GENERAL CLARIFICATIONS
The requirement to meet this Imperative is a financial contribution to an approved land trust to purchase and protect an area of land equal to or greater than the area disturbed by the project site.
The contribution must go towards the purchase and protection, in perpetuity, of intact and high-value ecosystems.
Parks, conservation nonprofits, and single-family residential projects have alternative compliance options. See Exceptions.
Approved Land Trust
For compliance, approved land trusts must be actively responsible for the purchase and/or permanent easement, as well as for ongoing stewardship and conservation, of land in contiguous tracts of at least 100 acres. Land trusts must:
- Be accredited through the Land Trust Accreditation Commission; or
- Adhere to either the Land Trust Alliance Standards and Practices (designated by an S&P icon on the Alliance’s geographically based membership list) or the allied Canadian Land Trust Standards and Practices.
Priority should be given to purchasing habitat offsets through an approved land trust located within the same region or within the same country as the project.
The land or easement purchased must be controlled by an approved land trust based on their legal authority to protect and care for an area in perpetuity and their legal obligations to uphold certain standards and practices of care. For most projects, restoring or protecting a parcel of land on site, though commendable, does not comply with this Imperative.
NON-HUMAN FOCUS
The intent of this Imperative is to protect existing thriving ecosystems from compromise/demise as a result of human development and land use patterns. This means that the area protected must be intended primarily for use by species other than people. In certain circumstances, limited human activity that supports conservation efforts may be allowed within the protected area, particularly if such human use supports sustainable indigenous livelihoods while safeguarding the site’s ecological value and potential to thrive. However, in all cases, preservation of nature must be the primary goal.
OFFSET AREA
The area that must be set aside for Habitat Exchange must be equal to the Project Area or 0.4 hectares (1 acre), whichever is greater.
For affordable housing projects, the area that must be set aside for Habitat Exchange must be equal to one-half the Project Area or 0.2 hectares (.5 acre), whichever is greater.
The land designated for Habitat Exchange must be part of or contiguous to an area of permanently protected, intact, high-value ecosystem of at least 100 acres, which may not be on the project property, nor on land owned by the project owner, except as outlined for conservation and parks nonprofits per PL-009 Conservation and Parks Organizations.
PROJECT TYPES
All Typologies, including New Building, Interiors, Existing Building, and Landscape and Infrastructure projects, including those that have no site-related impacts, such as tenant improvements and kitchen remodels, are required to meet this Imperative in order to acknowledge the impacts of human habitation on the declining quantity of wilderness area.
