Following the Climate Change Conference (COP27) in November the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) has been heralded as a success, drawing comparisons to the Paris climate accord agreement.

The China-led biodiversity conference was successful in pushing forward an ambitious ‘30 by 30’ target, a global ambition to conserve 30% of the planet’s terrestrial and marine habitat by 2030 in an effort to reverse historical biodiversity declines.

During the COP 15 conference several organisations announced funding opportunities available to UK projects to improve biodiversity and in turn, meet the 30 by 30 target.

  • The Endangered Landscapes Programme is inviting applicants across Europe to apply for up to US$100,000 (£82,345), funding over a two-year period in order to overcome some of the barriers involved with restoring biodiversity, including knowledge, partnership, stakeholder support and resources. The planning grant will last for up to two years and there is no restriction on ecosystem type. Applications are open until 2nd February 2023.
  • The Rewilding Britain Challenge Fund is offering £100,000 for a 1000ha project which delivers lasting social, economic, and ecological benefits. The funding comes once a year to a project and is built upon the success of the Rewilding Innovation Fund which has provided £250,000 to 20 projects thus far.
  • The Scottish Government has announced £7.6 million funding through the Nature Restoration fund for a river project in the Cairngorms and an Atlantic rainforest project in Argyll and a surface water wildlife corridor on the River Leven. An application stream for grants of £25,000-£250,000 has been announced called ‘Transforming Nature’. The next application call for Transforming Nature is expected to be in mid-2023.
  • The UK Government has set legally binding targets to halt the decline in species by 2030, and then increase populations by 10% to exceed current levels by 2042, and increase woodland cover in England by 16.5% by 2050. This will likely guide the expenditure of the existing £640 million Nature for Climate Fund.

Together, these opportunities highlight both the growing official commitment internationally to a greener future and the significant rewards available to land managers for sound stewardship.

 

Natural Capital: Galbraith’s expert advisers oprovide guidance in realizing value in all land uses – by assessing and measuring natural assets, furthering opportunities in biodiversity net gain, and ensuring stakeholders are rewarded fully for their investment in and contribution to delivering ecosystem services and net-zero outcomes.