International and domestic policy has led to an increase in active interventions to restore key marine habitats. Emerging initiatives look set to increase financing options and hence the scale and speed of delivering marine recovery projects. The four integrated components of this research explored how funding for marine nature recovery and restoration is prioritised and allocated, and examined stakeholder perspectives on how projects are delivered.
Part 1. Funding marine nature recovery and restoration: provides a snapshot of the primary drivers of marine restoration and recovery, key funding mechanisms and the challenges in accessing them.
Part 2. Delivering restoration – Projects and perceptions: uses stakeholder interviews to explore the opportunities and practical challenges of delivering restoration and recovery on the ground.
Part 3. Payments for recovery: compiles examples of how marine recovery funds have been used to reduce existing pressures, particularly those from commercial fishing and litter.
Part 4. Using Natural Capital to measure loses and gains: considers how the value of natural capital assets could be determined to support the development of mechanisms to assess losses and benefits in the context of Marine Net Gain.
Key recommendations include:
- 1. Improve public funding coordination
- 2. Establish clear governance for public accountability
- 3. Recognise marine and terrestrial environments as integrated systems
- 4. Use public investment to support innovation
- 5. Increase emphasis on payments for passive recovery
- 6. Reform licencing for marine nature recovery and restoration
- 7. Increase recognition of the role of collaborative partnerships
- 8. Standardise, expand and resource monitoring and evaluation
Please note that the policy intentions for Marine Net Gain referred to in this report are based on the previous Johnson/Sunak Conservative government response to the ‘Consultation on the principles of marine net gain’.