One of the expected results is to establish a new funding framework for expanding public and private finance opportunities to support private land conservation in Spain and the rest of the European Union, including a collection of best examples and demonstrative innovations on land stewardship, especially in terms of innovative financing tools that may allow the development of conservation and restoration projects based on land stewardship strategies.
The objective is to expand the use of innovative tools for financing nature conservation and restoration, promoting land stewardship projects that fosters innovation, facilitates the generation of alliances and partnerships, and promotes funding opportunities.
The project analyzes the opportunities offered by public financing mechanisms, such as grants, tax incentives, environmental fees or taxes, as well as private instruments, such as environmental credit markets (CO2 and biodiversity), offset measures, certifications, green bonds or investments, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies, among others.
To this end, collaboration among the various stewardship stakeholders and representatives from the public and private sectors is essential, and this effort is supported by various organizations such as the Spanish Business and Biodiversity Initiative, which is coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), as well as the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), the Spanish Group for Green Growth (GECV), the Business and Climate Foundation (FEC), and the Spanish Association of Foundations (AEF).
In addition, the plan also calls for mobilizing funds to finance land stewardship initiatives through grant programs launched by MITECO’s Biodiversity Foundation, identifying new opportunities for public funding for stewardship initiatives, and supporting stewardship organizations to encourage and facilitate their participation in grant programs funded by European funds, such as Interreg or Horizon Europe.
LIFE STEWARDSHIP will implement what have been called Innovation Lighthouses, a set of
practical pilot projects
Hectares
Provinces
designed to test and validate the innovative financing tools identified. The development of these projects is expected to cover at least 5,000 hectares in 15 provinces, and at least seven of them are expected to have an impact on conservation objectives of the Birds and Habitats Directives.