Green finance and community wealth building

Aerial view of the River Dee and surrounding wetland , fields and mountains

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This project is trialing new ways to ensure that local communities in the Cairngorms benefit from nature restoration projects, as well as investors and land owners.

Lots of areas in the National Park hold huge potential for nature and net zero projects through peatland restoration, woodland expansion, low carbon farming, biodiversity offsetting and flood management. There is potential to attract private finance to generate benefits for communities from the natural assets that surround them. This project is bringing local communities and partners together with private and public investors to find a sustainable way forward.

Significant restoration work is already taking place in the Cairngorms, and as new initiatives emerge, we’re exploring opportunities for collaboration between local communities, landowners, developers and nature finance to deliver socially just land-use change for nature restoration across Scotland. It is expected this will lead to bespoke project or landscape agreements between landowners, developers, investors and communities to share the benefits of Scotland’s natural capital more equitably.

Working in partnership with the Scottish Land Commission and Community Land Scotland this project will support the development of best practice examples that prioritise good ecological health, with communities at the core.