Nature Restoration Fund (NRF)- Priorities for Action

https://www.nature.scot/doc/nature-restoration-fund-nrf-priorities-action

About the Nature Restoration Fund

The strategic goal of the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) is to catalyse action at scale to protect and restore Scotland’s biodiversity on land and sea.

The Scottish Biodiversity Strategy defines clear priorities for the NRF and the impact we want projects to continue to deliver.

We would advise all applicants intending to submit an application to ensure they have read the strategy and delivery plan and consider how your project proposal aligns with the priorities.

We are particularly keen to encourage and support partnership projects. We also want to encourage projects that operate, or aspire to operate, at the landscape scale, linking up with others to deliver meaningful change for nature. These will be required to make the transformational changes needed to restore nature at the necessary scale and pace to achieve our biodiversity targets across our land, freshwater and seas by 2045.

To support delivery of the SBS, NatureScot and partners are leading the prioritisation of landscape scale nature restoration projects and will publish further information later in 2025. We continue to encourage applications for significant improvements in nature across Scotland at landscape scale.

IPBES direct drivers of biodiversity loss

The scale of the challenges facing us were highlighted in May 2019 when the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) described the prevalence of five direct drivers that are causing the loss of biodiversity and substantially reducing what nature can provide for people. This makes it clear that action for nature that tackles these drivers and the indirect drivers which cause them is a priority that cannot wait.

The IPBES direct drivers of biodiversity loss are:

Land and sea-use change
Direct exploitation of organisms
Climate change and its impacts
Pollution
Invasive non-native species (INNS)

The priority themes help to tackle these drivers:

Habitat and species restoration: Management for enhancement and connectivity.
Freshwater restoration, including restoration of natural flows in rural catchments.
Coastal and marine initiatives which promote restoration, recovery, enhancement or resilience of nature.
Control of invasive non-native species (INNS) impacting on nature.
Urban: Enhancing and connecting nature across, and between, towns and cities.

Priority themes

The priority themes underpin how the Nature Restoration Fund will help achieve the ambition of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy. The fund encourages partnership projects that work at scale and facilitate implementation of local authority nature networks to improve habitat connectivity. Across all themes, we expect projects to help nature and society adapt to climate change, and we encourage initiatives that adopt Nature-based solutions.

Habitat and species restoration – management for enhancement and connectivity (priorities below)

Halting the decline of pollinators and increasing habitat for amphibians, mammals and birds at risk by making more space for native flower-rich habitats and grassland, streams, extended hedges and field margins, native trees and ponds. In agricultural settings, we prioritise proposals that work across clusters of multiple land holdings.
Supporting changes in management to favour diversity of species and habitat structure at a landscape/large-scale level. This can include herbivores where they are a key barrier to habitat restoration, including woodlands and other upland habitats.
Adopting nature-based approaches to managing key ecosystems such as the uplands.
Effective species recovery, reintroduction and reinforcement programmes that are targeted to restore important groups and concentrations of species.
Improving ecological connectivity by expanding and enhancing Nature Networks, particularly where these have been implemented by Local Authorities.

Freshwater restoration, including restoring natural flows in rural catchments (priorities below)

Natural flood management and surface water management solutions such as reconnecting rivers to floodplains and working with natural flow pathways
Restoring water courses, for example re-meandering, reprofiling and deculverting stretches of rivers/streams historically straightened
Instream and bank works to increase habitats and/or reduce flow, erosion, sediment wash out and reduce water temperature increases
Increasing lowland ponds and other water and wetland habitats.
Plan and implement restoration activity from the ‘source to sea’ to improve connectivity with coastal ecosystems and restore nature at scale.

Coastal and marine initiatives which promote restoration, recovery, enhancement or resilience of nature (priorities below)

Projects that support ecosystem-based approaches to managing Scotland’s seas and Marine Protected Areas, working with industry or community partners where possible.
Demonstration projects relating to the longer-term enhancement or recovery of the marine environment including those that will contribute to achieving Good Environmental Status.
Implementing coastal nature-based solutions which work with natural processes and are focused on restoring or enhancing natural coastal habitats (managing flood risk and/or erosion risk may be associated benefits).
Projects that take a ‘source to sea’ approach to address marine and coastal issues, enhance connectivity and restore nature at scale.
Applicants should consult the Priority Marine Features (PMF) list in helping ensure their project aligns with priority habitats and species (see below). Applicants may also find it helpful to review the Scottish Marine Environment Fund (SMEEF) criteria and guidance as some project proposals may be more suited to their funding streams.

