Financial payments made by land developers to offset their impacts on threatened species may fall short, according to new research led by the University of Queensland.
The study, led by Professor Jonathan Rhodes from the School of the Environment, focused on the koala populations in South East Queensland and the government’s scheme that allows developers to make financial payments to compensate for environmental consequences.
Professor Rhodes explained, “Just like when you make a financial contribution to offset your carbon emissions when purchasing a flight, developers can make a financial payment to the Queensland Government to offset their impacts on koala habitat. These payments are then used to plant trees to restore koala habitat in offset sites elsewhere.”
However, the research found that when suitable places to restore koala habitat are difficult to find, the financial payments required under the Queensland Environmental Offset Policy are often insufficient to achieve their intended outcomes. Professor Rhodes highlighted that this is a major problem.
In the South East Queensland region, only 0.7 of 13.4 hectares of impacts on koala habitat offset through financial payments since 2018 have offset sites in place. This is concerning for the future of this beloved, endangered species.
Professor Rhodes added, “Unfortunately, land supply can make suitable offset sites hard to find, and this pushes up the cost of delivering habitat restoration. Securing those sites in the long-term can fail to guarantee sufficient gains in habitat to counterbalance losses.”
The study also revealed that funding from developer payments may be insufficient to buy enough offset sites for habitat restoration.
South East Queensland is the most densely human-populated area in the state, with a population of 3.5 million people in 2016, expected to reach 5.3 million people by 2041. The region is also home to significant koala populations that have declined by 50 to 80 percent over the past two decades.
The research, which mapped and modeled development in eight Local Government Areas (LGAs) within the South East Queensland Planning Region, suggests potential solutions but also calls for immediate changes to the current offset policy.
Professor Rhodes stated, “While financial payments by developers can provide flexibility for the State Government to deliver effective offsets, it’s essential that developers pay the true cost of those offsets. Otherwise, offsets will fall short of compensating for habitat losses, and species will continue to decline or taxpayers via the State Government will have to make up the shortfall in developer contributions.”
The research has been published in People and Nature.
More information:
Jonathan Rhodes et al, Performance of habitat offsets for species conservation in dynamic human-modified landscapes, People and Nature (2023). DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10494
Citation:
Developer dollars not enough to save species, finds koala study (2023, July 9)
retrieved 9 July 2023
from https://phys.org/news/2023-07-dollars-species-koala.html
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Shambhu Kumar is a science communicator, making complex scientific topics accessible to all. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
