Grants worth up to £100,000 have been issued to help farming groups develop nature projects to a point where they can attract private investment.
The second round of the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF) has been announced today by Defra and the Environment Agency.
The funding will help to develop 50 projects so they can demonstrate a return on that investment by capturing the value of carbon, water quality and biodiversity provided by natural assets such as woodlands, peatlands and rivers.
Revenue will be generated through the sale of carbon storage, improvements in biodiversity, natural flood management benefits and reduced water treatment costs.
The government has set a target to stimulate at least £500m of private investment per year by 2027 to support nature recovery – rising to at least £1bn per year by 2030.
One group to receive a £100,000 grant is the Soil Association, which will use the fund to establish a carbon code for agroforestry systems.
The charity will establish the potential for the Code and how it may integrate with existing codes, such as the Woodland Code, or those in development.
The Lapwing Estate Limited has received £95,000 to grow wet woodland on rewetted lowland peat to create fuel for indoor food production.
Adding biochar to the rewetted peat for extra carbon sequestration and the resulting increased revenue will be explored.
The North East Cotswold Farmer Cluster CIC will use their grant of £98,500 to develop a new approach to allow investment by farmers in natural capital projects.
The project will bring together 100 farmers to allow biodiversity, carbon water quality and flood risk management improvements to be delivered.
And the National Trust has received £100,000 to help transition its tenant farmers towards more nature-friendly techniques by generating revenue from carbon and biodiversity net gain payments.
Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the Environment Agency said: “The finance community is increasingly aware that investors want to understand how their savings deliver good outcomes on the ground.
"What we learn from these projects will help the private sector invest in activities that deliver both environmental improvements and generate returns.
“By showing what works we can attract a wider pool of investors to fund work on a much larger scale that helps protect people from climate impacts and restores nature."
She added: "Given the current acceleration of climate risks to the global economy, we need this to happen at pace.”
A total of 29 schemes are already benefitting from the first round of NEIRF, with projects looking at creating new woodland, delivering natural flood risk management and improving water quality.
