Reviews

The Biodiversity Futures Initiative will provide two
major types of reviews identified as stage 1 and stage 2.

Stage 1 reviews

Stage 1 reviews are undertaken at the start of a project and are designed to ensure that the choice of metrics, proposed methodologies to quantify each metric and sampling strategy are appropriate as well as permanence, additionality, and leakage issues have been properly addressed. The reviews cost £2000 and are completed within 3 weeks. Completing a review at this stage ensures that the project developer can proceed with the investment needed to implement and monitor the project and know that when they submit the data for their biodiversity claim that it won’t be rejected on the grounds that the metrics, methods or survey strategy were wrong or lack of additionality, permanence or leakage issues:

A stage 1 review addresses the following points:

If the project is a biodiversity uplift project where the biodiversity improvements will be monitored at regular intervals over a 20+ year period, to check that the selected reference site used to estimate likely uplift over the 20+ year period, is appropriate.
If the project is a biodiversity avoided loss project where the objective is to maintain or improve biodiversity over a 20+ year period that the selected paired development site is appropriate and that the threat levels have been conservatively estimated.
To assess whether the project is likely to be continued for 20+ years and beyond so biodiversity gains are likely to have permanence.
To check that the project has been designed to provide an overall biodiversity gain and that by implementing this project that it won’t lead to substantial biodiversity losses in adjacent areas (i.e there is no leakage as for example where hunting is banned in the study area, but this simply moves the hunting pressure to adjacent areas).
That the selection of metrics chosen to quantify the biodiversity improvements is fair and balanced and taken together would be accepted as an overall improvement in biodiversity by most biologists.
That the proposed sampling programme has stratified the habitats and other factors affecting the distribution of the selected taxa to monitor and that there are sufficient sample replicates for each taxa to enable changes in biodiversity to be detected at a reasonable level of precision.
That the methodologies to quantify each taxa are appropriate and methods of auditing the data produced from each of the surveys have been considered.

The output from this stage 1 study will be a short report with comments on the following:

Choice of reference or paired development site
Permanence
Leakage
Metric selection
Appropriateness of the methods to quantify each taxon
Any issues likely to be encountered with the proposed audit
Appropriateness of the sampling strategy for each taxon
If significant problems are identified that a recommendation is made to the applicant that the application is reworked and resubmitted
If no significant problems that the applicant proceeds with quantifying the biodiversity change

It is advisable for project developers to employ ecological consultants to help prepare the stage 1 review applications. However, there is also the opportunity for a presubmission screening check (£500) which will provide advice of how the applications can be improved. Note this advice has to be limited to just 1 person day of input, so that the Biodiversity Futures Initiative does not stray into design of projects, which should properly be the responsibility of the project developer.

Fill in a stage 1 application using the link below, each question has an editable box to fill in, or an upload file section if necessary. We have also included a helpful guide in how to fill in the application.

Once your application has been completed please save the file as the name of your organization, followed by ‘Stage 1 Application.’ Please then email this file to hello@biodiversityfuturesinitiative.com

Stage 2 reviews

Stage 2 reviews are completed at each verification event when the developer wants to make a clain about how much biodiversity gain hs been achieved. A stage 2 review is a much more extensive than the stage 1 review and will cost £5000 and be completed within 6 weeks. The review will require the inclusion of specialists drawn from a panel of experts for each of the taxa to audit in the following ways:

Recalculation of sample data for each metric to compare against interim calculations made by the client
Recalculating the estimates for each metric
Checking samples of audio data identifications
Checking samples of video or photographic data identifications
Checking lab quality authorisations
Other methods likely to produce information as to the accuracy of the data provided

The output from this review will be a short document explaining how the data and claims were audited and one of two conclusions:

The data provided support a claim of an x% increase in biodiversity across y hectares
The data provided do not support a claim of an x% increase in biodiversity across y hectares and in the reviewers’ opinion a claim for z% increase is more justifiable

A questionnaire is being developed for stage 2 reviews and will be completed and ready to accept applications from October 2023.

However, much of the information will need to be submitted in a digital Biodiversity Claims Folder that will contain the following information:

Description of the methods used to collect data for each taxa
Raw data from each taxa for each replicate
Dates, times and relevant environmental data that might affect the data (e.g heavy rain for bird surveys, visibility for fish surveys etc)
Identity and credentials of individuals involved in data collection and survey management
Calculations for each taxa including any interim stages in the calculations.
Calculations made to estimate overall biodiversity change.

The output from this review will be a short document explaining how the data and claims were audited and one of two conclusions:

The data provided support a claim of an x% increase in biodiversity across y hectares.
The data provided do not support a claim of an x% increase in biodiversity across y hectares and in the reviewers’ opinion a claim for z% increase is more justifiable.

This certificate can be referenced in external communications about the biodiversity gains achieved or it can be used by registries to issue and retire biodiversity credits. If the latter then only 80% of the credits generated by the verification event can be issued, with the remaining 20% used as a buffer for force majeure events that might affect biodiversity credits issued.

Appeals

The client would have a right of appeal for decisions made in review summaries sent to them. Any appeals should be considered by the Board and a non involved member of the Core Review team asked to investigate and report back to the Board who will then determine the response to the client.

Recusals

Any person contracted by the Biodiversity Futures Initiative on a review should be recused, if they have been involved as part of the Project Developer team either directly employed or indirectly via contracted assistance.

Stage 1 reviews

Stage 1 Application Process

Stage 2 reviews

Appeals

Recusals