Defra Biodiversity Metric 3.0 is a tool developed by the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and Natural England to measure and account for biodiversity losses and gains resulting from development or changes in land management. This metric is crucial for ensuring that new developments achieve Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), meaning they leave the natural environment in a better state than before.
Key Features and Usage
- The metric helps assess the existing biodiversity value of a site before any development.
- It quantifies the number of biodiversity units present in various habitat parcels within the site.
- It evaluates the impact of development on biodiversity, calculating the expected losses and gains in biodiversity units.
- This includes considering both on-site and off-site habitat creation or enhancement.
- The metric incentivises creating and enhancing habitats where they are most needed to improve ecological networks.
- It rewards early action by landowners who create or enhance habitats in advance.
- Updated and simplified approaches are used to assess the condition of habitats, ensuring accurate valuation.
- The tool allows professional ecologists to apply their judgment if the standard scores do not reflect the true value of a habitat parcel.
- The metric is used throughout the planning and development process to ensure that biodiversity gains are considered and achieved.
- It supports the legal requirement under the Environment Bill for developments to achieve at least a 10% net gain in biodiversity.
Implementation and Benefits
Developers use the metric to plan and demonstrate how their projects will achieve BNG, either through on-site improvements or off-site compensatory measures.
Ecologists utilize the metric for accurate biodiversity assessments and to guide habitat management decisions.
Local Planning Authorities ensure compliance with BNG requirements by incorporating the metric into their planning processes.
By providing a standardised, transparent method for measuring biodiversity, the Defra Biodiversity Metric 3.0 plays a critical role in enhancing environmental sustainability in urban and rural development.
