Nature and environment

Nature is critical to our existence, quality of life and livelihoods; this is why nature is at the very core of our vision to create the most sustainable and attractive marine economy and environment in the world. 

Unlocking a Resilient Blue Future: Delivering for Nature as part of a thriving Marine Economy 

As custodians of the marine environment, The Crown Estate has a unique opportunity to unlock ways to deliver for nature alongside supporting the UK’s ambitions for energy security, net zero and economic growth. We have a responsibility to recognise the role of natural resources in supporting a resilient future for the nation. 

By treating nature as a sector, The Crown Estate ensures it has equal weight in decisions, protecting habitats and unlocking space for recovery while balancing growing demands on the seabed. With an increasingly busy marine space this recognition is vital. Without it, nature is at risk of being squeezed out of the picture, considered only from the perspective of constraints and mitigation, and something that needs to fit around infrastructure deployment and other industry needs. 

More detail is available in our latest publication, which can be found here: Unlocking a Resilient Blue Future: Delivering for Nature alongside a thriving Marine Economy.

Nature Recovery Ambition and Marine and Coastal Targets 

In January 2025 we published an update to our Nature Recovery Ambition, focusing on the targets and actions we will take to meet the first of our three nature goals: to deliver a measurable increase in biodiversity for The Crown Estate’s holdings across land and sea by 2030.  

The update includes the following headline targets for achieving this in the marine and coastal environment: 

1. Integrate nature as a priority into the Marine Delivery Routemap.    

2. Increase understanding of the state of protected and vulnerable habitats 

3. Accelerate private sector investment in nature 

In our Marine business, all our activities are guided by four marine nature principles which are designed to operationalise our Nature Recovery Ambition and support the achievement of our targets.  These are: 

• Unlock space for nature to thrive

• Protect vulnerable habitats and species

• Deliver positive outcomes for nature and people

• Promote sustainable investment in nature

Integrate nature as a priority into the Marine Delivery Routemap   

We recognise that nature is everywhere in the marine and coastal environment and that there are opportunities to deliver positive outcomes for nature in every activity that we manage across our foreshore and seabed. Our Marine Delivery Routemap will allow us to explore and plan for multiple future scenarios that can inform pathways to achieving both a secure and decarbonised energy system and a thriving, resilient marine environment.  

It is important to emphasise that our priority is to enable the right outcomes for nature, in the right locations and delivered in the right way. The starting point for this is therefore understanding what the opportunities are for nature recovery, where they may be realised and how they could be taken forward (including the financing to underpin delivery). 

Routemap allows us to consider a holistic approach to nature recovery alongside infrastructure development and minimises the risks of missing opportunities to both avoid harm and deliver larger benefits.

Further details about the Marine Delivery Routemap can be found here.   

Increase understanding of the state of protected and vulnerable habitats and species

 The UK has led in supporting the ambition of the Global Biodiversity Framework, translating these international commitments into domestic policy, with focussed approaches for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our approach to nature in our Marine business is designed to support the UK’s delivery against these targets, and we are committed to playing our part in these efforts. Our guiding nature principles intentionally capture the suite of target areas specified in relevant legislation and policy, recognising differences in focus for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.  

We recognise the importance of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in supporting a healthy and flourishing marine environment, however our approach looks beyond this network considering how the entire mosaic of connected habitats and species is critical. By working to understand the state of our protected and vulnerable habitats and species, we can identify opportunities to support enhancement and improved resilience. 

Accelerate private sector investment in nature 

Despite the importance of our natural assets and the benefits society draws from them, we know that investment in this area remains low. Research by the Green Finance Institute in 2021 indicated that between £44bn and £97bn is needed to realise the opportunities that a recovered and restored natural environment offers, and The Crown Estate is committed to playing its part in addressing the funding gap for nature.   

We are actively supporting the development of credible and effective delivery pathways for natural capital outcomes. Through collaborating with stakeholders and customers to pilot new methods that deliver enhancement, restoration and recovery we are gathering valuable insights into the opportunities and challenges of different approaches. 

Looking ahead, our ambition is to bring forward leasing opportunities that are specifically designed to catalyse natural capital projects. By doing so, we hope to galvanise investment, foster innovation, and build a strong foundation of learning to support future initiatives in this exciting and rapidly developing field.  

Small Habitat Activity Licences  

For activities and projects that interact with The Crown Estate’s ownership, permissions will be required before the project can begin and will typically be an agreement in the form of a licence or a lease. This is in addition to any consents required from statutory authorities within devolved administrations.

We have introduced a simplified licencing product (the Small Habitats Activities Licence, or SHAL) which enables short-term (usually less than 5 years) restoration activities seeking to trial different methodologies. You can find out more about the Small Habitat Activity Licences on the Small Habitat Licensing page here.