Globally, financial institutions and corporations have committed trillions of pounds of investment to tackle the nature and climate emergencies. This investment is desperately needed if we are to meet the scale of the challenges we face as a species that exists within, and depends upon, the health of our natural world. As yet, there are very few channels through which this private finance can be mobilised, the carbon market being one example but is flawed, with many people having concerns over its integrity and question how much, in its current form, it translates to genuine benefit for nature and communities. Policy pressures and emerging markets are beginning to unlock some of this potential and Scotland is well placed facilitate this and is committed to a just transition ensuring integrity is embedded in the systems we use.
To help mobilise this private finance, Fife Coast and Countryside Trust are leading a coalition of partners including not for profit organisations, community, land managers, regulators, local authority, scientific bodies, academia, private companies, and specialist advisors with links to financial institutions and corporate bodies. This coalition is drawing on skills and expertise from across our networks including the Scottish Nature Finance Pioneers, the Scottish Forum on Natural Capital, and aligning with National, Regional, and Local Policy.
In Fife, we are taking a place-based approach to understanding and meeting the needs of all stakeholders to realise this blended approach to financing nature restoration at scale with a focus across these areas:
- Development of partnership-led, landscape-scale projects capable of achieving the outcomes required to mobilise a blend of finance for nature restoration.
- Development of Nature Finance Fife; an organisation that can channel a blend of public, philanthropic, and private finance into a pipeline of high integrity nature-based projects across Fife for the benefit of nature, people, and the green economy.
- Resourcing and empowering organised communities to connect with and improve their natural environment, drive education and skills, and explore business opportunities in the blue and green sectors.
- Development of appropriate frameworks for monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of impact for nature and people.
- To test principles of blended finance and explore the financial relationships required to fund nature-based solutions.
- To share learning that can be applied across Fife and beyond.
If you are a land manager, community group, or business that would like to find out more or get involved, then please do get in touch through ask.us@fifecountryside.co.uk with Nature Finance Fife in the subject title.
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