In a first for the country, South Downs National Park will offer businesses an opportunity to invest in “high-ethic, effective nature recovery”, in a bid to make its land more biodiverse.

The park authority has ear-marked 500 hectares of farm and country estate land across the national park, from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in East Sussex- an area of land equivalent to 800 football pitches.

With the intent to improve animal and plant variety to raise the land’s overall biodiversity. The voluntary biodiversity credits scheme will also include investment monitoring, to avoid double counting or potential greenwashing.

The green credit scheme is part of the authority’s ReNature campaign, which aims to create 13,000 acres of new land for habitats to form. With 33% of the park managed solely for nature by 2030, with the remaining 67% considered nature-friendly.

Tim Slaney, interim chief executive for South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA), says the green investment scheme would fund “high-ethic, effective nature recovery”.

Stanley goes on to say there is a “real appetite across the corporate sector to demonstrate first-class environmental integrity,, meet national targets and invest in the planet for future generations and that’s exactly what voluntary biodiversity credits can deliver.

“National parks have to seize this moment and capitalise on this tremendous opportunity to enable nature to bounce back.”

The park authority is also working with tech company, Earthly, to help locate investors and monitor the scheme’s progression.