LIFE Stewardship launches a financing instrument explorer

The Global Nature Foundation, partner in the LIFE Stewardship project, has developed an online tool to explore the suitability of various instruments for financing land stewardship initiatives. It can be accessed via La Plaza de la Custodia (The Stewardship Square), a portal created by the Technical Stewardship Office as part of LIFE Stewardship to foster knowledge and dialogue regarding this nature conservation tool.

This explorer was created based on the report “Financing Instruments for Nature and Their Application in Land Stewardship Processes.” It is primarily aimed at stewardship organizations seeking funding for their initiatives, but it is also useful for companies wishing to invest in nature conservation and restoration by supporting stewardship projects, as well as for public authorities and other interested stakeholders.

The tool relies on a ten-question survey regarding the general characteristics of the stewardship initiative requiring funding. Users provide details such as the ecosystem type, the initiative’s purpose, the stage of the stewardship process, land protection status, property ownership, dominant land use, the environmental issue addressed, economic scale, project size (in hectares), and the project promoter. The survey uses closed-ended questions; users can go back to change their answers, and responses are scored against each of the various financing instruments.

Based on this information, the tool generates a list—ranked by suitability—of the most appropriate financing instruments from those identified in the report on nature financing instruments. Users can consult the report, which complements the explorer, for further information and a deeper understanding of the instruments.

Thus, just as in the report, the explorer classifies each instrument according to its timeframe—categorizing them as emerging, traditional, or innovative; based on their suitability for stewardship initiatives—whether high-potential or subject to limitations—or depending on whether preconditions for their use are required. Examples include payments for ecosystem services and environmental offsets (both innovative and highly suitable), carbon credits (emerging and high-potential), and philanthropy (traditional and highly suitable).

This offers a quick and easy way to begin exploring innovative financing methods tailored to each specific case.

LIFE STEWARDSHIP  

The overall aim of the LIFE Stewardship project is to use land stewardship-based approaches to boost collaboration involving public and private entities as well as civil society for nature conservation and restoration in Spain, in the framework of the Europe Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and international agreements. 

The project is coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, with the participation of Eurosite, the Forum of Land Stewardship Networks and Entities (FRECT), Global Nature Foundation (FGN), Fernando González Bernáldez/ Europarc-Spain Foundation, SEO/BirdLife and Nature Conservation Network (XCN) as partners. It has the financial contribution of the LIFE Programme of the European Union.