What does a unit of biodiversity credit represent? For climate, the answer is usually relatively straightforward: 1 unit = 1 t of CO2 equivalent considered removed. ? But does 1 biodiversity credit unit represent 1 individual from a given species (say, 1 Amur tiger)? 1 hectare of land restored? Are the units generated weighted by the ecosystem services provided (more ecosystem services = more units generated, for the same surface restored)? Or by biodiversity significance? ? Though certainly more complex than climate, in truth only 3 broad approaches are used. With Simas Gradeckas (Bloom Labs), we developed this chart to summarize them. ?? Not yet familiar with the cooking analogy? Check out: https://t.ly/143sp In short, “Every credit scheme has at least one metric (ingredient ??) that they quantify in a certain way (recipe ??) to derive the format (dish ??) & number of [the biodiversity credits registered].” ? ?? Understanding this process is really key to grasping what 1 unit represents so let’s detail each step: 1?? Indicators & metrics Standards request project developers to evaluate how a number of indicators will be affected by their project. For instance “Spatial diversity”, “Species abundance”, “Habitat connectivity”, etc. These indicators can be related to Ecosystem condition (EC), Species, or pressures, risks, biodiversity significance, etc. (classified as Others). 2?? Calculation method Each standard then has its own “equation” or “recipe” to mix & weight those ingredients. The figure obtained is always multiplied by the area affected (“ecosystem extent”). In the end, it spits out a number of credit units. For instance, CreditNature does a simple mean of the variation of 4 indicators (each expressed as a percentage compared to an undisturbed situation) to calculate the number of credits. 3?? Calculation indicator Depending on the ingredients involved in the method and how they are combined, 3 types of outputs are possible: - Condition-adjusted area: EC indicators only - Species weighted ecosystem extent: species indicators only - Weighted ecosystem extent: any combination of categories or other ingredients See https://t.ly/MJfjp for more details. ?? If there is one thing you should remember from this post, it’s that the indicators project developers have to assess are not necessarily proportional to the number of potential credits registered: sometimes complex recipes stand between the ingredients and the final dishes. As a buyer, it will be critical to pay attention not just to the nature of the ingredients but also to how they are combined (imagine a cake with 2 teaspoons of flour and 200g of salt instead of the opposite, it might surprise you!). ? ? ? Overall, biodiversity credits have sped up thinking around monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of biodiversity state and communication of biodiversity outcomes. Studying them hold many lessons for MRV strategy in many other contexts.