This is the first NCFF operation that supports a Biodiversity Offseting scheme. The operation consists of a EUR 5 million loan to the French CDC Biodiversité, a subsidiary  of the Caisse des Dépots, who will use the loan for the rehabilitation and management of conservation sites around France. The rehabilitation and management of conservation sites will allow CDC Biodiversité to generate offset credits (Unités de Compensation) for clients which are required to offset their impacts on certain habitats and species as a condition of a planning permission. This EIB loan will enable CDC Biodiversité to support investment in new sites, while keeping its existing sites, some of which  have high ecological value, and make the necessary investments to register and market the credits of those sites to comply with regulatory requirements in France.

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The city of Athens is the first local authority to benefit from the NCFF programme in urban renewal and regeneration projects integrating nature-based solutions. A €5 million NCFF loan is financing the integration of green-blue components into the restoration of public squares, parks and streets, including the revitalization of Lycabettus hill, an urban forest that has been a notable part of Athens landscape for centuries, where soil and biodiversity will be stabilized through upgraded water management and erosion control systems. The NCFF loan is complemented by half a million-worth technical assistance (TA) grant for re-designing selected urban spaces. This NCFF TA is linked to another TA package that supports Athens to integrate climate mitigation and earthquake resilience measures in public and listed buildings, and provided by the European Investment Advisory Hub under URBIS. The NCFF operation contributes to reduce urban heat islands, increase natural water infiltration, improve biodiversity and improve overall attractiveness of the affected neighborhoods, making Athens a more resilient city combating climate change. The NCFF loan is attached to an existing 50€ million EIB loan. Both loan operations coupled with the TAs from NCFF and URBIS aim at supporting Athens to implement its Resilience Strategy for 2030.

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The first project supported by the NCFF, signed in April 2017, was a EUR 6 million loan to Rewilding Europe Capital. It will provide support for over 30 nature-focused businesses across Europe. The comeback of iconic and threatened European wildlife species such as the European bison, brown bear, black vultures as well as pelicans and white-tailed eagles of the Danube and Oder Delta, to name a few, could also benefit from the investments.

White pelicans, Pelecanus onocrotalus, Danube delta rewilding area, Romania
Copyright: Staffan Widstrand / Rewilding Europe

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The SLM Silva Fund is a specialised fund focusing on sustainable forestry in Ireland. The strategy of the fund is to acquire semi-mature plantations and to transition these forests to ‘Continuous Cover Forestry’ or ‘Close to Nature’ management, an alternative to the widely-used single-species clear fell-replant system. Continuous Cover Forestry maintains permanent forest cover and promotes a mixed forest structure. It is a commercially viable management model which promotes biodiversity, soil health and landscape value. The fund has now reached its first close and is initiating its investment period.

This operation consists of on-lending EUR 15m to the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) through a so-called ‘multi beneficiary investment loan’.  HBOR, with its special local expertise and understanding of the Croatian market, will provide smaller loans to projects investing into the area of conservation, restoration and nature-based adaptation, such as eco-tourism, sustainable agriculture and forestry or green infrastructure for cities. The operation is particularly important in Croatia given its rich biodiversity and significant contribution to the Natura 2000 network.

“Nature is essential for our lives, and our economy. The rewilding Europe project will be the first of many that the Natural Capital Financing Facility will assist in our plans to create rural jobs and protect nature”
Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

Projects financed under the NCFF