A SCOTS green fund has distributed almost £3m in an effort to improve the health of coasts and seas around the counrty.
Close to reaching the £3m fund provision breakthrough, the Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF) opens its privately-funded grant today.
SMEEF is Scotland’s only large-scale green finance initiative working towards marine and coastal ecosystem restoration.
The next stage of grants provision comes from £225,000 supplied by private donors. An additional £100,000 is also awaiting approval from the SMEEFS Ethical Contribution Board.
Up to £25,000 of grants are available for applications concerning project development like baseline surveys.
A special award of up to £100,000, is reserved for other ventures. These include projects collecting evidence to support marine restoration to others assessing programme effectiveness.
The grant comes at a crucial moment in climate change momentum, with the ongoing COP27 summit, and the upcoming decision on UN’s Biodiversity global targets in December.
The scheme is also a critical step for the country’s Biodiversity Strategy.
The six-month-old organisation came from the joint efforts of NatureScot, the Scottish government and Crown State Scotland. The offshore wind energy sector provided the financial grounds.
The partnership strives to attract other sector businesses to continue their support cycle, as restoring ecosystems will benefit society altogether.
Francesca Osowska, NatureScot’s Chief Executive, said: “To achieve net zero in Scotland by 2045, solutions based in nature will be key to our success.
“This project is a great example of how many individuals and groups coming together to protect our seas and coasts can make a huge difference.
“Private investment in natural capital is critical to enabling the pace and the scale of action required to fulfil Scotland’s world-leading ambitions on addressing climate change and biodiversity loss.”
“I am encouraged to see that businesses recognise that the Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund offers a responsible and reliable route for investment in Scotland’s marine natural capital.
“I look forward to further support that will enable SMEEF to deliver truly transformative change.”
Despite only starting in May, SMEEF has already helped multiple programmes including the creation of a floating garden in Clyde.
Ronan O’Hara, Chief Executive of Crown Estate Scotland, said, “Over the months and years to come, I expect we’ll see more businesses take an increasingly proactive role in protecting nature – SMEEF sets a great early example.”
