Berks Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust will benefit from a pioneering new fund to drive private investment in nature and tackle climate change, announced by Defra, the Environment Agency and Natural England.
BBOWT’s partnership project ‘The Wildlife Trusts’ Habitat Banking Investment Model’ has been backed by the Government’s new Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF).
The partnership includes Berks Bucks and Oxon, Warwickshire, Cheshire and Surrey Wildlife Trusts and the environmental impact investment advisors Finance Earth.
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This scheme will help to compensate for the damage caused to natural habitats by large-scale developments and help accelerate nature’s recovery.
The funding will enable the partnership to create three pilot habitat bank sites in Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, and Cheshire over the next year.
Dr Prue Addison, conservation strategy director at BBOWT, said: “Habitat Banking is designed to address developers’ need to deliver biodiversity net gain (BNG), which will soon be made law through the Environment Bill.
“The scheme enables habitats to be created or restored before any biodiversity loss is caused by developments, rather than afterwards, which is much better news for wildlife.”
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow commented: “Unleashing innovation and growing new sources of finance, such as through the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund, are fundamental for delivering nature recovery and developing nature-based solutions to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
Source: Oxford Mail