Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund – Round 1 Projects

Defra has announced funding for 27 projects which will develop and test models for private investment in nature recovery. The projects have been awarded between £67,000 and £100,000 each through Round One of the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund.

Of the awards:

• are to Wildlife Trusts

• 5 are to County or Borough Councils

• 2 to AONBs and 2 more to National Park Authorities

• 2 to the National Trust

• 1 to RSPB, Norfolk Rivers Trust, Mersey Forest, GWCT, FWAG, UKCEH

• 4 to private companies

Defra expects the models to be replicable and scalable and we await the outputs with interest, as they should provide an opportunity to compare different approaches side-by-side, across a range of different landscape and habitat types.  

Some of the questions that these models will be seeking to test will include:

• metrics are credible, reliable and straightforward to use?

• What levels of monitoring and verification will investors demand?

• Can multiple ecosystem services be stacked without compromising the project?

• ·       How will prices be set and reviewed?

It is noticeable that the charities and local authorities are leading the way in this. They are of course well-placed to put grant funding bids together at relatively short notice and to bring teams together for delivery, but if these models are really to be replicable and scalable, they will need to work for private landowners as well.