In the EU, the annual biodiversity finance gap is estimated at EUR 18.7 billion. While public finance remains the primary source of funding for restoration projects, private finance is playing an increasingly important role. To bring clarity on how projects can grab the chance of getting private funding, and how project developers can go about accessing it, UNEP-WCMC led an expert Finance for Restoration Taskforce under the Endangered Landscapes and Seascapes Programme’s Convening for Restoration project, which produced the ‘Restoration Project Developers’ Playbook on Private Finance (Europe)’.
The Playbook is an output from the Convening for Restoration project. This project is supported by the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme, managed by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative in partnership with Arcadia. Nature Returns is presented as one of the case studies for supporting restoration project developers to cover funding gaps.
The Playbook is designed specifically for project developers, practitioners and NGOs unfamiliar with private finance options and processes. It provides clear, practical guidance, along with informative case studies from across Europe that will support project developers as they evaluate the ‘bankability’ of their restoration projects. It provides straightforward, practical advice on the main components of a business plan, alongside basic guidance on legal structures to consider when starting a new project. An overview of the impact monitoring and reporting frameworks and metrics that developers should be aware of is also included.
Nature Returns stands out as one of the five case studies that illustrate different ways of accessing private fundings or approaches to make restoration projects possible.
The UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) is a global Centre of excellence on biodiversity. The Centre operates as a collaboration between the UN Environment Programme and the UK-registered charity WCMC. Together we are confronting the global crisis facing nature.