Promote the natural capital market framework to foster responsible, values-led private investment in nature while delivering benefits to local communities. It will do this by providing guidance to investors, land managers, and other stakeholders, offering tools and resources to develop sustainable projects.
Objective 5: Invest in nature
Priority Action 25. Establish a values-led, high-integrity market for responsible private investment in natural capital.
The Scottish Government has launched the Natural Capital Market Framework, which sets out how Scotland aims to attract responsible private investment into nature restoration. The framework provides guidance for investors, land managers, and communities on developing high-integrity natural capital projects, including peatlands, woodlands, rivers, and wider habitat restoration.
It is supported by related initiatives such as investment-readiness programmes (e.g. FIRNS), which help develop projects that can attract private finance and ensure they are aligned with environmental and community benefits. The framework is still in an enabling phase, focused on setting standards, guidance, and early market development rather than operating a fully mature investment system.
Scottish Government communications highlight that the approach is designed to support both public funding and responsible private investment to scale up nature restoration, but delivery is still emerging and depends on the growth of viable investment projects and markets.
The framework is intended to increase investment in peatland restoration, woodland creation, and wider habitat recovery, which are widely recognised as effective ways to improve biodiversity, store carbon, and strengthen ecosystem resilience.
Scottish Government evidence shows the approach is designed to scale up restoration by combining public funding with private finance, helping to increase the overall amount of nature restoration activity over time. However, current evidence shows this is still mainly a market-building and guidance stage, with ecological benefits dependent on whether investment leads to real, additional restoration projects at scale. There is limited published evidence yet showing system-wide ecological outcomes directly resulting from the framework.
Scottish Government – Attracting private investment in nature (Natural Capital Market Framework)
Scottish Government – Investing in nature / FIRNS programme
Publish a Biodiversity Investment Plan for Scotland by the end of 2024 that contains actions to: support a range of finance mechanisms; promote value for money; and develop biodiversity markets in Scotland.
Public funding streams that contribute to nature restoration will be designed in a way that they can be matched or blended with private finance or investment. - New ways of using available Peatland Action funding to leverage other sources of finance for peatland restoration will be tested from 2025/26. - New approaches to further increase the level of private investment in woodland…
Build on the experience of CivTech Challenge 8.6 with Credit Nature to explore development of new voluntary codes for nature restoration.
By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.
