| 1. |
- Hahn, Thomas, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
-
No net loss of biodiversity, green growth, and the need to address drivers
- 2022
-
Ingår i: One Earth. - : Elsevier BV. - 2590-3330 .- 2590-3322. ; 5:6, s. 612-614
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Biodiversity offsets and no net loss (NNL) are important tools for the international policy focus on ecological restoration. In this issue of One Earth, Kajula et al. call for national, public offset registers to enable evaluations of biodiversity offset programs. Here, we argue that we also need to control the main drivers of biodiversity loss.
|
|
| 2. |
- Kehoe, Laura, et al.
(författare)
-
Make EU trade with Brazil sustainable
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 364:6438, s. 341-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
|
|
| 3. |
- Koh, Niak, et al.
(författare)
-
Mind the Compliance Gap: How Insights from International Human Rights Mechanisms Can Help to Implement the Convention on Biological Diversity
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Transnational Environmental Law. - 2047-1025. ; 11:1, s. 39-67
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Humanity is at a crossroads in addressing biodiversity loss. Several assessments have reported on the weak compliance with the Aichi Biodiversity Targets by the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). To address this lack of compliance, the challenges in implementing and enforcing CBD obligations must be understood. Key implementation challenges of the CBD are identified through a content analysis of policy documents, multi-stakeholder interviews, and participant observation at the recent CBD Conference of the Parties. Building on this analysis, the article explores the extent to which the review mechanisms of international human rights law, with their various strategies for eliciting compliance, can help to improve CBD mechanisms. The findings of this article reveal insights that the CBD can draw from international human rights law to address these compliance challenges, such as facilitating the participation of civil society organizations to provide specific input, and engaging independent biodiversity experts to assess implementation. The article concludes that insights from human rights review mechanisms are useful for improving the emerging peer review mechanism of the CBD, which is important for strengthening accountability within the post-2020 global biodiversity framework
|
|
| 4. |
- Koh, Niak Sian, et al.
(författare)
-
A comparative analysis of ecological compensation programs : The effect of program design on the social and ecological outcomes
- 2014
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- An increasing interest is emerging in ecological compensation or biodiversity offsets as an instrument for slowing down the rate of biodiversity losses, with programs ongoing in more than 40 countries. Adhering to the polluter-pays principle, the instrument requires the intervening party to compensate for environmental degradation that has occured as a result of development. However, its use is contested as the instrument may facilitate a ‘license to trash’ if more development permits are allowed under the assumption that the degradation can simply be compensated. This paper increases the understanding of whether existing programs for ecological compensation effectively addresses the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. A literature review is conducted with five case studies of ecological compensation programs representing middle- and high- income countries. We begin by describing the different approaches of designing compensation programs in Australia, England, Germany, South Africa and the U.S. Key issues in the program design are reviewed: policy goals, adherence to the mitigation hierarchy, weighting of losses and gains, and monitoring activities. We then evaluate the programs’ outcomes, in terms of the ecological and social benefits provided. From these case studies, we find three design aspects that may contribute towards improving the compensation programs’ outcomes: (1) integration of compensation programs with conservation landscape planning, (2) adequate commensurability of ecosystem functions and (3) an open access centralised reporting system. We also identify four safeguards to contribute towards protecting the ecological and social benefits: (1) allocate co-responsibilities of equivalence weighting and monitoring to an independent, external organisation, (2) consider local livelihoods at both the impact and proposed compensation site, (3) ensure access to recreation and (4) stakeholder participation from the general society and consultation of the directly affected community. We highlight that the use of this controversial instrument requires considerable regulation and capacity, with democratically decided performance criteria.
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
| 6. |
- Koh, Niak Sian, et al.
