The Crown Estate, Blue Marine Foundation, Finance Earth and Pollination are seeking feedback on a joint report highlighting the key barriers and potential solutions to the development of high-integrity natural capital markets in the marine environment across the UK.

The report - Developing High-Integrity Marine Natural Capital Markets in the UK - is co-funded by The Crown Estate and Blue Marine Foundation and led by Finance Earth and Pollination.

With input from almost 100 stakeholders and global experts across civil society, private sector enterprises, academia, government, and financial institutions, the report aims to build consensus around the key barriers and solutions to high-integrity marine natural capital markets – sometimes referred to as nature markets – to unlock vital investment in the restoration of marine and coastal ecosystems.

Stakeholders are now invited to give feedback on the recommendations, which are divided into three categories across Financial, Science and Policy.

A potential vehicle by which investment into nature recovery projects can be achieved at scale, natural capital markets are based around enabling businesses to invest in projects that enhance the ability of land, freshwater and marine habitats to provide, among other benefits, carbon storage and sequestration, nature recovery and clean water.

High-integrity natural capital markets could provide much needed new sources of financing for the restoration, conservation, and sustainable management of the UK’s coastal ecosystems. Rising temperatures, ocean acidification, deoxygenation, pollution, and other forms of environmental change caused by human activities are driving the deterioration of the world’s oceans. The finance gap to meet the UK’s nature-related outcomes is estimated to be at least between £44 billion and £97 billion over the next 10 years – with a central estimate of £56 billion.

The publication of the report is a key step on the journey towards establishing a framework for high-integrity marine natural capital markets in the UK, which could enable significant and consistent flows of money into projects where restoration supports communities and nature.

Stakeholders are being invited to offer feedback on the 20 recommendations made by those involved in the first stage of the research – deadline to submit comments is midnight on Thursday 26th October.

Caroline Price, Senior Development Manager, Habitat Creation, The Crown Estate, said:

“Coastal areas, estuaries, and offshore waters contribute significantly to the country’s blue economy, worth an estimated £47 billion and representing over 500,000 jobs. They also provide a multitude of vital services. But despite their critical value to society and the environment, substantial evidence clearly highlights the degradation of many of our most precious coastal and marine ecosystems.

“While government and philanthropic funding is helping to protect and restore these ecosystems, there remains an estimated £56 billion funding gap to deliver nature recovery in the UK. The potential for private finance to help bridge this gap and radically scale up the flow of investment into this vital work is significant, provided it focuses on delivering high-integrity outcomes for society and nature. A collaborative approach to enabling this is essential and that is why The Crown Estate is pleased to be partnering with several others on the publication of this report. Reversing long-term damage in the marine environment cannot be achieved overnight nor can it be delivered by any one organisation in isolation. At The Crown Estate, we’re committed to working with others to enhance our investment in marine nature recovery and to arrive at a shared vision of success for delivering systems change in support of new marine natural capital markets across the UK.”

Click here to download the report Accelerating marine restoration: Laying the foundations of high integrity marine natural capital markets across the UK