Blue Planet Fund: Biodiversity
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the extent to which biodiversity credit schemes reduce reliance on future taxpayer-funded conservation programmes.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The UK uses Official Development Assistance (ODA) to help establish robust and transparent biodiversity credit schemes that can mobilise private finance while delivering measurable environmental and social outcomes. These outcomes include equitable benefits for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.
The UK-funded Vanga Seagrass Project, Kenya, one of a pipeline of projects funded through the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA), is testing how marine biodiversity credits can support measurable gains for biodiversity. These include improved seagrass condition, alongside locally managed marine areas and sustainable fishing. The project is being piloted under the International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits, which the UK is supporting to develop high-integrity credit standards.
Effectiveness of UK-funded initiatives is assessed through agreed performance indicators and regular monitoring and reporting on biodiversity and community outcomes. Safeguards are embedded through ODA environmental and social standards, risk assessments, site visits and Annual Reviews. The most recent ORRAA Annual Review is here: GOV.UK.
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