South Africa’s draft National Biodiversity Offset Guideline has been published for public consultation.

The draft Biodiversity Offset Guideline was published by the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Barbara Creecy, in the Government Gazette 46088 (Notice No. 1924) on 25 March 2022 in terms of Section 24J of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998). In addition, a notice was also published in The Sunday Times on 27 March 2022.

Biodiversity offsetting is a form of impact mitigation that involves counterbalancing the negative impacts of an activity on biodiversity that remain after every effort has been made to avoid and minimise those impacts, and to rehabilitate the area affected by the activity. It commonly involves securing an area (biodiversity offset site) with the same or similar ecological features as an area negatively affected by an activity in perpetuity, and managing the biodiversity offset site for a given period.

Suitable biodiversity offset sites would need to be secured for biodiversity conservation in the long term. Ideally, sites need to be effectively protected in perpetuity. The proponent would therefore, either have to own or purchase suitable land, or enter into a biodiversity stewardship agreement with owners of land situated in biodiversity offset sites, for at least 99 years. To achieve this there are several legal mechanisms available for securing biodiversity offset sites. The most commonly used mechanisms include: declaration of protected area in terms of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (Act No. 3 of 2003); conservation servitudes and purchasing credits from a recognised biodiversity offsets bank. These mechanisms, however, may also require that the applicable land use, town-planning or zoning scheme be amended to ensure that the biodiversity offset site may be/ is used for conservation purposes.

Biodiversity offsetting is an important tool for conserving biodiversity, which is fundamental to the health and well-being of people, as well as economic activity and socio-economic upliftment. It could therefore play an important role in giving effect to the constitutional right to have the environment protected and achieving national development priorities.

Unfortunately, biodiversity offsetting has not always been implemented in a defensible and consistent manner in South Africa, especially in the environmental impact assessment context. The overall purpose of the national biodiversity offset guideline is to address the shortcomings of biodiversity offset practice in that context by setting out the fundamental principles of biodiversity offsetting and giving guidance on when biodiversity offsetting is required, how to determine the requirements for a biodiversity offset and how to ensure that biodiversity offsets are implemented.

It is anticipated that the guideline will be used primarily by competent authorities, environmental assessment practitioners, biodiversity specialists, developers and stakeholders in the biodiversity sector. It is hoped that the guideline would improve biodiversity offset practice in South Africa to ensure that biodiversity offsetting effectively counterbalances significant biodiversity loss and degradation in South Africa.

The draft national biodiversity offset guideline applies to the terrestrial and freshwater realms, but not to offshore marine areas or estuarine ecosystems.

To access the Government Gazette, click on: https://www.dffe.gov.za/sites/default/files/gazetted_notices/nema_draftbiodiversityoffsetguideline_g46088gon1924.pdf

Please note that the Minister has extended the comment period by an additional 30 days. The deadline for the submission of comments is now 26 May 2022. All comments and inputs must be submitted to the following address:

By post to:

The Director-General

Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

Attention: Ms Pamela Kershaw

Private Bag X447

PRETORIA

0001

By hand at:

Environment House, 473 Steve Biko Rd, Arcadia, Pretoria, 0083

By email: pkershaw@dffe.gov.za(link sends e-mail)

Please note that anyone entering the Department’s building will be subjected to Covid-19 procedures. However, die to the Covid-19 pandemic, delivering comments at the Department is discouraged.

Any enquiries in connection with the draft Notice can be directed to Ms Pamela Kershaw at Tel: 012 399 9585.

Comments or inputs received after the closing date may not be considered.

For media enquiries contact Albi Modise on 083 490 2871

Source: Government of South Africa