Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey is expected to announce additional funding to help farmers access private investment to drive nature recovery at an event at 10 Downing Street later today (Monday, June 19).
The funding will be delivered via a new round of the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF), which funds projects that have the potential to produce revenue from the benefits nature provides to attract and repay investment.
This is the first time the NEIRF focuses specifically on the farming sector.
An example of a project that has benefitted from the fund is the Wendling Beck Exemplar Project, a habitat creation, nature restoration and regenerative farming project that spans almost 2,000ac in Norfolk. It aims to create an environmentally and financially resilient future by allowing nature to thrive and maintaining food production and land with grass-fed cattle and sheep.
“Wendling Beck is a pathfinder project for financing land-use change through new nature markets,” said Glenn Anderson, Project Lead of The Wendling Beck Exemplar Project.
“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.”
Nature recovery and nature finance
At the Downing Street event today Coffey will also announce the beginning of the pilot phase of a new version of the Green Finance Institute’s (GFI’s) investment readiness toolkit which will provide advice to farmers on how to create investable nature finance projects.
Today’s event is the first ever ‘Nature for Finance’ event and will bring together farmers, land managers, investors and conservation experts.
“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,” Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Thérèse Coffey commented.
“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,” she said.
