

Mitigation banking is part of the ever-expanding global environmental market framework that aims to balance negative approved anthropogenic impacts versus third-party provided ecosystem benefits, sold in the form of credits. Given the need to conserve freshwater biodiversity and habitat, banking has received great traction for freshwater species and systems. While extensive reviews and studies have been conducted on evaluating if equivalency between impacts and offset can be achieved, there is almost no research being done on the way credits are being generated and banks are managed to inform future best practice and policy. Synthesizing banking data through cluster analyzes from 26 banks in the United States generating credits for freshwater species and associated systems, we show two generalizable approaches: removing barriers and targeting whole communities. Both address crucial freshwater conservation needs but come with their risks and caveats. Using common characteristics and management practices founded in federal and district level guidance within these two groups, we showcase and conclude that credit generation via barrier removal can be at risk of granting credit generation for too large of an area, leading to over-crediting. Banks targeting whole freshwater communities and accounting for landscape-level interactions and influences can potentially be detrimental for species on an individual level and large-scale credit availability as well as transfer can incentivize non-compliance with the mitigation hierarchy.

A Meta-analysis on the Effectiveness of Offsetting Strategies to Address Harm to Freshwater Fishes.

Offsetting aims to compensate for negative impacts due to authorized anthropogenic impacts associated with development. While anchored into legislation, residual or chronic impacts can occur after offset establishment. Advice and best practice on how to approach these impacts is rare. To address this, we reviewed 30 projects based on a systematic review and meta-analysis in freshwater ecosystems dealing with residual or long-term negative impacts to provide application advice for: habitat creation, habitat restoration, and biological and chemical manipulation. Project information was obtained through Boolean search terms and web-scraping. Habitat creation projects had a pooled effect size of 0.8 and offsetting ratios of 1:5 with high biomass increases of >140% compared to pre-establishment, associated with them. Habitat restoration projects targeted a wide range of species and communities with a pooled effect size of 0.66, offset ratios ranging from 1:1.2 to 1:4.6, and biomass increases generally > 100% compared to pre-restoration. Biological manipulation had the lowest effect size (0.51) with stocking being highly variable both in terms of biomass benefits and project outcomes pointing towards being mostly applicable in cases of direct fish harm not related to habitat aspects. We conclude that (1) all three assessed approaches have a potential application use for offsetting residual or chronic harm with approach-specific caveats. (2) Implementation costs differ across offset methods, with connectivity and side-channel projects having the lowest biomass gain per area costs (3) Time to first benefits required one to two years with time lags needing to be accounted for in the implementation and monitoring process.

Compliance with and ecosystem function of biodiversity offsets in North American and European freshwaters.

Land-use change via human development is a major driver of biodiversity loss. To reduce these impacts, billions of dollars are spent on biodiversity offsets. However, studies evaluating offset project effectiveness that examine components such as the overall compliance and function of projects remain rare. We reviewed 577 offsetting projects in freshwater ecosystems that included the metrics project size, type of aquatic system (e.g., wetland and creek), offsetting measure (e.g., enhancement, restoration, and creation), and an assessment of the projects' compliance and functional success. Project information was obtained from scientific and government databases and gray literature. Despite considerable investment in offsetting projects, crucial problems persisted. Although compliance and function were related to each other, a high level of compliance did not guarantee a high degree of function. However, large projects relative to area had better function than small projects. Function improved when projects targeted productivity or specific ecosystem features and when multiple complementary management targets were in place. Restorative measures were more likely to achieve targets than creating entirely new ecosystems. Altogether the relationships we found highlight specific ecological processes that may help improve offsetting outcomes.

Cumplimiento y Función Ambiental de las Compensaciones por Biodiversidad en las Aguas Dulces de América del Norte y Europa Resumen El cambio del uso de suelo causado por el desarrollo humano es un causante fundamental de la pérdida de biodiversidad. Para reducir estos impactos se gastan miles de millones de dólares en las compensaciones por biodiversidad. Sin embargo, todavía son raros los estudios de evaluación de la efectividad de los proyectos de compensación que examinen componentes como el cumplimiento general y la función de los proyectos. Revisamos 577 proyectos de compensación en ecosistemas de agua dulce que incluyeran las medidas del tamaño del proyecto, el tipo de ecosistema acuático (p. ej.: arroyo, humedal), la medida de compensación (p. ej.: mejoramiento, restauración, creación) y una evaluación del cumplimiento y el éxito funcional del proyecto. La información sobre los proyectos se obtuvo de bases de datos científicas y del gobierno y de la literatura gris. A pesar de la inversión considerable que existe para los proyectos de compensación persistieron problemas cruciales. Aunque el cumplimiento y la función estuvieron relacionados entre sí, un nivel alto de cumplimiento no garantizó un nivel alto de función. Sin embargo, los proyectos grandes en relación con el área tuvieron una mejor función que los proyectos pequeños. La función incrementó cuando los proyectos se enfocaban en la productividad o en características específicas del ecosistema y cuando los objetivos complementarios de manejo estaban en orden. Las medidas de restauración tuvieron mayor probabilidad de lograr los objetivos que la creación de un ecosistema totalmente nuevo. En general, las relaciones que encontramos resaltan los procesos ecológicos que podrían ayudar a mejorar los resultados de la compensación.

