Mitigating impacts on ecosystem services requires more than biodiversity offsets

Abstract Biodiversity offsets are increasingly required as a condition to develop new projects in the context of the mitigation hierarchy. There is widespread understanding that conservation and restoration measures are necessary to maintain the supply of ecosystem services, but the relationship between biodiversity offsets and ecosystem services affected by development projects is still poorly understood. The extent to which biodiversity offsets can compensate for impacts on priority ecosystem services is analysed for a large iron ore mining project in Southeast Brazil. Evidence obtained from reviewing offsets and mitigation measures implemented as part of environmental impact assessment shows that specific ecosystem services-oriented offset strategies are necessary and that mitigation devoted to other impacts - especially on water - have potential to address impacts on ecosystem services. Actions such as conducting an ex ante ecosystem services review, integrating biodiversity with social mitigation measures and stakeholder engagement are necessary to simultaneously offset impacts on biodiversity and on priority ecosystem services.