Galloway Fisheries Trust is exploring how habitat restoration can be scaled up utilising novel sources of funding, for larger restoration works at a greater number of sites and co-ordinated at the catchment-scale. The River Annan Restoration Project is developing investment-ready restoration project packages to attract private-sector funding for the benefit of the River Annan catchment and its ecosystem services.
The project is funded by NatureScot through the Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS) and The National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland.
Project Summary
Galloway Fisheries Trust (GFT) has been working for many years to restore river habitats for the benefit of native fish populations, biodiversity and the climate resilience of freshwater systems, with many successful projects delivered across SW Scotland.
Key to achieving these aims is carrying out habitat restoration work at scale.
There are acknowledged gaps between the private sector and nature restoration. Many of the processes to achieve restoration such as securing grant funding and on-the-ground techniques are familiar to eNGOS, such as GFT, but may not be to the private sector looking to create such an impact.
With the need for catchment-scale restoration and hopes to bridge the gaps between the private sector and nature restoration, GFT is exploring this through the ‘FIRNS’ fund. The Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS) is provided by NatureScot and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Through FIRNS funding, GFT has been working to establish an ‘investment-ready’ project, resulting in the development of the River Annan Restoration Project.
Key aims of FIRNS are to identify and learn how projects can be developed, designed and marketed to prospective private funders in Scotland. GFT has been exploring this process and putting this into practice through the River Annan Restoration Project.
This ambitious catchment wide project has a holistic focus of restoring river habitats, benefiting ecosystem services (e.g. flood risk) whilst also increasing biodiversity and climate resilience. GFT have been working closely with the Annan DSFB and now re-activated River Annan Trust throughout. The River Annan Restoration project will develop on-the-ground projects focused on delivering valuable benefits to the ecosystem, while investigating methods to make the restoration visible and attractive to prospective private funders.
Find out more on the project website: https://riverannanrestoration.org/
Project Phases
The River Annan Restoration Project has progressed through several phases that match with funding stages.
FIRNS 1
FIRNS 1 focused on the initial scoping of the opportunity for a catchment-wide portfolio of restoration works across the River Annan, and the potential for restoration to draw in private funding. Funding allowed us at GFT to identify the current challenges and obstacles to attaining private sector funding.
FIRNS 2
GFT successfully received a second phase of funding, FIRNS 2. Work began in April 2024 on this stage, with the aims to begin tackling the identified challenges, and put structures in place to develop the project to ‘investment ready’. GFT chose to employ a learning-by doing approach with the use of pilot sites. A selection of diverse sites was identified in the upper Annan catchment to trial and actively develop for the project.
Using these pilot sites, GFT has designed restoration plans and explored how different metrics could be used to measure the environmental benefits of such works. This is a key consideration in ensuring that the project provides a transparent and robust opportunity to those wanting to fund the work.
We have also been working with landowners at these sites to discuss project-landowner agreements, which will set out how the works will be delivered, maintained and monitored to ensure that restoration works will deliver the environmental benefits they intend to.
Drawing on findings from FIRNS 1, community engagement was piloted as part of the project. These drew on work from the pilot sites and helped to inform the project’s progression.
The development of the pilot sites allowed continued exploration of the next phase of sites elsewhere in the catchment. Several other sites were identified and discussions initiated to explore their restoration opportunities.
Another workstream has been to explore the options for the use of a ‘special purpose vehicle’ to operate the project. Having done so, GFT has worked to re-activate the currently dormant River Annan Trust (RAT), which will serve to take ownership and management of the project.
FIRNS 3
The project currently sits in it’s third funding stage, FIRNS 3, following its successful application as of June 2025. This has allowed GFT to continue and begin development of additional project sites in the mid to lower catchment areas. Thereby allowing a pipeline of investment-ready projects, to continue from the pilot sites.
A key part of this third stage of funding has also been working with a market engagement consultant company, Accelar, who have been approaching private investors on the project’s behalf to identify interest and possible funding opportunities for restoration works. FIRNS provides funding for GFT staff time to carry out project work, but also importantly enables us to bring in significant additional expertise to assist, such as Accelar, who are at the forefront of the Natural Capital Market.
With community benefits being an important output of the overall project, GFT have also been working with Flutterbyte on a tailored community engagement plan. They have also created a project website, creating an accessible space to learn about the project’s progress.
Finally, work has been taking place to establish what the project-funder agreement will look like, what the costs of the project are, how the payments are made, what the quantified benefits of the works are, and how the funder can use or publicise this info to demonstrate the positive impact that they’ve enabled
FIRNS 3 will complete at the end of March 2026.
The River Annan Restoration Projected, funded by FIRNS, focuses on attracting funding for habitat restoration through novel mechanisms, exploring ways it will provide beneficial outcomes to local communities, and delivering catchment-scale restoration that will benefit species and habitats throughout the river network.
A paid internship is available from October 2025 for 6 months to work with Galloway Fisheries Trust on our River Annan Restoration Project.
Thanks to funding from the Scottish Government's Nature Restoration Fund managed by NatureScot, GFT has been working over the past year to design four exciting new restoration sites across the South West of Scotland.
Freshwater invertebrates are relatively common within rivers and burns. They include groups such as insects, molluscs (snails), crustaceans (shrimps) and annelids (worms), amongst others.
