FOUR pilot projects are being proposed in Dumfries and Galloway to demonstrate the value of ‘natural capital’.
It is a theme of the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal and they say it underpins the development of the rural economy, and supports clean growth.
Now the UK and Scottish Governments will jointly fund up to £5 million in Scotland, to develop trials and strategies to capture the benefits of the region’s natural capital.
In the South of Scotland, they will fund projects which will deliver a series of interventions designed to demonstrate the impact of investment in natural capital assets to support long-term economic benefit, through supporting jobs, businesses growth and by providing learning for embedding natural capital into future investment.
There will be an agri-environment project led by Dumfries and Galloway Council and to be delivered in partnership with Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere. It will focus on engagement of farmers and land managers in the Biosphere, with new ways of working to protect and enhance natural capital, and identification of the potential benefits to them through new revenue models linked to public and private sector investment. This will deliver direct economic benefit through new jobs and GVA, as well as safeguard livelihoods, more sustainable businesses, skills and innovation, and long-term investible projects for the private sector.
There will also be a marine pilot looking at ‘A Sustainable Solway Economy’ and led by Dumfries and Galloway Council and the Solway Firth Partnership, focusing on habitat restoration in support of biodiversity, climate mitigation and the fishing and shellfish industry and saltmarsh-based livestock products, as well as water quality and coastal flood defence. This will deliver direct economic benefit through new jobs and GVA, as well as a sustainable farming and fishing industry, additional benefits for the visitor economy, safeguarded livelihoods, and enhanced flood resilience, delivering a legacy of skills, research, and capacity in the region.
Furthermore, it’s envisaged that there is an opportunity to develop a large-scale holistic project to roll out new techniques, to address carbon sequestration, biodiversity loss and the health of the commercial fishery in the Solway estuary, along with addressing infrastructure and landscape enhancement of coastal margins. This would include: Marine habitat restoration and expansion – initially sea grass beds and oyster reef; coastal habitats restoration and expansion – saltmarsh and wetlands; and maritime/coast/temperate rain forest type woodland development along the coastal strip.
Meanwhile, South Scotland Enterprise are leading the Borderlands Natural Capital Investment Plan and a data pilot on Natural Capital Data Audit and Mapping.
A report on the projects will go before councillors this week and Cllr Katie Hagmann said: “Dumfries and Galloway, and the south of Scotland as a whole, is primarily an agricultural region, and our coastline stretches for over 200 miles, so we are in an excellent position to enhance, preserve and utilise our outstanding natural capital.
“Providing members of the Economy and Resources committee agree, we welcome the funding for these are exciting projects and all the benefits that they will bring.”
