This User Guide provides introductory guidance on whether, when, and how to prepare and implement biodiversity offsets for large-scale, private and public sector development projects. It also explores some of the opportunities that may exist for developing national biodiversity offset systems. A number of detailed technical references on biodiversity offsets have recently been produced by organizations such as the Business and Biodiversity Offsets Program (BBOP), International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), and World Conservation Union (IUCN); these reports are listed below, in the “Further Resources” sections at the end of Chapter 2 and other, thematically corresponding, User Guide chapters. While generally less detailed than these other documents, this User Guide is intended to serve mainly as an introduction to different types of biodiversity offsets and how to use them effectively.