(författare)
-
How much of a market is involved in a biodiversity offset? A typology of biodiversity offset policies
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0301-4797 .- 1095-8630. ; 232, s. 679-691
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Biodiversity offsets (BO) are increasingly promoted and adopted by governments and companies worldwide as a policy instrument to compensate for biodiversity losses from infrastructure development projects. BO are often classified as 'market-based instruments' both by proponents and critics, but this representation fails to capture the varieties of how BO policies actually operate. To provide a framing for understanding the empirical diversity of BO policy designs, we present an ideal-typical typology based on the institutions from which BO is organised: Public Agency, Mandatory Market and Voluntary Offset. With cross-case comparison and stakeholder mapping, we identified the institutional arrangements of six BO policies to analyse how the biodiversity losses and gains are decided. Based on these results, we examined how these six policies relate to the BO ideal types. Our results suggested that the government, contrary to received wisdom, plays a key role not just in enforcing mandatory policies but also in determining the supply and demand of biodiversity units, supervising the transaction or granting legitimacy to the compensation site. Mandatory BO policies can be anything from pure government regulations defining industry liabilities to liability-driven markets where choice sets for trading credits are constrained and biodiversity credit prices are negotiated under state supervision. It is important to distinguish between two processes in BO: the matching of biodiversity losses and gains (commensurability) and the trading of biodiversity credits (commodification). We conclude that the commensurability of natural capital is restricted in BO policies; biodiversity is always exchanged with biodiversity. However, different degrees of commodification are possible, depending on the policy design and role of price signals in trading credits. Like payments for ecosystem services, the price of a biodiversity credit is most commonly based on the cost of management measures rather than the 'value' of biodiversity; which corresponds to a low degree of commodification.
|
|
| 7. |
- Koh, Niak Sian, et al.
(författare)
-
Is there a role for social and environmental safeguards? Hydropolitics and discourses of hydropower in Lao PDR
-
Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Hydropower development is booming along the Mekong river, with Lao PDR producing and exporting electricity to its neighbouring countries. The Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos is an influential case of applying safeguards, being used to justify support for other large dams. We unpack the narratives used by various stakeholders to frame hydropower development and their social-environmental impacts. We explore how different stakeholders perceive the role of safeguards in mitigating social and environmental impacts from development projects. Based on a review of policy documents and grey literature, as well as interviews from key stakeholders, we conduct a discourse analysis of the narratives around hydropower and safeguards. Our findings suggested four main narratives were used by various constellations of stakeholders: Green Neoliberalism and Green Governmentality to legitimize, Ecological Modernization to operationalize, and Green Radicalism to criticize hydropower policies. Whereas green radicalism is often associated with over-consumption, this study suggests that green radicalism in lower-income countries highlights the marginalisation of local communities and inadequacy of conventional development models. We also demonstrated the influence of dominant discourses such as ecological modernization and green neoliberalism on shaping societal perspectives on hydropower in Laos.
|
|
| 8. |
- Koh, Niak Sian, et al.
(författare)
-
Mind the Compliance Gap : How Insights from International Human Rights Mechanisms Can Help to Implement the Convention on Biological Diversity
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Transnational Environmental Law. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 2047-1025 .- 2047-1033. ; 11:1, s. 39-67
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Humanity is at a crossroads inaddressingbiodiversity loss. Several assessments have reported on the weak compliance with the Aichi Biodiversity Targets by the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). To address this lack of compliance, the challenges in implementing and enforcingCBDobligations must be understood. Key implementation challenges of the CBD are identified through a content analysis of policy documents, multi-stakeholder interviews, and participant observation at the recent CBD Conference of the Parties. Building on this analysis, the article explores the extent to which the review mechanisms of international human rights law, with their various strategies for eliciting compliance, can help to improve CBDmechanisms. The findings of this article reveal insights that the CBD can draw from international human rights law to address these compliance challenges, such as facilitating the participation of civil society organizations to provide specific input, and engaging independent biodiversity experts to assess implementation. The article concludes that insights fromhuman rights review mechanisms are useful for improving the emerging peer reviewmechanismof the CBD, which is important for strengthening accountability within the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
