When biodiversity offsetting licenses injustice
When biodiversity offsetting licenses injustice
Biodiversity offsetting is often viewed as a morally neutral practice, in which damage to biodiversity at ‘impact’ sites is compensated for by the protection or restoration of biodiversity at ‘offset’ sites. Clearly, this view cannot be maintained if offsetting actually licenses serious injustices. This short paper aims to show how biodiversity offsetting can indeed potentially license serious injustices, including the disruption of important human attachments to place and to ecosystems; distributive injustice and exploitation; and serious harms to non-human animals. Such risks must be taken into account in any reckoning of the permissibility of offsetting.
Biodiversity offsetting, conservation, injustice, political theory
Armstrong, Chris
2fbfa0a3-9183-4562-9370-0f6441df90d2
17 May 2025
Armstrong, Chris
2fbfa0a3-9183-4562-9370-0f6441df90d2
Abstract
Biodiversity offsetting is often viewed as a morally neutral practice, in which damage to biodiversity at ‘impact’ sites is compensated for by the protection or restoration of biodiversity at ‘offset’ sites. Clearly, this view cannot be maintained if offsetting actually licenses serious injustices. This short paper aims to show how biodiversity offsetting can indeed potentially license serious injustices, including the disruption of important human attachments to place and to ecosystems; distributive injustice and exploitation; and serious harms to non-human animals. Such risks must be taken into account in any reckoning of the permissibility of offsetting.
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When Biodiversity Offsetting Licenses Injustice
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Revised - When Biodiversity Offsetting Licenses Injustice
- Accepted Manuscript
Restricted to Repository staff only until 18 September 2026.
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 24 March 2025
Published date: 17 May 2025
Additional Information:
Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Keywords:
Biodiversity offsetting, conservation, injustice, political theory
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 500545
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/500545
ISSN: 2155-0085
PURE UUID: c3b1b410-4f36-412e-9cb9-bf06c3870b18
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Date deposited: 06 May 2025 16:33
Last modified: 08 Jul 2025 01:41
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