#26 - What is Biodiversity Net Gain and the Biodiversity Metric? Interview with Dr Nick White, Natural England

During this episode, host Richard Dodd interviews Dr Nicholas White, Principal Adviser on Net Gain for Natural England, and discusses what skills we need as ecologists to help deliver Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). We get to hear Nick's insights into the Environment Act and the delivery of BNG, the newly updated biodiversity metric, standards, and guidance, as well as marine net gain! Our Guest Nick works across Government (at both a national and local level), and with developers, NGOs, and academia to advance policy, practice, and standards around net gain (including biodiversity, natural capital, and environmental net gain). The current focus of Nick’s work is on biodiversity net gain legislation, the biodiversity metric, and biodiversity net gain standards and guidance, as well as working on the evolving approach to marine net gain. As a non-ecologist, Nick is interested in how biodiversity and the natural environment can contribute towards wider social and economic benefits, and has a strong interest in green infrastructure, especially in relation to urban areas and its ability to enhance wider (grey) infrastructure resilience. Nick enjoys engaging with different sectors and seeking opportunities to help secure the delivery of shared outcomes and has previously worked in the health, cultural, and charitable sectors. This Episode During the interview Richard and Nick discuss; how the biodiversity metric tool is not to be used as a decision-making tool, the need to bring ecologists on board at the earliest opportunity, the difference between a S106 Agreement and a Conservation Covenant, where to seek out training, and the advantages of on-site and off-site BNG delivery for developers.  We also talk about landowners offering land to help developers deliver BNG and the commercial incentives to doing so, the biodiversity off-set register, management plans, and monitoring. This was a great discussion, and the Ecology Academy are very grateful to Nick for offering up his time to talk with us on the podcast. The Ecology Academy will soon be launching our own Biodiversity Net Gain Fundamentals training course, so be sure to check that out if you would like to run through a case study on how to use the biodiversity metric. The podcast is available on all major streaming platforms, just search for 'Ecology Academy'. If you have any recommendations for a future podcast topic, or would like to appear on the show, please do get in touch at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you! How to get in touch You can follow us or get in touch via our socials or at [email protected]:  Website: https://training.ecologyacademy.co.uk/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecology-academy/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecologyacademy  Instagram: @ecology_academy  Twitter: @ecology_academy