Priti welcomes funding for pioneering new nature project at Old Hall Marshes, Tolleshunt D’Arcy
Local MP, Priti Patel has welcomed the news that Old Hall Marshes in Tolleshunt D’Arcy will be part of a pioneering new nature project aimed at developing a saltmarsh code to support habitat restoration activities. The successful application made, by the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, involves four sites – Skeffling, East Yorkshire; Old Hall Marshes, Tolleshunt D’Arcy, Essex; Arne Moors, Dorset and Steart Marshes in Somerset.
Funded by a £99,931 Government grant from the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF), the project seeks to develop a rigorous and scientifically based voluntary certification standard for those who want to market the climate benefits of saltmarsh restoration. It will provide assurances to voluntary carbon market buyers that the climate benefits are quantifiable and permanent.
Priti Patel said: “I am very pleased to hear of this successful application and to see investment from a pioneering new Government fund going into encouraging private investors to invest in nature and in tackling climate change. This kind of innovation and scientific input is vital, if we are to meet our zero-carbon commitment and at the same time protect and maintain natural habitats for the future.”
Organisations including environmental groups, businesses and local authorities across England have been awarded up to £100,000 each, from the Government’s ground-breaking £10 million new NEIRF fund to develop innovative new approaches to generating revenues from the wide range of benefits that nature provides. This funding will be used to develop projects to the point where they can provide a return on investment by capturing the value of carbon, water quality, biodiversity and other benefits provided by natural assets such as woodlands, peatlands, catchments and landscapes.
Further information about the project can be found at: https://www.ceh.ac.uk/about-us.
Notes for editors
Examples of projects eligible for the fund:
- the creation of new woodlands and the restoration of peatlands, providing habitats for wildlife, green spaces for the public and carbon sequestration to help the government achieve its net zero target. This will generate carbon units which can be sold to businesses that want to offset emissions.
- the creation of new coastal wetlands, which benefit wildlife and reduce tidal flooding, while also attracting investment from developers needing to deliver biodiversity net gain and even delivering revenue through eco-tourism.
- the restoration of river catchments, helping to both improve water quality and reduce flood risk. As well as benefitting nature and people, these environmental benefits will deliver financial incentives to water companies (with reduced costs for water treatment) and encouraging them to invest.