Turning complexity into tangible nature-positive outcomes

Biodiversity net gain or nature positive – What are we aiming to achieve?

Terms like  Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)  and  Nature Positive  are increasingly common in development conversations. Clients are now more focused on how their projects can contribute to reversing nature loss by 2030 and achieving full recovery by 2050. While these terms are often used together, they represent distinct approaches.

The official definition of BNG, according to the UK government, is “an approach to development that makes sure habitats for wildlife are left in a measurably better state than they were before the development.” In the UK, there is a legal mandate for a net increase compared to baseline due to the significant biodiversity loss UK is experiencing.

Nature positive, on the other hand, refers to a global goal and approach which aims at halting and reversing nature loss by 2030 (based on a 2020 baseline), and achieving full recovery of nature by 2050. It is a broader concept than BNG which also includes climate, soil, water, ecosystem services, and planetary health, but there are no specific regulations for it. BNG is focused on the direct impact of developments, such as new buildings. Whereas, nature-positive is a very systemic way of thinking, involving all sectors across the value chains, and addressing historical and future impacts.

In our work, we help clients integrate solutions that deliver nature-positive outcomes—ensuring that developments avoid negative impacts, maintain ecological balance, or ideally, enhance nature beyond its original state.

Achieving nature positive offers multiple benefits, from enhancing human well-being and building resilience to climate change to helping local ecosystems thrive. By virtue of its biogeographical location in the humid tropics, Singapore’s historical ecological landscape is characterized by highly biodiverse and structurally complex habitats. Henceforth, while achieving nature-positive outcomes may not always be feasible—depending on the site’s original condition and the development’s purpose—there are key strategies to maximise ecological value. Implementing a site-specific and holistic approach that considers the ecological legacy, abiotic conditions, and broader landscape will help ensure that nature is not only protected but allowed to flourish.

A collaborative approach to maximising nature outcomes

Our experts work in collaboration to incorporate nature positivity into projects in multiple ways. Ecologists are involved early on to conduct baseline studies and environmental impact assessments (EIA). They explore the site's ecological history, and identify and map habitats and threatened flora and fauna species present. By taking insight from the EIA, the landscape architect starts developing the first cuts of the design onto the masterplan or project framework. Wider disciplines from Ramboll including civil and structure engineering, water and environment further feed into the design process to create a design meeting all fundamental requirements. It is paramount that the ecologists and landscape architects work hand-in-hand to integrate the design development and the assessment of impacts. This iterative process and can change if habitats or species of conservation significance are identified, and as the client’s requirements evolve. As the landscape architect guides clients through this engaged and iterative design process, they begin to develop a deeper understanding of the complexity of biodiversity and the ecological landscape in a tropical region. The team also works to deliver a design that balances aesthetic appeal with the added value of biodiversity. Though advising clients through a different lens, the multidisciplinary team is working seamlessly towards one shared goal.

What we can’t forget is that clients play an integral role in achieving nature positive outcomes. Understanding clients’ objectives early, aligning and managing expectations every step of the design process is crucial to getting the buy in. It is also important to take a long-term view to allow adaptations to the development of the living species beyond the end of the project cycle.

Biodiversity as a value creator

Bidadari Park illustrates how biodiversity can be a driver of urban transformation and liveability. By enhancing remnant woodlands and introducing new habitats, the park supports over 50% of Singapore’s woodland-dependent migratory bird species. It also serves the local community through immersive natural experiences, active mobility links, and social spaces. Bidadari shows that even small, well-designed green spaces can support broader ecosystems, promote well-being, and foster stewardship—making biodiversity a key contributor to both ecological and social resilience. Once a freshwater swamp in the 1900s, the site of Jurong Lake Gardens had long lost its natural heritage to industrialisation. The Gardens presented a rare opportunity to restore that heritage in a way the public could see and enjoy. A key focus was the Neram Streams — a 300-metre-long concrete drain that once sliced through the park. Rather than treating it as a constraint, the design team embraced it as a chance for transformation. The drain was naturalised into a series of braided streams, forming the foundation of a new back mangrove habitat — a haven for herons and other wildlife.

