ADVICE HARRY GREENFIELD CLA SENIOR LAND USE POLICY ADVISER harry.greenfield@cla.org.uk 020 7460 7937
environmental funding, with an expectation that pilots will explore the use of ‘blended finance’ – combining government funds with private sector investment, such as payments for carbon credits, water management or biodiversity net gain. Interest in natural capital, and the urgency with which the corporate sector is trying to reach net zero carbon emissions, means the time is ripe for land managers to take advantage of this momentum. Landscape Recovery will not be for everyone. Agreements will be long-term (20- plus years) and the types of activity funded mean that Landscape Recovery is less suitable for members who want to continue productive agriculture on the land. For this reason, the CLA is wary of suggestions that a third of the ELM budget should be spent on and 2024, on sites of between 500 Landscape Recovery, as Defra and 5,000 hectares. Initial pilots has indicated it will be. At least will focus on restoring threatened during the transition towards the native species and restoring streams new agricultural period, funding and rivers. Applications can come should be directed at improving from individual landowners or land the sustainability of agriculture and managers, as well as groups such as building on the success of previous farm clusters and partnerships with agri-enviroment schemes, as the other organisations. Local Nature Recovery scheme will. Unlike other ELM schemes, But there is still a place for Landscape Recovery agreements will Landscape Recovery to fund be tailor-made to each project. This those large-scale, ambitious seems a sensible environmental approach: given projects that FIND OUT MORE the length of time, will help us deal level of investment defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2021/ with the climate and scale of these and ecological 08/05/learn-more-about-theprojects, it would be emergency we landscape-recovery-scheme/ foolish to attempt face. The CLA is a one-size-fits-all lobbying to ensure approach. To arrive at a suitable the scheme is accessible to land agreement, Defra is also prepared managers, not just environmental to invest in significant project professionals. Members who have an development funding. This could idea for this sort of transformative include planning how to monitor the land-use change, and are willing environmental impact and business, to dedicate land towards it, should governance or legal advice. consider applying for a pilot when Landscape Recovery will also the application window opens need to make use of private sector later this year.
Defra’s Landscape Recovery scheme in England will involve 10 pilot projects and will initially focus on threatened native species and rivers & streams
T
he Landscape Recovery scheme, one of the three new Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes being developed by the government, is the biggest departure from environmental schemes previously delivered through the Common Agricultural Policy. A decade ago, Professor John Lawton’s nature conservation review stated that, to stem wildlife declines, we need “more, bigger, better and joined” sites for nature. Landscape Recovery aims to make an impact by funding large-scale, long-term land-use change projects that restore natural ecosystems. The scheme will pay to restore or create wildlife habitats that help sequester carbon and boost wildlife, as well as providing many other benefits, such as reducing flood risk and improving water quality. Woodlands, wetlands, meadows and peatland could all fit the bill. Defra will pilot 10 Landscape Recovery projects between 2022
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IMAGE: ISTOCK
LANDSCAPE RECOVERY
Restoring nature
cla.org.uk
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