Exploring the risks and benefits of flexibility in biodiversity offset location in a case study of migratory shorebirds

Biodiversity offsets aim to counterbalance the residual impacts of development on species and ecosystems. Guidance documents explicitly recommend that biodiversity offset actions be located close to the location of impact because of higher potential for similar ecological conditions, but allowing greater spatial flexibility has been proposed. We examined the circumstances under which offsets distant from the impact location could be more likely to achieve no net loss or provide better ecological outcomes than offsets close to the impact area. We applied a graphical model for migratory shorebirds in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway as a case study to explore the problems that arise when incorporating spatial flexibility into offset planning. Spatially flexible offsets may alleviate impacts more effectively than local offsets; however, the risks involved can be substantial. For our case study, there were inadequate data to make robust conclusions about the effectiveness and equivalence of distant habitat-based offsets for migratory shorebirds. Decisions around offset placement should be driven by the potential to achieve equivalent ecological outcomes; however, when considering more distant offsets, there is a need to evaluate the likely increased risks alongside the potential benefits. Although spatially flexible offsets have the potential to provide more cost-effective biodiversity outcomes and more cobenefits, our case study showed the difficulty of demonstrating these benefits in practice and the potential risks that need to be considered to ensure effective offset placement.     

应用自动识别与定量分析数据库筛查黄河和长江水中有机污染物

采用气质联用分析,并应用自动识别与定量分析数据库(AIQS-DB)对黄河下游和长江下游水样中近1000种有机污染物进行了筛查.结果表明,黄河下游山东段和长江下游江苏段水样分别检出95种和121种化合物,主要包括正构烷烃、多环芳烃、酚类、硝基化合物、酞酸酯类、农药和药物等.其中,黄河和长江水样中正构烷烃平均浓度分别为1806ng/L和720ng/L;16种优控PAHs平均浓度分别为27ng/L和30ng/L;6种优控PAEs的平均浓度分别为77ng/L和2166ng/L;黄河和长江水样分别检出9种和17种农药.黄河各采样点间污染物浓度差别较大,而长江采样点间浓度相差较小.研究表明,气质联用结合AIQS-DB可有效用于区域性污染物的筛查.