Work package 6

WP6 Establishes Living Labs to co-create a protocol for offsetting in city land use and to pilot the use of the biodiversity accounting system (PI Halme). At the organizational level living lab, we take the biodiversity accounting system developed in WP5 into practice with the financialaccounts (c. 200M€/a) of the University of Jyväskylä. Ultimately, in collaboration wit us, Green Carbon Finland Ltd. will implement a biodiversity impact accounting database with a plug-in to a few major financial accounting software products to create an automated biodiversity impact accounting system. At the land use living labs, with two Finnish cities, Lahti and Jyväskylä, we test and refine methods developed in WP3 and WP4. Many cities have committed to stop biodiversity loss, but in the absence of functional and societally acceptable biodiversity offsetting, they are all systematically failing to reach these commitments. Together with WP1, WP2 and the relevant personnel of the cities, we will co-develop a practical protocol for biodiversity offsetting in the land use planning process. In addition, together with citizens and officials we co-create methods for social compensation ensuring that biodiversity offsetting does not result in unequal supply of ecosystem services or unacceptable loss of social values.