Financial payments made by land developers to offset their impacts on threatened species may fall short, according to University of Queensland-led research.
Financial payments made by land developers to offset their impacts on threatened species may fall short, according to University of Queensland-led research.
Professor Jonathan Rhodes from the School of the Environment focused on koala populations in the fast-developing South East Queensland region and a government scheme which allows developers to make financial payments to compensate for environmental consequences.
„Just like when you make a financial contribution to offset your carbon emissions when purchasing a flight, developers can make a financial payment to the Queensland Government to offset their impacts on koala habitat,“ Professor Rhodes said.
„These payments are then used to plant trees to restore koala habitat in offset sites elsewhere.“
„But we found that when suitable places to restore koala habitat are difficult to find, the financial payments required under the Queensland Environmental Offset Policy are often insufficient to achieve its intended outcomes and this is a major problem.
