Development of the ecological compensation system

BOOST lays the foundation for a comprehensive national system for biodiversity offsetting. The system will take into account all relevant stages to designing the compensations, including the quantification of the biodiversity loss and the monitoring of the impact of measures. One measure in the project is to design the required software and accounting formulas. In addition, the accounting of externalized biodiversity impacts is planned and tested using the procurements of a project partner (Finnish retail and service sector network S-Group) as an example case. The design of a national offset registry is supported in collaboration with the Finnish Ministry of the Environment.

Biodiversity offsetting is tested by performing pilot studies with select municipalities. The experiences from these pilot studies will lay the foundation for a framework for the compensations to be shared via the Association of Finnish Municipalities. This provides municipalities with the chance and capacity to incorporate offsetting as a routine part of municipal land use planning. The aim is to perform any compensation measures based on science, and in a manner that is legitimate to citizens.