The Environment Act 2021 (Commencement No. 8 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/44 were made on 17 January 2024, bringing into force parts of the Environment Act 2021 dealing with biodiversity net gain (BNG) from 12 February 2024. Consequently, all planning permissions (subject to exceptions) granted in England pursuant to planning applications submitted under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 on or after 12 February 2024 will be subject to a condition requiring that the biodiversity value attributable to the development exceeds the pre-development value of the onsite habitat by at least 10%. The BNG requirement was initially supposed to come into force in November 2023, was subsequently delayed to January 2024, and is now confirmed as coming into force on 12 February 2024.

Purpose of Practice Note This Practice Note covers the concept of biodiversity net gain (BNG). It provides further detail from a specialist consultancy on how the mandatory BNG process works in practice. It does not set out the details of the legislative framework for BNG, which is available within Practice Note: Biodiversity net gain in England, which should be read in conjunction with this Note. How does biodiversity net gain work in practice? This Practice Note aims to answer the following questions: • How are biodiversity units (BU) calculated? • What are the good practice principles for BNG? • What is typically involved in the BNG process? • What are the common challenges of delivering BNG in practice? How are biodiversity units calculated? Calculating baseline biodiversity units BNG uses habitat type and condition as a proxy for overall biodiversity value, measured in BU which are calculated using the Statutory Biodiversity Metric (SBM). BU are separated into area-based habitat units (HU), linear-based hedgerow

STOP PRESS: A revised version of the National Planning Policy Framework was published on 17 August 2026. This content is being reviewed in light of this revised edition. This Practice Note explains the current position on biodiversity offsetting and mandatory and voluntary nature markets. It explains what biodiversity offsetting is, the defining characteristics of nature markets, drivers for market participants, market rules, the ‘stacking’ of multiple nature benefits and the expected future direction of biodiversity offsets and nature markets. Overview What is biodiversity offsetting? Biodiversity offsetting is the process through which organisations deliver or fund environmentally restorative projects to compensate for the harm they cause, directly or indirectly, to biodiversity through their organisational activities and value chains. Biodiversity offsetting under planning laws Protecting, enhancing, and ‘offsetting’ biodiversity impacts has been bound up within the English planning system since before 2006, when former Planning Policy Statement 9 (now subsumed into the National Planning Policy Framework) encouraged planning authorities to consider ways of ‘maintaining, restoring or adding to networks of natural habitats and other

[means the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems. OR means the wide-ranging variety of life forms that inhabit a particular habitat or ecosystem.]

Biodiversity legal and policy frameworks is a rapidly developing and often complicated area of law. In response to severe biodiversity decline in the post-war period, a body of law has emerged which seeks to tackle this issue. The success of these frameworks has been variable; however, biodiversity law and policy has now become an integral part of government policy as well as the jurisprudence of domestic and international legal systems. This is very likely to continue, not least as links are increasingly being drawn between recovering biodiversity and adapting to the effects of climate change. This Practice Note is designed to provide practitioners with the background to and key concepts behind biodiversity law. It looks at: • the background to the legislative and policy frameworks supporting biodiversity, and • the key concepts in biodiversity law It forms part of a suite of content on biodiversity which includes the following Practice Notes: • Biodiversity—policy and legislative framework • Biodiversity—international law • Biodiversity—litigation The evolution of domestic biodiversity protection While the field of environmental

This Practice Note is part of a suite of content on biodiversity including the following: • Biodiversity—evolution, background and key concepts • Biodiversity—UK policy and legislative framework • Biodiversity—caselaw and the role of the courts This Practice Note will look at the following: • Overview of UK’s obligations under international biodiversity laws • The Bern Convention and the concept of favourable conservation status • United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) • Sustainable Development Goals 14 and 15 • The Aarhus Convention and public participation in environmental decision-making, access to environmental information, and access to justice • Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Act (‘High Seas Treaty’) Overview of UK’s obligations under international biodiversity laws Many of the UK’s obligations in relation to biodiversity and protected sites are drawn from international law, either directly or being transposed through European Union (EU) law in the form of Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (as variously amended) (the Habitats Directive) and Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds (as variously amended) (the

Background The biodiversity law and policy framework is complex. In response to significant biodiversity decline in the post-war period, a body of law has emerged which seeks to tackle this issue, although its success is uncertain. The Introduction to Biodiversity Litigation (OUP, 2023) suggests that until recently the focus in litigation has been on either ‘climate change before the courts, or the environment, as a whole, before the courts. …Yet, biodiversity has unique characteristics that warrant a more specific investigation as a topic of legal scholarship.’ Biodiversity law and policy has unquestionably become an integral part of government policy and rhetoric as well as the jurisprudence of domestic and international legal systems. This is likely to continue, not least as links are being drawn between recovering biodiversity and adapting to the effects of climate change. This Practice Note aims to provide practitioners with the context and conceptual tools they will need when dealing with biodiversity law. It focusses on the role of the courts in the development of biodiversity law and the standards applied by the courts. It provides

This Practice Note looks at policy and legislation relevant to biodiversity. It considers: • policy framework, including: ◦ the 25-Year Environment Plan (25 YEP) and the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 (EIP 2025) ◦ Green Infrastructure Framework (GIF) ◦ Nature Recovery Network ◦ natural capital approach ◦ environmental land management (ELM) ◦ Land Use Framework for England ◦ National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) ◦ Natural England’s (NE) Strategy: Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security • legislative framework, including: ◦ an overview of legislative framework ◦ the Environment Act 2021 (EA 2021) ◦ environmental targets under EA 2021 ◦ environmental principles under EA 2021 ◦ powers to reform the Habitats Regulations ◦ biodiversity duty ◦ the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (LURA 2023) ◦ the Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Act 2026 • other UK biodiversity initiatives, reports and policies, including: ◦ Environment Audit Committee inquiry into protecting and enhancing UK biodiversity ◦ ecosystem services, the ecosystem approach and the role of biodiversity in achieving ‘Net Zero’

What is bioenergy? Bioenergy is the conversion of biomass into useful energy carriers including heat, electricity and transport fuels. Bioenergy can be implemented at a small, medium and large scale, so it is applicable to a wide variety of resources and processing/utilisation schemes. Article 2 of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 (the Renewable Energy Directive, RED II) contains the following key definitions relating to bioenergy: • energy from renewable sources or renewable energy means energy from renewable non-fossil sources, namely wind, solar (solar thermal and solar photovoltaic) and geothermal energy, osmotic energy, ambient energy, tide, wave and other ocean energy, hydropower, biomass, landfill gas, sewage treatment plant gas, and biogas • renewable fuels means biofuels, bioliquids, biomass fuels and renewable fuels of non-biological origin, which in turn are defined as follows: ◦ biomass—the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from biological origin from agriculture, including vegetal and animal substances, from forestry and related industries, including fisheries and aquaculture, as well as the biodegradable fraction of waste, including industrial and municipal waste of biological origin ◦ biofuels—liquid

Two medicinal products containing the same active substance are considered bioequivalent if they are pharmaceutically equivalent or pharmaceutical alternatives and their bioavailabilities (rate and extent) after administration in the same molar dose lie within acceptable predefined limits.

Biofuels are a means to reduce dependency on fossil fuels, by providing a renewable and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels for combustion engines. They may either be used as a true alternative to fossil fuels, or as a 'blend' mixed with conventional fossil fuels. Biofuels are liquid or gaseous transport fuels such as biodiesel and bioethanol which are made from biomass.

This is a mass of absorbing material which is placed around a reactor or radioactive source in order to reduce the radiation to a level safe for humans.