Additional Resources

This primer aims to equip readers with the knowledge and tools to engage in offsetting issues and policy development. There is a wealth of resources available for those who want to delve deeper.

See below for some of the key resources that Ontario Nature and others have produced about wetland and other ecosystem offsetting.

Other Reports

• A Wetland Conservation Strategy for Ontario 2017-2030 (Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry 2017): introduces the history, value and status of wetland conservation in Ontario and the strategic directions and actions to be taken by the Province of Ontario by 2030.
• Considerations for the Development of a Wetland Offsetting Policy for Ontario (Wetland Conservation Strategy Advisory Panel 2018): insights and recommendations provided by a government-appointed panel to guide the development of a provincial policy on wetland offsetting
• The State of Ecosystem Compensation in the Greater Golden Horseshoe (Greenbelt Foundation 2021): explores trends in ecosystem compensation, protocols for determining compensation details and implementation patterns based on survey results from conservation authority and municipal employees throughout the Greater Golden Horseshoe
• In-lieu Payments and Fees as a Mechanism of Environmental Compensation (Poulton & Driedzic 2017): discusses nine case studies of in-lieu fee (ILF) offsetting programs across four jurisdictions in North America in the context of the legal authority, payment calculation methods and efficacy of ILF programs
• The Business and Biodiversity Offsets Programme Tools and Publications(various authors and dates): provides links to the Business and Biodiversity Offset Programme’s (BBOP) numerous publications and webinars covering a range of content and target audiences, including: standards and best practices for offsetting, roadmaps for developing offsetting policies, offset design and implementation handbooks and resource papers, and advice targeted at five different types of stakeholders.