The Kampung Admiralty public housing project demonstrates a collaborative approach, together with the project’s architect WOHA. Unlike conventional senior social housing, Kampung Admiralty exemplifies how biodiversity can be integrated into dense urban environments to create a range of ecological and social benefits. The project addresses the challenges of land scarcity and habitat loss faced by Singapore and other rapidly growing cities by integrating greenery and wildlife habitats within a compact 0.8-hectare site. By transforming constraints into opportunities, the terraced roof deck forms an elevated topographical plane which creates restorative and functional spaces for both people and nature to thrive. Harvested stormwater flows through cascading vegetated filters and cleansing biotopes before being reused for landscape irrigation and to sustain an eco-pond. This green infrastructure not only supports urban ecology but also promotes well-being, social connection, and graceful ageing in a dense city setting. This type of integration is a win for clients who can demonstrate benefits to the community and wildlife from their investment as part of the cost-benefit analysis.

The opportunity with industrial sites

Another growing need is the incorporation of nature positivity into traditionally biodiversity depauperate industrial sites such as data centers. Recognizing that even industrial sites with seemingly no potential for biodiversity represent opportunities for the implementation of nature-positive solutions and biodiversity sensitive design principles that consider impacts beyond the site footprint and aim to minimize impacts to biodiversity to the lowest possible extent.

In Singapore, the Tagore Lane data centre features vertical greening on one side of the building, which also reduces the amount of energy needed to cool the building.

In the JTC Cleantech Park development, the masterplan was designed to meet the requirements for industrial buildings within a park setting featuring cleansing wetlands and a pond, collecting excess water flow, which is treated and recirculated.

Another project, Bidadari Park has integrated a first on its kind retention pond into an ecological sensitive woodlands to resolve the area’s existing flood tendencies and providing ecological, recreational, and educational benefits to the community while ensuring sustainability and climate resilience. The underground service reservoir is also hidden beneath the community lawn, leaving no visible trace of infrastructure. Both examples show how functional requirements can be met and contribute to the community and wildlife. This is achieved by ecologists and landscape architects working together at different touch points of integration.

Enabling long-term success

There are many ways to measure the success of a project. AI tools utilising drones or satellite imagery views can indicate how well reforestation is going, flora and fauna surveys with indicator species recorded can show habitat quality, and water quality can also be measured to understand the functionality of the implemented natural water cleansing features.

It is crucial that the work doesn’t stop at project completion. Ecologists and landscape architects need to work closely during post-monitoring to quantify the results, an important checkpoint to ensure that nature is thriving, flora and fauna are establishing, and that the design intent has been met. Once projects are handed over, intended biodiversity enhancements can fail at the maintenance stage, if the client or third-party maintenance contractors responsible does not know how to maintain the landscape or fail to understand the needs of an evolving habitat. We can address this by providing maintenance manuals and providing post-construction audits at regular intervals to understand the dynamic changes happening to the landscape, therefore tailoring the maintenance requirements needed.

Lessons learned and Opportunities

Biodiversity brings a suite of tangible and intangible environmental and socio-economics benefits. Corporations that incorporate nature-positivity and biodiversity protection in their operations differentiate themselves from the competition and gain brand recognition. The challenge often lies in sensitively balancing development with the preservation of natural heritage, ensuring it remains accessible for future generations.

As we take a longer-term view of the projects, we must recognise that living habitat features are dynamic. We need to understand that we are stewards of our environments, our landscape, and that we need to start recognising the changing patterns and the needs of our landscape. Landscape architects play a vital role in translating these needs and helping clients understand the technical requirements, manage expectations and resource needs for managing the landscape beyond project completion. It is through this constant exchange of knowledge and mutual understanding that long-term sustainability and successful coexistence of the project can be achieved successfully.