Milestone reached - £65 million invested in nature projects in Scotland

The Scottish Government has invested over £65 million in projects across Scotland through its groundbreaking Nature Restoration Fund. 

Established in 2021, it has funded hundreds of projects helping Scotland's species, woodlands, rivers and seas back on the road to recovery.

This years' Programme for Government has committed to extend the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) in 2026-27 to enable funding of a further round of multi-year projects. The extension will help ensure the priorities set out in the Biodiversity Strategy are met.

Among the already successful projects is Highland Amphibians Reptile Project (HARP) which has boosted the survival rate of the Highland Great Crested Newt from 2% to 13%. This breeding success enabled the translocation of the UK's rarest newts, which is thought to be a first in Europe.

Additionally, work is being carried out by Scottish Entanglement Alliance (SEA), to reduce the entanglement of whales and basking sharks in fishing equipment, preventing their death or unnecessary suffering. Solutions currently being trialled could see the entanglement of some species reduced by 80% while preserving low impact creel fishing which supports coastal communities and livelihoods.

Announcing the achievement at the NRF-funded Brerachan Water Restoration Project near Pitlochry, Climate Action Minister Dr Alasdair Allan said:

“With more than 250 projects benefitting from the Nature Restoration Fund so far and our commitment to extend again this year, there can be no denying how serious we are about protecting and restoring our planet for future generations.

“This funding goes a long way in helping to tackle the twin nature-climate crises, working to restore Scotland's biodiversity at the same time as increasing our resilience to climate change, all while improving the health and wellbeing of local communities.

“It's fantastic to see how the work that has been completed here at Brerachan not only enhances habitats by planting native riparian trees but also introduces meander bends to improve the river's connectivity to its floodplain. The benefits of projects like this will have a profound immediate effect on the local community but will continue to be felt for years to come.”

Richard Lockett, Director of Lockett Agri-Environmental who managed the Brerachan Water Restoration Project said:

“The Nature Restoration Fund was the key to the success of the Brerachan Water Restoration Project. The NRF funding enabled work to re-connect the Brerachan Water to its floodplain, restoring 25 hectares of outstanding, wildlife rich floodplain habitat.

“The design involved the creation of a chute channel which takes water from the river onto the floodplain. In addition, sections of the existing open drainage network were infilled to help hold water across the site.  A number of ponds and backwater features were also created to further enhance and diversify habitats and maximise benefits to wildlife. 

“This work has been highly successful. It has restored a drained and degraded flood plain into a rich and varied wetland habitat which will also help store flood water and reduce downstream flood risk.”

NatureScot Chair Professor Colin Galbraith said:

“The Nature Restoration Fund has come at a critical time and made a real difference, supporting hundreds of projects to take positive action for nature. As a result of this funding, people have been restoring saltmarshes and wetlands, enhancing rivers, creating woodlands and removing invasive non-native species to help our plants and wildlife flourish.

“The range of projects that have been completed is impressive. They have helped to protect sharks and whales, allowed the return of water voles to parts of our rivers, created new areas of Scotland's rainforest, and established pollinator networks across our towns and cities.

“Over the past four years much has been achieved, but with nature in crisis across Scotland there is still a great deal more to be done. We need to continue to invest in Scotland's nature to halt and reverse its decline, to build resilience to future climate shocks and to give people the opportunity to enjoy the many benefits that nature brings us. Let's make Scotland richer in nature by 2030.”

Background

In July 2021, the Scottish Government launched the Nature Restoration Fund, which provides additional funding for multi-year, multi-partner large scale nature restoration projects to deliver significant improvements in biodiversity.

£19.55 million was invested in 2025-26.

The Nature Restoration Fund makes grants available through two main strands:

The open competitive strand, administered by NatureScot; and

The Edinburgh Process strand, which provides direct allocations from the Scottish Government to Local Authorities and National Parks.

The Fund's priority themes are:

1. Habitat and species restoration: Management for enhancement and connectivity
2. Freshwater restoration, including restoration of natural flows in rural catchments
3. Coastal and marine initiatives which promote restoration, recovery, enhancement or resilience
4. Control of invasive non-native species (INNS) impacting on nature
5. Urban: Enhancing and connecting nature across, and between, towns and cities.

Climate change makes all factors more significant in impact. All project proposals must demonstrate how the project will help to address climate change and/or its impacts.

Programme for Government 2025 to 2026 - gov.scot

Scottish Government Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) | NatureScot