The new roadmap was launched on 7 June 2022. It sets out a framework to modernise regulation, leverage public expenditure and secure large-scale private investment in projects for nature recovery by 2030.
With an estimated annual finance gap of £5.6 billion which public and philanthropic funding alone will not be able to meet, significant new investment is needed to help deliver nature recovery projects.
Led by the Broadway Initiative, Finance Earth and the Green Finance Institute, the coalition behind the initiative includes more than 300 industry leaders from the land management, business, finance, government and environmental sectors.
The aim is to develop a more sustainable financial path for investment in environmental markets. If designed correctly, farmers and other landholders will be able to take part in projects that improve the natural environment, alongside agricultural production.
You can read the roadmap at the Financing Nature Recovery UK website: Recommendations and Roadmap
“We urgently need to establish a new economic model for farming and our countryside. The model needs to be farmer-led and farmer-owned, backed by technical professional expertise. It must work for both the tenanted sector and other farm business models too.”
NFU director of policy Andrew Clark
NFU input and viewpoint
The NFU helped inform the recommendations of the report. Andrew Clark, NFU director of policy, said: “The way the environment and land use is valued, from a financial point of view, is changing at pace. New markets are already starting to develop, along with new potential buyers of environmental services.
“We believe that farmers and growers will be central to the successful delivery of a range of environmental benefits such as carbon sequestration and storage, the creation, enhancement and maintenance of biodiversity, as well as improving water quality and regulating water flow within catchments.
“What is clear is that as both public policy and private markets evolve, it will be critical that the appropriate conditions for shaping those markets are considered now. That is why the NFU has been pleased to be part of this timely report which contributes to the debate.
“We urgently need to establish a new economic model for farming and our countryside. The model needs to be farmer-led and farmer-owned, backed by technical professional expertise. It must work for both the tenanted sector and other farm business models too.
“For these emerging markets to gain the necessary momentum, and importantly confidence, and for them to be fully realised as true opportunities for farmers and growers, key rules and principles will need to be established and feature as part of their development.”
