The Kent Wildlife Trust has outlined an ambition to increase wildlife abundance and climate resilience across 30% of Kent in new 2030 strategy, to be partly financed by nature-based solutions such as carbon credits, as well as potentially those which fall under upcoming countrywide biodiversity-supportive regulation, it said Friday.
The strategy has been launched by the Kent conservation charity as it seeks to outline ways to make the county more resilient to the climate and nature crises by increasing conservation and wilding areas in the southeastern region of England.
Some of the efforts would be paid for by nature-based solutions, according to the plan, which it specifies as “finance to establish restoration and provide money for long-term management”, and points directly to the use of carbon units.
The Trust said it will look to diversify its income streams via the Wilder Carbon programme, a UK standard that enables the development of native habitat restoration projects for the domestic voluntary carbon market (VCM) and had its first two projects validated in February.
The Trust added that by incorporating the programme into its 2030 goals, this would enable businesses to invest in nature by purchasing carbon units as part of the strategy for Kent.
The paper also references biodiversity net gain regulation due to come into effect at the end of the year in England.
The legislation includes details on how biodiversity units may be used to help finance and reward efforts which meet the mandatory rule by which any new developments must satisfy a 10% net nature gain metric in England and Wales.
Addressing the difficulties with real-time measuring of climate and nature mitigation efforts, the Trust said it had built up its digital expertise in the last few years and was in the process of creating conservation planning tools.
Such investments would enable the body to track impacts through a map-based system, backed up by on-the-ground monitoring using multi-layered use of technologies such as drones and carbon flux monitoring.
“Connecting people with nature and restoring nature at scale is fundamental to fighting the climate and biodiversity crises. It will take a concerted effort from us all to enact the change that now needs to be made. One organisation cannot do this alone,” said Evan Bowen-Jones, CEO of Kent Wildlife Trust, in a statement.
SPECIES REINTRODUCTION
Within the Wilder Kent 2030 Strategy, the Trust added that it is committed to the introduction of species to the region, such as wild bison to West Blean and Thornden Woods near to Canterbury.
An emphasis will also be placed on conservation grazing via a government programme which uses animals to help reshape landscapes and create nature-rich habitats.
A ‘Wilder Waters Strategy’ is further being developed restoring fisheries and building coastal resilience, the charity said, continuing efforts to improve water quality through nature-based solutions, including using beavers to manage wetland habitats.
GARDEN OF ENGLAND
The region is often known as the ‘Garden of England’ as it has historically been home to farms, hills, and wide stretches of countryside.
Yet it continues to risk losing this 400-year-old title due to recent problems with overcrowding, pollution, and a flood of commuters to London settling in the county.
Due to global warming, the Kent Wildlife Trust report estimates that by 2030 summers in Kent will be on average 3C hotter. Temperatures soared past 40C last summer, which led to wildfires across the region and many species, notably insects and tree species, dying in significant numbers.
By Roy Manuell – roy@carbon-pulse.com
