£888,000 funding boost for nature investment

The Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS) fund is aimed at projects that will help establish a marketplace for private investment in Scotland’s natural capital - habitats and ecosystems with social, environmental, and economic benefits for people. The fund fosters collaboration among local communities, investors, and land managers.

Since its launch in 2023, there have been 53 successful FIRNS grant awards, sharing almost £7.3m. Seven projects have been successful in this fourth round of the fund, continuing innovative ideas to attract investment for peatland, woodland, coastal and marine and urban areas, helping to create healthy air, soil, water, forests, fisheries and seas to halt nature loss and tackle climate change.

In this round, NatureScot invited applications from organisations and partnerships that received FIRNS funding in the previous round. The supported projects demonstrate momentum, gained through previous rounds, the potential to attract investment in natural capital restoration projects, and aim to achieve meaningful impact for nature and communities.

NatureScot Director of Green Economy, Robbie Kernahan said: “If we are to halt biodiversity loss by 2030, there is an urgent need to scale up nature restoration and the overall investment into such vital work. This fourth round of FIRNS funding reflects the innovation and effort taking place in Scotland to achieve that. From species protection to woodland expansion and peatland restoration, these projects aim to inspire the responsible private investment that is crucial for nature in Scotland.”

Minister for Agriculture, Marine and the Islands, Jim Fairlie said: "Restoring nature is one of the most important ways we can address biodiversity loss and climate change. By developing new ways to fund nature projects, we're creating the conditions to support responsible, values-led, high-integrity investments into Scotland's natural environment. This will help deliver lasting benefits for both people and nature, now and in the future.”

Examples of the projects funded include:

Scaling Nature Restoration Through a Farmer-Led Landscape Cluster Model in the Pentland Hills which will offer social, educational, health and wellbeing benefits to visitors and the local community, while looking to expand the existing farm cluster and add additional peatland restoration and woodland creation projects under the Peatland Carbon Code and Woodland Carbon Code. This will create environmental benefits including carbon sequestration (when healthy peatlands act as carbon stores), biodiversity recovery, natural flood management, as well as developing sustainable income streams for farmers and land managers.

Accelerating Momentum for LENs in Scotland aims to build on the success of Landscape Enterprise Networks (LENs) in Leven and Tweed regions, by continuing investment while ensuring the model works for different situations and communities.

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