Control of invasive non-native species (INNS) impacting on nature (priorities below)

Our top priority is preventing the establishment and spread of INNS into new areas of land, rivers or at sea.
Other priorities are targeting offshore islands and water dominated environments, which are most at risk of INNS spread. INNS also spread easily along habitat corridors and in native woodlands.

Please also read the further specific detail below relating to INNS.

Urban: Enhancing and connecting nature across, and between, towns and cities (priorities below)

Our priorities are for projects that deliver more connected and resilient nature networks across, and between, towns and cities.
We particularly welcome projects that support climate adaption by reducing flood risk and improving water quality in urban areas, as well as providing shading and cooling in suitable locations.
Nature networks should comprise a range of habitats integrated into the urban fabric at a range of scales, including “stepping stone” habitats for pollinators and nature-rich blue green infrastructure.
We particularly welcome projects that use existing greenspaces and vacant and derelict land to maximise positive effects for biodiversity and contribute to nature networks especially on public land.

Across all priority themes we welcome projects with long-term objectives, that align with the criteria for other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs), and so have the ability to contribute towards Scotland’s 30x30 ambitions.

Priority Species and Habitats for Action

Scotland’s list of Priority Marine Features is being used by NatureScot to guide decisions on marine habitats and species priorities for this Fund. NatureScot, with partners, is working to update the Scottish Biodiversity List, the species and habitats that are of the highest priority for nature conservation in Scotland. This work is due to finish later in 2025, and while this approach is being finalised we will use the principles within it to assess and prioritise proposals where action for a specific species or habitat is included in the Biodiversity Delivery Plan, e.g. Scotland’s rainforest.

These principles are:

The species being Critically Endangered, using International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) criteria
Rates of decline
Distribution being geographically restricted to Scotland (endemism)
Vulnerability to drivers of change
The probability of success of conservation action.

Where you propose to undertake action for a species that is not Critically Endangered, in addition to the above we will consider:

International responsibility (including the proportion of GB population found in Scotland)
Urgency of action
Historical/cultural importance.

Priorities for Action – INNS

NatureScot, with partners, is developing an INNS Action Plan for Scotland. This work is due to finish later in 2025. While the Action Plan is in development, INNS applications must seek to bring entire populations of INNS under control, demonstrate coordination and a collaborative approach across large geographic/multiple ownership units, and be sustainable beyond the funding period (by e.g., eradicating populations or establishing costed sustainable control plans covering the 10-years maintenance period).

We will not support control projects without long term maintenance plans.

Priority will be given to:

Projects that are of strategic, national importance, such as eradication from islands, preventing spread into uninvaded parts of the mainland, or helping to prevent INNS undermining the success of outcomes already subject to investment in nature.
Actions that are necessary to protect or restore a landscape scale nature restoration projects identified as priorities by the agencies and their partners.

We will also consider biosecurity projects which put in place measures to manage pathways to prevent the introduction and establishment of priority invasive species.

The following INNS species are priorities for action within NRF:

Rhododendron priority areas as identified in the Scottish Government’s strategic approach to restoring and expanding Scotland’s rainforest.
Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum), Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) and American skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus) that are threatening protected areas.
Giant rhubarb (Gunnera manticata) populations spreading in the wild.
Mammals threatening ground nesting seabirds on off-shore islands.
Prevention priority species are non-native species that aren’t yet established in Scotland, but are known to be highly invasive and are likely to arrive here soon.
Carpet sea squirt Didemnum spp. (Didemnum vexillum) and Japanese wakame (Undaria pinnatifida), leathery sea squirt (Styela clava) are present in Scotland but with restricted distribution. We are keen to encourage biosecurity projects to prevent the further establishment of these species.