As the world attempts to address the biodiversity crisis, the concepts of “No Net Loss” and “Net Gain” have become a seductive solution to mitigating negative environmental impacts of harmful projects. However, as the Global Forest Coalition’s report titled, “Net Gain” is a lose-lose for rights, gender justice and social equity in biodiversity policy” exposes, these concepts are inherently flawed and create a dangerous illusion of protecting biodiversity. This report crucially debunks these approaches at a time when they are gaining popularity among international policymakers, development actors, and even global standard setting institutions, such as the UN Convention on Biodiversity (CBD). Considering the urgent need to stop biodiversity loss, “Net” approaches, which allow corporations to continue financing projects that harm both biodiversity and Indigenous and local communities, need to be replaced with “No Loss” policies.

At their core, “No Net Loss” and “Net Gain” rely on biodiversity offsets, which are problematic for numerous reasons. Namely, offsets allow for environmental destruction as long as there is a promise of implementing compensation measures later. This promise is commonly unkept due to the conceptual flaws in offsetting. In many cases irreplaceable habitats and ecosystems have been destroyed by bank-financed projects before a developer has even demonstrated that the offset is operational, let alone effective. There are also grave social and cultural consequences of offsets on local communities, especially in regards to Indigenous Peoples and women. Development projects that degrade an area’s biodiversity threaten the livelihoods and cultures of local communities, which depend on local ecosystems. Women, who often lack tenure rights and are excluded from governance, are at an even greater disadvantage when free natural resources are destroyed. Women’s disproportionate vulnerability is further evidenced by the fact that extractive projects, such as commercial plantation projects, often lead to increased sexual violence against women. Read Global Forest Coalition’s full report here.