Australasian Biodiversity Improvement Standard (ABIS)

Building on the success of the ENVOMARK Cassowary Credit Scheme, ABIS enables landholders, project developers, Traditional Owners and other environmental stewards to generate biodiversity improvement ENVOMARK Credits through approved Methodologies to undertake activities which deliver measurable improvements in the condition of biodiversity. ABIS creates a market mechanism that enables investment in nature repair, species recovery, ecosystem restoration and long-term biodiversity stewardship.

Eligible activities may include:

• Restoration, reinstatement or enhancement of habitat for threatened, vulnerable or endangered species, and Threatened Ecological Communities.
• Mitigation of threats impacting species or ecological communities of conservation concern.
• Biodiversity regeneration outcomes arising from First Nations customary custodial responsibility.
• Establishment of new functional habitat in degraded landscapes.
• Long-term management and protection of biodiversity assets under legal protection arrangements.
• Other conservation activities that contribute to the outcomes of recognised biodiversity conservation plans and strategies.

ABIS measures biodiversity outcomes through verified improvements in condition over time, against the condition baseline and trend, that would have occurred without the project. Credits are issued only for the measurable achieved and/or maintained improvement, attributable to project activity.

Outcomes are quantified as Biodiversity Condition Improvement Units, which represent a verified biodiversity benefit achieved under an approved methodology.

Methodologies may assess factors such as:

• Habitat condition and quality
• Native species abundance and diversity
• Ecological integrity and ecosystem function
• Threat reduction outcomes
• Habitat extent and connectivity
• Species recovery outcomes
• Condition maintenance of high-value biodiversity assets

The quantified biodiversity benefit is then converted into Biodiversity Credits according to the Methodology and reflect the relative conservation value of the species, ecological community or biodiversity asset being improved.