Environment Protection
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support is available for land managers seeking to transition to rewilding based approaches, including advisory services and payment schemes.
Answered by Mary Creagh
Defra has recently announced £30 million for the new Wildlife Rich Habitat Fund, expected to deliver thousands of hectares of new habitat across England’s protected landscapes over three years, helping to bring nature back to the places people love most.
We committed in the revised Environmental Improvement Plan in December 2025 to mobilise private investment and finance to restore and protect nature in England. This includes our £30 million investment in a new investment fund for nature: the Big Nature Impact Fund.
The Government has also reconfirmed its commitment to Environmental Land Management schemes in the most recent Spending Review. One of these schemes, Landscape Recovery, whilst not a rewilding scheme, is designed to support larger, more ambitious projects to restore nature across England, with long-term agreements lasting over 20 years. Landscape Recovery combines private finance with Government funding to allow these projects to deliver a suite of critical environmental outcomes.
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