Application and attitudes: active restoration in the context of biodiversity offsetting

The global trend in offsetting for no-net-loss (NNL) is increasing, focusing on protecting high-condition habitats and restoring degraded ones. Australia's New South Wales (NSW) Biodiversity Offset Scheme (BOS) promotes active restoration (AR; reconstruction of missing ecosystem properties, AR) on offset sites. We examined (1) the adoption of AR under the BOS, and (2) practical constraints and attitudes toward AR. Records of management actions on 138 proposed offset sites revealed that AR was proposed for 19.3% (12,180 ha) of the total offset area (67,310 ha). For areas with a low-moderate condition score (26,528 ha), AR was proposed for only 27.3% (7248 ha), despite these being the areas where it would be most likely to be necessary. A survey of 111 individuals involved in offsetting policy and restoration revealed that while 76% agreed AR was necessary for NNL, financial constraints were seen as a major barrier. A structural equation model indicated that positive attitudes toward AR rules and AR as a social imperative were strongly linked to agreement on the necessity of AR for NNL outcomes. Our results indicate that attitudes could influence the adoption of AR on offset sites, even in cases where policies are explicitly designed to provide financial incentives for AR, as exemplified in the context of NSW.