Towards an Integrated Environmental Compensation Scheme in Spain: Linking Biodiversity and Carbon Offsets

Abstract

Biodiversity offsets and carbon markets are both environmental compensation schemes, which have much in common despite their different origins and development. They need active markets to succeed with actual offer and demand, which are currently practically non-existent in Spain. The inclusion of land use and forestry activities in greenhouse gas accounting could encourage carbon sinks, stimulating the development of carbon markets. Conservation banking was incorporated into Spanish legislation in the 2013 Environmental Assessment Act, as a tool for biodiversity offsets, but the current situation is hindering its development. Combining carbon and biodiversity offsets in a global compensation scheme would provide great opportunities: ecologically, creating and protecting habitats and species; socially, creating employment and deriving financial resources to rural areas; climatically, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) concentration levels; and politically, contributing to the compliance of GHG emission targets. Conservation banking is an appropriate candidate for this integration in Spain, as long as it is regulated flexibly, and different bank models are allowed that are able to integrate forest and agriculture production, conservation and compensation.