The use of biodiversity offsets to compensate for residual impacts on biodiversity resulting from a development or land-use change, is becoming more prevalent. While much has been published on this topic, there has been little published on the theoretical foundation on which biodiversity offsets are based. This paper seeks to unpack the theoretical and practical tenets of biodiversity offsets in relation to the public trust doctrine, responsibilities of the developer and the State, and significant unmitigable impacts on biodiversity. It was reasoned that the responsibility of the developer and the life of a biodiversity offset are finite, and that the concept of ‘in perpetuity’ may not exist practically and in law. It was further discovered that a sound understanding of the public trust doctrine is critical for consistent offset-based decision-making, particularly in those circumstances where an impasse between the potential significant loss to biodiversity and an indispensable need for a development or land-use change arises.

中文翻译：

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解开背后的理论，以及生物多样性补偿的务实方法

使用生物多样性补偿来补偿开发或土地利用变化对生物多样性造成的残余影响正变得越来越普遍。虽然关于这个主题已经发表了很多，但关于生物多样性补偿所基于的理论基础却很少发表。本文旨在解开与公众信任原则、开发商和国家的责任以及对生物多样性的重大影响有关的生物多样性补偿的理论和实践原则。理由是开发商的责任和生物多样性补偿的寿命是有限的，“永久”的概念在实际和法律上可能不存在。