As the government progresses their Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, their ambitious goals for net zero and nature recovery require a major boost in finance for nature.

We take a look at their framework which sets out how the government will guide and support the development of nature markets capable of supporting elevated investment levels.

The government are supporting the achievement of the international target to protect 30% of the world's land and ocean by 2030, setting a goal to grow annual private investment flow to nature to at least £500 million every year by 2027 in England, rising to more than £1 billion by 2030.

The framework sets out:

- Core principles

- Current rules

- A new arrangement with the British Standards Institution

- Next steps

The government aims to ensure that these new, emerging markets will operate transparently and deliver benefits for nature, the economy and local communities. Transparency and integrity will be key to the success of this market.

Nature markets may be voluntary i.e. driven by companies wanting to meet environmental and climate targets/goals or to invest in projects that will bring them direct business benefit.

OR

Nature markets may be driven by regulatory obligations where companies are required by law to deliver environmental improvements such as BNG.

Those looking to create and restore new habitats for biodiversity and wider benefits should seek to engage in local initiatives such as Local Nature Recovery Strategies which will be prepared across England from April 2023 - we can assist you with identifying the most suitable strategy for you!

The document outlined the key principles to maximise social outcomes from markets to be:

• Ease of access

• Support the best use of land and sea to deliver multiple benefits

• Openness to innovation

ILM constantly have a mind to how innovation can be explored to ease the delivery of BNG schemes and their ongoing management and monitoring.

Given the government's commitments, maximising multiple benefits from land use is needed, and moving towards stacking of nature markets has an important role to play. They suggest that they will support greater use of stacking as well as explicit bundling. Find out more about stacking and bundling here.

Defra has commissioned the Green Finance Institute to develop an online toolkit to identify and navigate opportunities to access private sector investment to pay for nature positive outcomes.

The next steps in nature market development will include:

• Policy and regulation

• Market rules

• Standards and accreditation

By creating and managing biodiversity gain sites, ILM are directly contributing both to nature and the wider economy. This goes right down to a local level, creating opportunities for sustainable agriculture with long-term job requirements and income for landowners. The UK has a strong skill base and track record of innovation in farming and environmental science - our farmers, land and costal managers are well-equipped to lead the way and ILM recognize the unique skillset amongst the farming community. We welcome the opportunity to work with landowners across the country to assist them in delivering BNG schemes on their land.