POLLUTION

 

Insect pollination in cropland is worth an estimated three billion euros a year

There are around 540 biodiversity banks in the world,of which over 400 are in the United States,and many of the rest in Australia. Most focus on reducing damage to wetlands,brooks, forests and riverbanks. A few pilot projects are underway in Europe,including France and Britain,although Germany was the first to adopt the system in 2002 and has made the greatest headway of any European country.

Spain's Environment Ministry extols the virtues of the formula but has yet to decide on the specifics for its introduction. For now,an Environmental Impact Bill is making its way through Congress,although the text says that buying credits will be voluntary.According to the Popular Party government,it will create access to "a significant pool of money" because some environmental compensation projects take a long time gettings follows.On the one hand there are individuals or businesses who perform environmental work,such as reforesting a park, bringing an endangered species back from the brink,or cleaning up a contaminated lake. This work gets recorded in a register kept by the Environment Ministry,and a monetary value is assigned to it through credits.On the other hand,developers may purchase these credits on a voluntary basis to make up for damage wrought by their own activity.