|
|
| 9. |
- Koh, Niak Sian, 1991-
(författare)
-
Safeguarding nature and people : Integrating economics, politics, and human rights to transform biodiversity policies and governance
- 2022
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- None of the world’s biodiversity goals from the last decade were fully met, as biodiversity losses are occurring at an unprecedented rate. Policies are not always effective; their use may have adverse effects on people and nature. Biodiversity offsets are an example of a policy that can be used to protect and restore biodiversity loss from economic development. Yet, offsets have been criticized for poor ecological outcomes, commodifying nature, and creating social inequality. To address this challenge, we need to learn from the shortcomings of biodiversity policies and governance as new goals are being drafted under the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.This thesis examines how biodiversity policies can be designed and implemented for effective and equitable outcomes for people and biodiversity. I focus on the design (Paper I) and implementation (Paper II) by examining economic instruments in conservation. I then broaden to the governance landscape by analysing the implementation of policies in national (Paper III) and international regulatory contexts (Paper IV).The 4 papers cover a diversity of cases across the globe at different governance levels. Paper I conducted a policy analysis of offsets from six countries (Australia, England, Germany, Madagascar, South Africa, and the US), through an economic framing of biodiversity trading and institutional arrangements. Paper II reviewed market instruments for conservation, ecotourism and sport hunting in eastern and southern Africa, to analyse whether these instruments can be compatible with new ideas for conservation such as conviviality. Paper III investigated the politics around Mekong hydropower development, through multi-stakeholder interviews and a discourse analysis of the social and environmental impacts of a dam in Laos. Paper IV examined the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and how review mechanisms of human rights law can improve compliance.This thesis highlights that a human rights-based approach provides important conceptual and political support for biodiversity governance. It contributes to the science-policy interface with these insights. First, the institutional design and implementation are as important for the outcomes as the type of policy. In economic policies such as offsets, a high involvement of the market does not influence the level of commensurability, but increases the degree of commodification. Second, the contextual factors (politics and power relations) of policies should be acknowledged to address inequality. An institutional design and implementation that ensures meaningful participation and a balance of power is crucial for effective and equitable outcomes. Review mechanisms used in human rights help to navigate power inequities, by ensuring that all rights-holders have a substantial voice.Third, offsets can be designed with different institutional arrangements (state, market, voluntary). If a market approach is chosen with biodiversity trading, effective monitoring and regulation is needed to safeguard biodiversity. Lastly, to foster compliance with policies, management and enforcement approaches can be used in a complementary manner through positive incentives, sunshine methods, and negative incentives. Overall, this thesis provides insights of how to meet our global goals for protecting and restoring biodiversity, while safeguarding people and nature.
|
|
| 10. |
- Koh, Niak Sian, 1990-, et al.
(författare)
-
Safeguards for enhancing ecological compensation in Sweden
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Land use policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0264-8377 .- 1873-5754. ; 64, s. 186-199
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ecological compensation (EC) is being explored as a policy instrument for the European Union's 'No Net Loss of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services' initiative. EC is commonly associated with the Polluter-Pays Principle, but we propose the Developer-Pays Principle as a more comprehensive principle. Safeguards that are relevant to local and national contexts are needed when addressing social-ecological resilience in the face of risks associated with EC. The operationalisation of EC in Sweden is assessed through two case studies: the E12 highway and Mertainen mine. The institutional design and implementation procedures are investigated through semi-structured interviews as well as an analysis of legal and other written documents. Using a multi-level governance framework, we examine four key disputed issues within compensation. Our results suggest that (i) Risk of a license-to-trash can be minimised; (ii) Complementary quantitative and qualitative ecological valuation methods are needed to achieve additionality and No Net Loss; (iii) Compensation pools may be a promising strategy to secure land availability; and (iv) Social safeguards are vital for EC in high-income countries as well, where they are currently understudied. We conclude that EC cannot be the main instrument for nature conservation, but rather complementary to a strong legal framework that protects biodiversity and ecosystems in addition to the sustained and equitable benefits of ecosystem services.
|
|
