Nature Repair Market
The Nature Repair Market is a government initiative that incentivises and rewards land management actions to restore and protect the environment. The Nature Repair Market will establish a marketplace where individuals and organisations can undertake nature repair projects to generate a tradable certificate.
These projects could include:
- re-establishing vegetation along waterways or dams,
- keeping pests and feral species from destroying native species and ecosystems,
- planting native shelterbelts or revegetation blocks on farms, and more.
Those eligible to take part include First Nations people and organisations, conservation groups and farmers.
The Nature Repair Market is currently in development and is expected to open in January 2025. This market will be the first national, voluntary biodiversity market to be established internationally, however there are several private sector markets that are already up and running.
Read more about the Nature Repair Market.
How will the Nature Repair Market work?
Each nature repair project must be designed in line with an approved nature repair method. The project is expected to create a biodiversity improvement and when this has been achieved, the project proponent can apply for a Biodiversity Certificate.
Each Nature Repair Market project can only generate one Biodiversity Certificate over its duration. Once a Biodiversity Certificate has been sold, the associated biodiversity improvement is expected to be maintained over the project’s ‘permanence period’, typically 25 or 100 years.
The steps below provide a guide to how the Nature Repair Market process may work:
What kind of projects can be done under the Nature Repair Market?
Participants will need to design and deliver their project according to one of the approved methods.
Several different Nature Repair Market methods are currently being developed, with the first one expected to be released in January 2025. The methods currently in development are:
- Enhancing remnant vegetation* – protection and enhancement of existing native vegetation.
Examples: fencing areas off, weed and pest animal control. - Carbon + biodiversity* – environmental restoration projects to create both biodiversity certificates and carbon credits. Projects must be registered with both the ACCU scheme and the Nature Repair Market.
Examples: plantings for stock/animal shelter, dam/waterway protection, reducing soil erosion, habitat for native species and/or contribution to native vegetation corridors. - Native forest – protect, restore and manage native forests.
- Invasive pest management – control of specific feral pests and/or weeds.
Note, it is still unclear if the Nature Repair Market will include projects that undertake pest management activities required by law. - Permanent protection – protect and conserve biodiversity in line with the national goal of protecting 30% of land by 2030 (30 x 30 plan).
- Rangelands – manage and enhance habitat in arid and semi-arid areas.
- Indigenous-led methods – to be advised.
* currently being piloted
What does this mean for me?
Farmers, First Nations communities and other landholders in the Northern and Yorke region have the potential to earn money by doing nature repair projects on their land. This could diversify income streams to improve resilience of farm businesses and communities to climate change, particularly drought.
By undertaking carbon + biodiversity projects, farmers have the opportunity to generate income through both the Nature Repair Market and the ACCU scheme. There are several ways South Australian landholders may be able to get involved, including projects that:
- Start new revegetation activities or expand existing efforts
- Protect and enhance remnant vegetation
- Fence off dams and creeks
- Manage invasive weeds or animals
While there are potential opportunities for diversified income, if you are interested in engaging in the Nature Repair Market you should make yourself aware of the costs, risks and legal and administrative requirements associated with entering the Market. We recommend contacting a nature repair consultant, such as Canopy or Regen Co, to discuss if this is the right opportunity for you.
How does the Nature Repair Market compare to the Australian carbon market?
Read more about carbon farming and the ACCU Scheme.
| Nature Repair Market | ACCU scheme | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Improved biodiversity outcomes: Native revegetation, protection of remnant vegetation and pest species management | Reduce net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by increasing storage of carbon/nitrogen and/or avoiding the release of GHGs. |
| Who can participate | Australian landholders (farmers, First Nations communities, councils, individual landholders etc.) | Individuals, sole traders, companies, trusts and local, state and territory government bodies |
| Tradeable unit | Biodiversity certificate | Australian carbon credit unit (ACCU) |
| 1 unit is equal to | 1 nature repair project | 1 tonne of CO2-equivalent (CO2e) emissions stored or avoided |
| Units generated over duration of project | 1 | 100s – 1000s+ |
| Unit value | Negotiated between the buyer and the project proponent | The market rate of ACCUs is currently ~$38/ACCU, driven by supply and demand of credits. Price can be negotiated between the buyer and seller to a value higher or lower than the market rate |
| Potential buyers | Biodiversity certificates cannot be purchased to offset nature clearing, destruction or degradation. There are many potential reasons an individual, business or organisation may buy a biodiversity certificate, including philanthropy, marketing purposes to appeal to an environmentally-conscious market or as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals. | ACCUs can be purchased to offset GHG emissions. Therefore, businesses and organisations looking to offset their carbon emissions may choose to or be required to purchase ACCUs to become net zero or carbon neutral. |
| Duration of project (‘permanence period’) | 25 or 100 years (or as directed by the method) | 25 or 100 years: Crediting period (time over which the project can generate ACCUs) is generally 7 years for emission avoidance projects and 25 for sequestration projects. |
