Scottish Rivers Fund
Restoring Scotland’s rivers for nature and people
Launching in 2026
About the Scottish Rivers Fund
The Scottish Rivers Fund is an innovative funding mechanism dedicated to restoring the health, resilience and biodiversity of river catchments in Scotland. By focusing on river catchments, the Fund takes a broad, integrated approach to addressing environmental pressures on rivers to deliver positive impacts for nature and people.
In line with the Scottish Government’s Principles for Responsible Investment in Natural Capital, the Scottish Rivers Fund will mobilise private capital through voluntary contributions to support local projects across Scotland. These projects will be selected on a competitive basis to deliver measurable ecological, social, and business-relevant outcomes for our rivers, fully aligned with national policy priorities.
The development of the Scottish Rivers Fund is being led by Fisheries Management Scotland, working in collaboration with partners and supported by the Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS), delivered by NatureScot in collaboration with The Scottish Government and in partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Scottish Rivers Fund is expected to be launched in 2026, with NatureScot acting as the Fund’s host.
Core Aims
Support local river restoration projects across Scotland’s river catchments that:
- Align with national policy priorities including the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, the Wild Salmon Strategy, and Scotland’s River Basin Management Plans
- Deliver a diverse range of river restoration project types that enhance ecosystem health, species diversity, and abundance
- Empower and enable local knowledge and action in river restoration
Deliver measurable and business-relevant ecological and social outcomes by:
- Implementing robust monitoring and reporting, aligned with global frameworks including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)
- Collaborating with local organisations to deliver integrated, partnership-driven projects
- Engaging communities in river restoration activities
Unlock high integrity, responsible investment into river ecosystems by:
- Creating nature-positive engagement opportunities for corporate contributors aligned with ESG and CSR commitments
- Ensuring good fund governance, management oversight, verifiable monitoring and impact reporting
- Investing in projects that meet national nature investment standards including Scottish Government’s Natural Capital Market Framework
The Project Pipeline
Ready to go projects worth £10.5 million
Approx. 200 almost funding ready projects (1-2 years from delivery).
The ready-to-go pipeline projects have the potential to collectively deliver:
trees to be planted
100 kilometers of rivers to be restored
4 barriers to be removed or mitigated
1,200 hectares of land to be restored
40 jobs expected to be supported
How to engage
We are now looking for early partners and supporters to help realise the ambition of the Scottish Rivers Fund ahead of its launch in 2026.
Whether you’re interested in investing in the Scottish Rivers Fund, curious about future funding opportunities, or simply want to learn about the Fund and how you can engage, we would like to hear from you.
