Legal Frameworks for Unique Ecosystems – How Can the EPBC Act Offsets Policy Address the Impact of Development on Seagrass?

J Bell and others, 'Legal Frameworks for Unique Ecosystems – How Can the EPBC Act Offsets Policy Address the Impact of Development on Seagrass?' (2014) 31 Environmental and Planning Law Journal 34-46

University of Queensland TC Beirne School of Law Research Paper No. 14-16

14 Pages Posted: 2 Apr 2014

See all articles by Justine Bell

Justine Bell

The University of Queensland - T.C. Beirne School of Law

Date Written: 2014

Abstract

Environmental or biodiversity offset policies allow for impacts occurring at one site to be offset through activities at another site. The federal government has recently released a policy for offsetting the impacts of activities approved under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act). The EPBC Act policy can be used to offset impacts on terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and one of the first applications of the policy has been to offset impacts on seagrass meadows at risk due to the Abbot Point coal terminal expansion.The significant ecological differences between terrestrial and marine ecosystems, such as seagrass meadows, require different management approaches to ensure that impacts are offset. This article analyses the EPBC Act policy to determine whether it adequately caters for offsetting impacts on marine ecosystems, with seagrass used as an example. It concludes with recommendations for policy change directed at ensuring that the unique characteristics of seagrass ecosystems are considered in offset policies.

Keywords: Environmental or biodiversity offset policies, EPBC Act, terrestrial and marine ecosystems

Suggested Citation

Bell, Justine, Legal Frameworks for Unique Ecosystems – How Can the EPBC Act Offsets Policy Address the Impact of Development on Seagrass? (2014). J Bell and others, 'Legal Frameworks for Unique Ecosystems – How Can the EPBC Act Offsets Policy Address the Impact of Development on Seagrass?' (2014) 31 Environmental and Planning Law Journal 34-46 , University of Queensland TC Beirne School of Law Research Paper No. 14-16, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2408925

Justine Bell (Contact Author)

The University of Queensland - T.C. Beirne School of Law ( email )

The University of Queensland
St Lucia
4072 Brisbane, Queensland 4072
Australia

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