Next week I’m delivering the UQ School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Environment Seminar: https://sees.uq.edu.au/event/session/5940
Opportunities and risks in the implementation of biodiversity offset policy in Australia
15 September 2017 2:00pm–3:00pm
Biodiversity offset policies have been embraced worldwide as a mechanism for reconciling economic development and environmental protection. Despite its rapid uptake by governments and businesses worldwide, biodiversity offsetting remains a divisive policy tool, and there is scarce available evidence of its efficacy. Although a key concern of researchers has been to ensure that biodiversity offset policies are underpinned by a strong scientific foundation, there is now a growing recognition that the institutional and political factors which influence the behaviour of policy actors ultimately influences the ecological outcomes from offsetting.
In this seminar, I will present my research on how the Australian Environmental Offsets Policy is currently interpreted and applied. Drawing on the perspectives of policymakers, practitioners and industry proponents, I will describe the legislative, institutional and political context in which policy decisions are made, and how these translate to ecological outcomes for threatened species and communities. Finally, I draw on this governance perspective to highlight where opportunities may exist to improve policy outcomes.
About the speaker
Megan Evans is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Her research falls broadly within environmental policy, governance and economics, with a particular focus on how complex policy processes translate into environmental outcomes. Megan is currently working as part of the National Environmental Science Programme – Threatened Species Recovery Hub (NESP TSR).
Megan C. Evans 
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