This issue of the journal examines an idea that is gaining traction in environmental thinking in recent years: net gain.

Approaching this topic from a range of different disciplines and perspectives, articles in this issue of environmental SCIENTIST consider the opportunities and limitations of net gain, as a global policy and regulatory framework, and as a way of thinking that can shape our understanding of progress and development.

Contributors in this issue will examine specific policies, such as the now-mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain, which came into effect in England in February 2024, as well as wider conceptualisations of the term that incorporate marine life, the wider environment, and our society.

Situating net gain in a global context, articles will respond to important questions about its usage and implementation: including what challenges do policymakers face when addressing such complex and far-reaching goals? How can landowners and other stakeholders become engaged with long-term and complex environmental protection practices? Is net gain a concept that should be extended to other areas of environmental protection and policy, beyond just biodiversity? The authors of the articles in this issue of environmental SCIENTIST address these questions informed by their expertise in fields such as land management, architecture, land remediation, and digital ecology.

By bringing together voices at the cutting edge of these sectors, this issue takes a holistic and informed perspective on the emergence of net gain both as a policy and an ideological framework.