Environmental social scientist at Oxford Uni | Governance, participation, environmental policy & practice | Risk and uncertainty in UK natural capital
🌳 💰 Is the private financing of #rewilding a threat to community empowerment? Enjoyed writing for Community Land Scotland on the risks for #NatureRecovery delivering truly integrated and #transformative social, ecological, and climate benefits. ✨ Blog post: https://lnkd.in/eEx2Bvxz As the urgency to tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis grows, private financing is increasingly sought after to support nature recovery projects like rewilding. In Scotland, the government aims to address the £20.4 billion “nature-finance gap” by publishing its Natural Capital Markets Framework, offering guidance and regulatory interventions to develop responsible private investment in natural capital. However, while private financing is essential for upscaling nature recovery efforts, it also raises valid concerns. The over-emphasis on financial returns risks undermining alternative funding models and socio-economic goals, including community empowerment. Prioritising private mechanisms can undermine progress towards delivering community benefits alongside climate and biodiversity objectives, which can (further) marginalise community voices in collective land management and democratic decision-making. I raise some potential issues and risks, and suggest some constructive solutions and ways forwards... 🔎 A longer post, exploring more details, is here: https://lnkd.in/etm2Cm5U
Great piece Caitlin!
It was great to have you present on this at our CLAN meeting yesterday! This is live issue for community landownership.