Mitigation Banking Basics from Investopedia

Investopedia explores mitigation banking in a smart, concise piece about the system of credits and debits devised to ensure that ecological loss to wetlands, streams and species is compensated for by the restoration and preservation of wetlands, streams and natural habitats, in other areas so that there is no net loss to the environment. To mitigate means to reduce the severity of something, in this case, the damage caused to the environment.

“According to NMBA (National Mitigation Banking Association), mitigation banking is defined as “the restoration, creation, enhancement, or preservation of a wetland, stream, or other habitat area undertaken expressly for the purpose of compensating for unavoidable resource losses…”