Nature Restoration Fund

About the fund

Established by the Scottish Government, the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) is a capital fund designed to help support projects that will deliver nature restoration, safeguard wildlife, and tackle the causes of biodiversity loss due to climate change.

The Scottish Government published their Strategic Framework for biodiversity, including the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045 and Delivery Plan to 2030 in November 2024. The Strategy sets out ambition and plans to halt the loss of nature by 2030 and make significant progress to restoring nature by 2045. It also sets out the need for a whole-of-society approach to achieving these goals, in line with the Edinburgh Process. NRF-funded projects are a key delivery mechanism for the Strategy.

The Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) aims to catalyse action at scale to protect and restore Scotland’s biodiversity on land and sea, with a focus on outcomes which address the main drivers of the decline in biodiversity: over-exploitation of the natural environment and addressing its consequences; habitat loss and fragmentation; and invasive non-native species.

Over the last 4 years, as well as delivering projects on its sites and estates, We have invited community groups and organisations to apply for NRF funding. This local-led approach to delivering nature restoration projects has seen over £630,000 of funding being awarded to 67 community projects throughout Highland. Projects include:

• the creation of new wildflower meadow sites
• local tree planting initiatives
• areas of wetland creation or new wildlife ponds
• projects to remove invasive non-native species to enhance local habitats for protected species

The total value of nature restoration funding for local authorities this year is £10 million. There is a particular focus on establishing ‘Nature Networks’ to better connect areas for nature. This is one of the priorities identified in the new National Planning Framework (NPF4).

Nature Networks are a crucial mechanism to deliver transformative change for biodiversity and build resilience to our changing climate by improving ecological connectivity between important areas for biodiversity. The Scottish Government and NatureScot have worked with Local Authorities to understand their needs, through a series of workshops and address the need for guidance and tools to aid Nature Network implementation. Therefore, NatureScot has published:

• Nature Networks Framework for implementation - co-designed with Local Authority inputs to set out the guiding principles for implementation

• Nature Networks Toolbox for the sharing and exchange of knowledge by those involved in designing and delivering nature networks. This includes a practitioners guide to Nature Networks

Our Nature Networks Project was a key initiative previously supported by the Nature Restoration Fund. It aimed to enhance biodiversity across over 3,500 council-owned sites, including parks, roadside verges, and disused land. These enhancements included native tree planting, wildflower meadows, and pollinator-friendly paths, creating interconnected green spaces to act as stepping stones for wildlife.

To find out more about the project and view the interactive map of enhancement sites Greenspace Enhancement and Nature Networks Project