Mitigation bank applications for freshwater systems: Control mechanisms, project complexity, and caveats.

Biodiversity and mitigation banking has become a popular alternative offsetting mechanism, especially for freshwater species and systems. Central to this increase in popularity is the need for sound control mechanisms to ensure offset functionality. Two commonly used mechanisms are monitoring requirements and staggered release of bank credits over time. We used data from 47 banks in the United States, targeting freshwater systems and species. Based on the 47 banks meeting our criteria we showed that control mechanisms generally scale with increased project complexity and that banks release most of their total credit amount within the first 3 years. We further showed that advance credits are common and can increase the potential for credit release without providing tangible ecological benefits. Physical and biological assessment criteria commonly used by banks let us identify three main bank types focusing on connectivity, physical aspects, and habitat and species and their application possibilities and caveats to provide different ecosystem benefits for freshwater species and systems affected by anthropogenic development.

Evaluating the efficacy of ecological restoration of fish habitat in coastal waters of Lake Ontario.

Ecological restoration is a common strategy applied to degraded wetlands and tributaries in large lakes. As resources are typically limited for restoration, it is essential to ensure that such efforts achieve associated goals. Using both discrete and continuous methods, we evaluated the efficacy of ecological restoration efforts on fish habitat within Canada's largest city, Toronto (Cell 2 and Embayment D of Tommy Thompson Park) relative to a control site (Toronto Islands). First, we used a long-term electrofishing dataset (i.e., discrete) to examine catch and community composition relative to restoration status. Catch for northern pike (Esox lucius) remained constant at both restoration sites, and catch of invasive common carp (Cyprinus carpio) decreased at Embayment D, indicating that exclusion barriers may be effective. Restoration was less effective for largemouth bass (Micropterus nigricans) as catches remained similar after restoration at Cell 2, but decreased within Embayment D. We also found that relative abundance for coldwater species at both restoration sites decreased post-restoration, with increases in warmwater species at Cell 2 and coolwater species at Embayment D. Next, we used a long-term acoustic telemetry dataset (i.e., continuous sampling) with three focal species: largemouth bass, northern pike, and invasive common carp. Based on telemetry, we found that restoration efficacy was species-specific, with largemouth bass present before and after ecological restoration (particularly in spring, which may be associated with spawning), but clear reductions in use of the restored areas for common carp and northern pike. Exclusion barriers, while effective at blocking common carp, appeared to also negatively influence access for northern pike. Using both discrete and continuous methods longitudinally and across both treatment and control sites provided complementary information on the efficacy of restoration works within Toronto Harbour, with electrofishing data highlighting changes in fish community composition while acoustic telemetry provided continuous information on timing and duration of habitat use.

Nearshore fish community changes along the Toronto waterfront in accordance with management and restoration goals: Insights from two decades of monitoring.

Aquatic habitat in the Greater Toronto Area has been subject to anthropogenic stressors. The subsequent aquatic habitat degradation that followed led to the Toronto and Region waterfront being listed as an Area of Concern in 1987. Thus, extensive shoreline and riparian habitat restoration have been implemented as part of the Toronto and Region Remedial Action Plan in conjunction with local stakeholders, ministries, and NGOs in an overall effort to increase fish, bird, and wildlife habitat. A key aspect of current fish habitat restoration efforts, monitored by Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, is to account for long-term community changes within the target ecosystem to better understand overall changes at a larger spatial scale. Here we use electrofishing data from the past 20 years with over 100,000 records and across 72km of coastline to show how declines and fluctuations in fish biomass and catch along the waterfront are driven by a few individual species across three main ecotypes, such as coastal wetlands, embayments, and open coast sites, with the remaining species showing a high level of stability. Using community traits and composition for resident species we demonstrate native warmwater species have become more dominant along the waterfront in recent years, suggesting that restoration efforts are functioning as intended. Additionally, piscivore and specialist species have increased in their relative biomass contribution, approaching existing restoration targets. Altogether this waterfront-wide evaluation allows us to detect overall changes along the waterfront and can be beneficial to understand community changes at an ecosystem level when implementing and monitoring restoration projects.