What is the Natural Environment Readiness Fund?

The Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF) supports the government’s goals in the 25 year environment plan, green finance strategy and 10 point plan for a green industrial revolution. It aims to stimulate private investment and market based mechanisms that improve and safeguard our domestic natural environment by helping projects get ready for investment. It grants funding to projects which;

    • help achieve one or more natural environmental outcomes from the 25 year environment plan
    • have the ability to produce revenue from ecosystem services to attract and repay investment
    • produce an investment model that can be scaled up and reproduced

 

Our aim is

    •  to develop a Nature Based Investment Model for the LCR,
    • to facilitate implementation of BNG through development of an online habitat bank
    • To provide a vehicle for the delivery of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy
    • To provide wider benefits for nature within the LCR, e.g. LWS and species recovery.
    • To provide wider ecosystem services, e.g. carbon sequestration, communities access to nature, nature based flood alleviation.

Our Project

Investing in Nature in the Liverpool City Region

The project focused on developing a model for investment in nature recovery in the Liverpool City Region (LCR). It was led by the LCR Combined Authority and steered by Merseyside Environmental Advisory Service (MEAS), LJMU, and consultants; there were several wider project partners. The project closed in Autumn 2023, but the outcomes and legacy will continue to benefit nature in the Liverpool City Region into the future. The implementation of mandatory BNG from 2024 poses significant challenges to the Local Authorities and developers in the region, which the legacy of the project will help to address. The lessons learnt during the project, and the key outcomes, will help to inform how the region responds to the demands of BNG and other similar natural capital markets. This website is designed as an online resource for people and organisations in the nature recovery, development, and local council sectors, and aims to provide support for those involved with nature recovery and the existing and emerging natural capital markets

Project Sites

The NEIRF Investing in Nature in the Liverpool City Region (LCR) project is a collaborative LCR wide project led by the Mayoral Combined Authority and project managed by Merseyside Environmental Advisory Service. The project aims to develop a new habitat banking and nature based investment model (NBIM) for the Liverpool City Region to deliver Biodiversity and Environmental Net Gain.  Meeting the Environment Act’s requirement for Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and governments 25 Year Environment Plan and the goals set out within the Environmental Improvement Plan.

The project focuses on three pilot areas across the LCR to test proof of concept with the aim of rolling the pilot out across the LCR. The pilot areas are three Nature Improvement Areas (NIA’s), which are:

  • River Alt and M57 Corridor NIA;
  • River Alt Corridor NIA; and
  • Black Brook and Sankey Valley Corridor NIA.