Biodiversity value in spatial policy and planning leveraging multi-level and transformative change

Project Information

BioValue

Grant agreement ID: 101060790

DOI

10.3030/101060790

Project closed

EC signature date 3 June 2022

Start date 1 July 2022

End date 30 September 2025

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 2 630 982,50

EU contribution

€ 2 630 982,50

Coordinated by

IST-ID ASSOCIACAO DO INSTITUTO SUPERIOR TECNICO PARA A INVESTIGACAO E O DESENVOLVIMENTO
Portugal

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BioValue (Biodiversity value in spatial policy and planning leveraging multi-level and transformative change)

Reporting period: 2022-07-01 to 2023-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Despite international and European policies in place to halt biodiversity loss, the effect of multi-level, and multi-sector, direct and indirect drivers of change contribute to continuing negative trends. The BioValue proposal was designed upon the fact that persistent land use and land cover changes have a major effect on biodiversity loss; and on the assumption that a transformative change is needed on paradigms, goals and values shaping current spatial dynamics by a mix of sectoral policies. Such transformative change isin line with the IPBES (2020) report and the EU biodiversity strategy 2030 calling for co-responsible engagement of all relevant actors, in a whole-of-society approach to biodiversity. To address this call, we will explore the transformative potential of spatial planning, as the arena for action and the territorial expression of multi-level policies, strategic to invert current trends of biodiversity loss. The objective of BioValue is to safeguard and increase biodiversity by better articulating three instrumental perspectives - spatial planning, environmental assessment, and economic and financing instruments-, individually and in combined action. BioValue builds upon knowledge created by several EU projects, including a conceptual framework on transformative change to be adapted for analysing the potential of instruments and their interactions in local case-studies. Transformative potential lies in: a) focussing on key steps of the mitigation hierarchy (avoid, minimize and off-set) b) addressing indirect drivers, i.a. by guiding the operationalisation of the renewed EU finance strategy within spatial planning to avoid significant harm and to ensure redesign of potentially harmful projects in the design phase, and c) by providing better articulated instruments for mainstreaming biodiversity concerns into other sectors across different levels of governance.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In the period M1-M18 BioValue has contributed to understanding: How biodiversity is currently considered in EU spatial planning systems, and how the transformative capacity of current EU spatial planning systems can be improved to increase biodiversity values. This included a closer look into how to mainstream biodiversity values in SP&MI through ecosystem services (ES) assessments. Results include current challenges and barriers to biodiversity inclusion in SP&MI; benchmarking Innovative and promising spatial planning tools for upscaling biodiversity in SP&MI; a framework for integration of ES mapping and assessment in spatial planning decisions. Also, based upon an identification of the current best practice guidance of integrating biodiversity into EAI especially related to spatial planning, BioVaule has developed a benchmark consisting of 10 themes and 200 EIA/SEA reports reviewed. It was also built a causality methodology and used this for mapping the causal mechanism in spatial planning and infrastructure development used in EIA and SEA. BioValue has contributed to the understanding of how the biodiversity policy at the EU level is linked to spatial planning, how E&FIs to promote biodiversity can be placed in the context of spatial planning and environmental assessment (T3.1 T3.2) and what opportunities and challenges the renewed EU Sustainable Finance Strategy brings to the spatial planning processes. Results include a report on E&FI to enhance biodiversity outcomes and Impacts of E&FIs on biodiversity in spatial planning.
BioValue has contributed to structuring and the better understanding of the topics of transformations within the spatial planning systems and processes by adapting the transformative change analytic framework from Wittmer et al. 2021. It also triggered a transition process in the Arenas for Transformation through the application of a transformative-oriented methodological approach with participatory actions and activities engaging relevant stakeholders and the community. Results include the Analytical framework detailed and specified for application within BioValue and Arenas of transformation I: interim report on the case studies and monitoring progress.
BioValue has set up the communication, dissemination and exploitation strategy of the project and mapped the main stakeholders to reach out. Accordingly, a communication kit was designed, and communication and dissemination activities were put in place to reach out to the identified stakeholders, cluster projects and the civil society. Results include the Plan for the Exploitation and Dissemination of Results; Communication kit; Action Plan of Transformative Change Clustering; Stakeholder mapping report.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The following results were obtained for the period 1-18M:
WP1 has contributed to the understanding on how the transformative capacity of current EU spatial planning systems can be improved to increase biodiversity values.
WP2 has contributed to develop a best practice guidance of integrating biodiversity into environmental assessment impacts especially related to spatial planning, supporting the uptake of biodiversity values in spatial planning decision-making.
WP3 has contributed to the understanding of how economic and financial instruments can promote biodiversity in the context of spatial planning and environmental assessments, and to the identification of opportunities and challenges that the renewed EU Sustainable Finance Strategy brings to spatial planning processes.
WP4 contributed to structuring and the better understanding of the topics of transformations within the spatial planning systems and processes by adapting the transformative change analytic framework from Wittmer et al. 2021, pratically with tthe support of the case studies.

Together, this results will contribute to the understanding of the transformative potential of each of the selected instruments (spatial planning, environmental assessments, and economic and financial) in valuing biodiversity in spatial policy and planning processes. Further work and achievements will be made by putting into practice the specific spatial planning agendas of the case studies, and with networking and knowledge brokerage with international cases related with BioValue ambitions. Also, results will allow us to assess and understand the applicability of BioValue achievements at EU-level and in other Member States through scaling demonstrative methods.