Achieving Conservation and Development: 10 Principles for Applying the Mitigation Hierarchy
Achieving Conservation and Development describes ten core principles for applying the mitigation hierarchy—avoid, minimize, and offset—in a landscape context. Developed by The Nature Conservancy, the paper provides guidance for governments, companies, and practitioners to reduce environmental impacts and support durable conservation outcomes.
Subject Tags
- Biodiversity offsetting
- Ecosystem management
- Climate mitigation
Introduction
Achieving Conservation and Development: 10 Principles for Applying the Mitigation Hierarchy is a comprehensive framework developed by The Nature Conservancy to improve how environmental impacts from development are addressed. The paper emphasizes applying the mitigation hierarchy sequentially—first avoiding impacts, then minimizing unavoidable damage, and finally offsetting residual impacts only when necessary. It highlights the importance of landscape-scale planning, clear conservation goals, science-based decision-making, stakeholder engagement, and long-term accountability. The publication also defines limits to offsets, underscoring that some ecosystems and values are too rare or vulnerable to be replaced. Four principles focus specifically on biodiversity offsets, including additionality, ecological equivalence, appropriate location, and managing temporal losses. Together, the principles aim to guide sustainable development while achieving no net loss or net positive outcomes for biodiversity and ecosystem services across diverse geographies.
Citation
McKenney, B., & Wilkinson, J. (2015). Achieving conservation and development: 10 principles for applying the mitigation hierarchy. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, Virginia.
TNC Authors
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Bruce McKenney
Global Director, Clean Energy. Tackle Climate Change
The Nature Conservancy
Email: bmckenney@tnc.org -
Jessica Wilkinson
Sr Policy Advisor, Team Lead, Renewable Energy Dep. North America Office
The Nature Conservancy
Email: jwilkinson@tnc.org