Last edited 28 Feb 2022

Environmental net gain

Culvert, screen and outfall manual, (CIRIA C786) published by CIRIA in 2019, defines environmental net gain as a: ‘Principle by which measurable improvements must be made to the environment so that any development or intervention leaves the environment in a better state than in its pre-development or pre-intervention state.’

The National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England, Glossary, published by the Environment Agency in 2020, suggests Environmental net gain: ‘…is an approach to development that aims to leave the natural environment in a measurably better state than beforehand. Net gain is an umbrella term for both biodiversity net gain and wider environmental net gain. The aim of wider environmental net gain is to reduce pressure on and achieve overall improvements in natural capital, ecosystem services and the benefits they deliver.’

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