The West of England has launched the nation’s first nature recovery strategy, setting a precedent for investment-driven environmental resilience. The approach hopes to demonstrate that nature-based investments are not only viable but profitable for both public and private stakeholders.
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00:00Well, what it's about is people talking to each other, getting information from one another,
00:15being able to have the confidence to say, this is an area where I'm less strong, how
00:20do I get the knowledge and the skills and the resource to do what I want to achieve?
00:26So it's a very important way of connecting people to help the environment and help nature.
00:31Our region is very progressive in nature and the environment, and I'm very proud of that.
00:37And that's why we needed to do this first, because our people are already first when
00:41it comes to these matters, and we reflect the people.
00:43So I'm very proud that we've done that.
00:45But actually, what happens now is what's really going to be important, because being first
00:50is no good.
00:51If you don't stay first, and I'm determined we are at that cutting edge, changing and
00:55shaping nature and the environment for the positive over the coming years, not just next
01:00year and the year after, but decades.
01:04I'm Bevis Watts.
01:05I'm Chief Executive of Triodos Bank.
01:08The Western England Nature Partnership has been one of, if not the UK's leading local
01:13nature partnership for some time.
01:15And I think we've got a great platform to build on here, and we're from a region that
01:19has a lot of track record in doing really innovative things and breaking the mould.
01:24So I'm very hopeful that we have all the right people engaged around the table, and we just
01:31have to have real ambition and real focus.
01:33Hi, I'm Kerry McCarthy.
01:35I've been the Labour Member of Parliament for Bristol East for the past 19 years.
01:41Yeah, I think what we need to do, we need all the players, all the stakeholders to come
01:48together to help support this.
01:50The volunteers have been brilliant.
01:53The groups like Avon Wildlife Trust, the charities that are involved in this sector, have been
01:58really great as well.
02:00But we do need to get finance in.
02:02We need to get the business experience in to make sure that we can make the most of
02:07the opportunities that we've got in the area in terms of protecting nature.
02:12And I really welcome the fact that the business community is part of this.
02:16Well, we need to really invest heavily in nature's recovery in order to be more resilient
02:27to climate change and reverse it, and also reverse biodiversity loss, which isn't just
02:32a nice thing to do.
02:34It's central to our future economic prosperity and our own wellbeing.
02:38So it's imperative that not just Triodos Bank, but all banks and financial institutions are
02:43starting to think about how their investments are nature positive.
02:46Well, we now have a number of replicable models where we've demonstrated how you can invest
02:52in nature and that it is economically viable to do so.
02:57And some of those are here in this region, and notably Avon Needs Trees, where we've
03:03lent nearly £4 million for the acquisition of a farm that will become a huge area of
03:07reforestation.
03:08So we just have to show it can be done.
03:10We have to then replicate it and encourage people to take responsibility and accountability
03:16for their own impacts on nature.
03:18Well, the devolution strategy needs to roll out.
03:22What we've got to do is make decisions at the best level.
03:24And in my view, many of the issues that relate to the environment and to nature need to be
03:28made at very localised levels.
03:30Some things can be done more broadly right across the region.
03:33Some things have to be done linking in with what national government's doing, and indeed
03:37with nations abroad in some respect.
03:40So what this is all about is making decisions at the best place, wherever that level is,
03:44we want to be doing it.
03:46And devolution and the rolling out of devolution gives us that opportunity to make smart decisions
03:51at the right level so that they're quick, effective and cost-effective.
03:54Well, look, our region, as I've mentioned, is, I think, the most progressive in the whole
04:00of the country when it comes to nature and the environment.
04:04And devolution allows us to express that, to reflect the will and the drives and the
04:08motivation of our people, to translate that into action that will make a difference to
04:13the planet and will improve nature.