England has launched one of the most ambitious nature protection policies in the world, requiring all new construction projects to leave the natural environment in a better state than they found it. The biodiversity net gain (BNG) mandate took effect in February 2024 C.E. for larger developments and extended to smaller sites in April, covering everything from housing estates to new roads.
At a glance
- Biodiversity net gain: All new development projects in England must achieve a minimum 10% net increase in biodiversity or habitat value — compensating for any losses either on the same site or elsewhere.
- Nature market: The scheme creates a regulated credit system where habitat value can be scientifically measured, bought, and sold, drawing private investment into conservation for the first time at this scale.
- Global influence: Researchers at the University of Oxford describe the policy as “world-leading in its scope,” and countries including Sweden, Singapore, Scotland, and Wales are already watching to see how it unfolds.
Why this policy marks a shift
For most of modern history, building something new has meant nature loses. A road cuts through a woodland. A housing estate replaces a meadow. BNG tries to break that pattern by making compensation mandatory, not optional.
Under the Town and Country Planning Act, developers must now either enhance habitats on-site or fund equivalent improvements somewhere else. A destroyed woodland, for example, must be replaced by a comparable one. Credits representing units of positive ecological action can be traded, but they must be scientifically validated and traceable.
Natalie Duffus, a biology and geography researcher at the University of Oxford who analyzed BNG trials, says the scheme should make developers think carefully about minimizing their environmental footprint before any ground is broken. “In theory, it could restore lots of habitats,” she told The Guardian.
What makes it different from other schemes
Voluntary biodiversity credit markets have existed in pockets around the world, but they have struggled to grow. Only around $8 million in biodiversity credits had been committed or pledged globally before England’s scheme launched — a fraction of the $200 billion annually that the UN says is needed by 2030 C.E.
Sophus zu Ermgassen, an ecological economist at the University of Oxford, says England’s approach is distinctive because it applies to all new construction and covers all natural habitats, with few exemptions. Most other offset schemes around the world target specific sectors or single habitat types. A mandatory market, he argues, helps the system scale up and pull in investment that a voluntary one never could.
The scheme is also regulated by local authorities and government agencies rather than self-reported by developers — a design choice that addresses a common criticism of voluntary markets, where companies effectively grade their own environmental homework. Much of the off-site restoration is expected to take place on farmland, with landowners and farmers creating or protecting wetlands, wildflower meadows, and woodlands in exchange for income from habitat credits. This opens a potential new revenue stream for the farming sector at a time of significant agricultural transition in England.
Real challenges still ahead
The policy’s architects are clear-eyed about the gaps. A study co-authored by zu Ermgassen found that more than a quarter of BNG units are at risk of delivering no real biodiversity benefit because adequate monitoring systems are not yet in place. There are also too few qualified ecologists to assess and oversee habitats, and some of those doing the assessments may lack independence from the developers paying them.
Tom Oliver, a professor of applied ecology at the University of Reading, points to a broader pattern: environmental regulations in England have historically been undermined by weak enforcement. Without meaningful monitoring and follow-through, even well-designed rules can fall short.
The scheme also has a scope limitation worth noting. As Amanda Williams of the Chartered Institute of Building points out, the current legislation does not account for the biodiversity impacts of producing construction materials — timber, sand, gravel, and iron ore among them. That gap will need to be addressed as the policy matures.
Still, the fact that the legislation launched at all — after several delays — is itself significant. The global biodiversity funding shortfall is enormous, and research by the Campaign for Nature underscores that private markets alone cannot fill it. Governments must treat biodiversity as a public good, the group argues, funding it accordingly while using policy to shape private investment decisions.
England’s BNG scheme does not solve that larger challenge. But it sets a standard — and creates a live, real-world test of whether mandatory nature markets can work. The world is watching to find out.
Read more
For more on this story, see: The Guardian
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- Renewables now make up at least 49% of global power capacity
- U.K. cancer death rates down to their lowest level on record
- The Good News for Humankind archive on biodiversity
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