When to play the card of natural compensation sites in a territory?

Abstract

Natural compensation sites are a new ecological compensation method in French practice. By making it possible to anticipate the implementation of measures, by aiming for significant cumulative ecological gains on a site divided into compensation units and approved by the State and over a period of more than thirty years, it is a new supply-side policy that complements the compensation on demand usually implemented. Based on the discussions held during the round table organized for the seminar "Natural offset sites: obstacles and prospects?", this paper brings together the analyses of experts in ecology, economics, law and land-use planning to discuss the place that this modality could occupy in relation to other offset modalities, in biodiversity preservation policies and among current visions of sustainable land-use planning.