aerial colourful forest trees

Rebuilding Britain – What about rebuilding nature?

Last month Chancellor Rachel Reeves finally shared her hotly anticipated budget to support the new Labour Government’s mission for growth and rebuilding Britain...

Listening to the speech and subsequent news coverage, you would likely conclude that this vision for Britain’s national renewal doesn’t extend as far as the recovery of our natural environment. So, how nature-friendly are the government’s spending plans? The budget includes some more positive signs once you scratch below the surface, but the funding is a drop in the ocean compared to the scale of the challenge we face, and the investment needed to unlock the true value of our natural assets. 

 

Planning for nature 

One of the big messages that you won’t have missed is the target to deliver 1.5 million new homes in the next five years and significant investment in infrastructure to support growth. The budget starts to go beyond the Biodiversity Net Gain and Nutrient Neutrality obligations of developers by promising £14 million for a Nature Restoration Fund and £13 million to expand Protected Sites Strategies in priority areas. There isn’t much detail about these schemes, but if the Nature Restoration Fund is to go significantly beyond offsetting and mitigation it must be designed to deliver local and lasting gains by contributing to strategic nature recovery efforts. It is also only a fraction of the £50 million that the Scottish Government plan to invest in a similar scheme. 

A recent report into the pilot Protected Site Strategies showed that there was general frustration in the current mechanisms and support for protected sites and that protected sites appear to have been ‘left out’ of the wider nature recovery mechanisms. A focus on our Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Marine Conservation Zones is very welcome, but this must include funding for resources and expertise to support the process.  

Resource in planning teams is already stretched, so to facilitate the development targets there is £50 million of funding allocated to pay for new planning officers and training for existing teams. However, this must include biodiversity officers to ensure that Local Planning Authorities have the expertise to deliver the nature recovery boost intended through these schemes. 

 

Investing for nature 

The green economy grew by 9% in 2023, a level that the UK economy can only dream of. The Government recognised this potential in the budget statement by setting out plans to “build on the UK’s leadership in green finance to mobilise private capital and grow nature markets.” However, much of the investment in the budget is focused on technological solutions that come with a huge price tag rather than nature-based solutions that can be delivered at a fraction of the cost. 

At the recent COP16 conference in Colombia, delegates finally gave full recognition to the role that nature plays in tackling the climate crisis. By restoring carbon-rich habitats, we can lock up carbon in our soil, trees, and grassland while also tackling the biodiversity crisis and building resilience to climate change. A report published by Wilder Carbon shows that this would bring in billions in private investment and help us reach our net zero targets sooner. The £58 million of research and innovation funding to support climate resilience and net zero goals should also consider investing in projects to develop nature-based solutions (NbS) alongside green technology. 

If just a fraction of the £22 billion earmarked for carbon capture and storage was instead invested in restoring habitats, work could start on removing millions of tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere immediately.  

©️ Russell Savory

Restarting natural processes in all our native habitats through the use of large herbivores, or beavers, can also increase biodiversity and make the carbon these habitats lock up more durable and resilient in the face of a changing climate. This is the approach that Kent Wildlife Trust takes and can be seen in action through our groundbreaking Wilder Blean Initiative and Wilder Grazing programme. 

In comparison, DEFRA has allocated just £400 million over two years for tree planting and peatland restoration, and it has not allocated any money to making sure this done by genuinely working with nature to maximise the long-term benefit. The UK is made up of a diverse and varied patchwork of habitat types, therefore by investing in just two types of natural assets, we are missing opportunities to restore globally rare habitats and lock up carbon across the country. We have projects in Kent that are ready to go across a range of different landscapes from wood pastures to wetlands and grasslands, but we need the funding to do it.  

The UK Government announcement just last week introducing Principles for Nature Markets is a strong signal that nature-based solutions are implicit in the success of delivering nature and climate goals by 2030, but with only 5 years to go, the scale of private capital required has not been stimulated soon enough and DEFRA will need to be prepared to bridge the gap in financing to make up for lost time. And unless it is delivered in a way that is adaptive to changing climate and to maximise wider benefits, this could be wasted investment for the longer term.  

 

Growing for nature 

The big headline for farmers has been around the changes to agricultural property relief and the potential impact on family farms. While we don’t have a position on decisions regarding taxation of agricultural property, there is a concern regarding any decision which risks greater homogenisation of the farmed landscape, and which could affect farmers’ ability to make decisions on more nature friendly farming. 

There was also news on the future of Environment Land Management Schemes. The Government has confirmed continued funding for existing schemes for the next years with a new higher-level Countryside Stewardship Scheme launching in 2025, but they also indicated that a review would be needed to ensure future affordability. Funding which supports farmers to adopt more regenerative agricultural approaches and contribute to the defragmentation of our countryside is absolutely critical but as part of the review, we would encourage DEFRA to look at ways to create more long-term gains and increase uptake. DEFRA themselves also need to be resourced to process applications for the new higher-tier and Sustainable Farming Incentives quickly. 

Independent analysis on behalf of The Wildlife Trusts, RSPB and National Trust conducted earlier this year found that £3.1 billion needs to be spent on nature-friendly farming and land management annually in England to meet the UK Government’s legally-binding targets. The devastating flooding in Valencia demonstrates what climate change can do to communities and the urgency to meet these targets. The budget includes £60m in payments to farmers impacted by flooding and a further £2.4 billion over two years to build flood defences. But yet again, by working with nature, we can deliver solutions through natural flood management which will provide resilience to climate change, improved habitats, and food security.      

We have a climate, nature, and growth crisis in the UK which must be tackled together. The economic and ecological cost of climate disasters will only continue to grow so the only real way to successfully rebuild Britain is to invest in rebuilding nature.