As part of the delivery of one of the Prime Minister’s five
priorities to grow the economy, additional support to help
farmers access private investment to support nature recovery on
their farms will be announced today (19 June).
The first ever ‘Nature for Finance’ event will bring together
farmers, land managers, investors and conservation experts to
identify new investment opportunities that drive forward actions
to mobilise investment in nature recovery while continuing to
keep the nation fed.
At the event, held at 10 Downing Street, the Secretary of State
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Thérèse Coffey will
announce the intention to launch an additional round of the
Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF) later this
year to help farmers address barriers to accessing private
investment to help nature’s recovery.
This round will be the first time the NEIRF focuses specifically
on the farming sector, helping farmers to come together at a
landscape scale to combine their offer to investors, and enabling
more types of farmer to access and benefit from nature markets.
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,
Thérèse Coffey said:
Food production and enhancing the environment go hand in hand. We
must continue to support farmers to keep our nation fed while
also safeguarding the valuable biodiversity and landscapes we
rely on.
Today’s event is an important step forward in bringing together
farmers and financiers to invest in nature and unlock new
opportunities to improve the productivity, profitability and
sustainability of farm businesses.
Food production relies on a healthy and thriving natural
environment and nature markets offer a new way for farmers to
generate income alongside food production. To date, 86 projects
across England have received development grants of up to £100,000
through two competitive rounds of the £10 million NEIRF in 2021
and 2022.
Today’s event follows last month’s UK Farm to Fork Summit at
No10, at which representatives from the whole food supply chain
came together to identify ways to boost growth, drive innovation
and improve sustainability so that we boost food production
alongside delivering nature recovery for our countryside.
The NEIRF funds projects that have the potential to produce
revenue from the benefits nature provides to attract and repay
investment, as well as projects able to produce an investment
model that can be scaled up and reproduced.
The Wendling Beck Exemplar Project, a collaboration between
private landowners, local authorities, environmental NGOs, and
Anglian Water, has already benefitted from NEIRF support. This
aims to transform land use for environmental benefit while also
selling ecosystem services such as Biodiversity Net Gain.
Glenn Anderson, Project Lead of The Wendling Beck Exemplar
Project said:
Wendling Beck is a pathfinder project for financing land-use
change through new nature markets. Projects like Wendling Beck
are critical in safeguarding long-term food security - through
mitigating existential challenges to climate, water and
biodiversity - and enhancing the national natural capital
reserves which underpin our economy.
The project was fortunate to receive funding from the NEIRF,
which supported the projects feasibility and design at a critical
time. The funding enabled us to consolidate the project structure
and lay some important foundations on which the project now
stands.
The Secretary of State will also announce the start of the
piloting phase of a new version of the Green Finance Institute’s
(GFI) investment readiness toolkit which will provide a tailored
framework offering farmers valuable advice on how to create
investable nature finance projects. In the pilot phase, the GFI
will gather insights from stakeholders – including those in
attendance at the event today – to ensure the toolkit meets the
specific needs of farmers.
The government will also consult later this year on specific
steps and interventions needed to mobilise additional nature
finance through voluntary markets and protect against the risk of
greenwashing, seeking input from experts in finance, business,
environment, and farming sectors.
The UK was the first major country to publish a green finance
strategy in 2019 which was updated this year alongside a new
Nature Markets Framework. Significant progress has been made in
integrating nature into the economy, including statutory targets
for environmental improvement and the development of a policy
framework for scaling up nature markets. Defra’s new partnership
with the British Standards Institution will ensure the adoption
of sound scientific standards underpinning nature investments and
avoiding greenwashing.
Archie Ruggles-Brise, Estate Manager of Spains Hall Estate in
Essex, said,
The opportunities for land managers to engage directly with
finance professionals, tech providers and local authorities
around environmental markets are rare, especially at this early
stage of the market. So to be afforded that chance through the
Essex County Council led NEIRF project is exciting.
This could be game changing for farms, as once the income side is
proven it opens the door for all kinds of support for transition
to alternative, more sustainable, land use choices. It’s all
about having more choice, especially beyond commodity markets,
now and in the future.
