Funding

Every year, there are calls for public grants that can be useful for the land stewardship entity. The main sources are directly related to nature conservation. Still, other areas such as agriculture, education, tourism and industry should also be considered.

Consideration should also be given to the possible tax incentives available to a landowner or title holder who makes a commitment to nature conservation on their farm.

In this regard, it is worth noting, at the national level, the amendments to Law 49/2002 on the tax regime for non-profit organisations and tax incentives for patronage, and at the regional level, the Register of Estates with Conservation Initiatives, which has been set up in Catalonia.

Numerous opportunities exist to obtain funding within the European Union, as shown in the Guide to opportunities for land stewardship in European funds 2014-2020 in Spain and the European Union.

The Biodiversity Foundation is one of the main sources of funding for nature conservation in Spain on a national scale through calls for public grants within its three lines of action.

The Autonomous Communities have transferred competences in nature conservation and are therefore responsible for distributing public funds for this purpose.

There are more and more frequent calls for public subsidies in different autonomous communities that directly or indirectly encourage land stewardship as an object of funding. The Official Gazettes of each autonomous community publish the different subsidies announced.

Local authorities, including municipalities, provincial councils, island councils, and island councils, can play different roles in land stewardship. They can act as owners or stewardship entities, favouring the establishment of agreements and stewardship actions in the municipality or even generating legislation and regulations that favour stewardship and environmental governance.

A case that highlights both the dynamism and creativity of the stewardship movement, as well as the possibilities of local authorities to finance it, is the campaign to allocate 0.5% of the Property Tax (IBI in its Spanish acronym) to nature conservation, which could be applied in all municipalities in Spain.

Land stewardship entities can obtain private funding through companies, individuals and foundations, among others. Besides having a solvent project, it is essential to establish a good communication strategy. In addition, there are other financing formulas:

• Membership

The basic form of private fundraising involves members who are financially involved with the custodian steward, usually through a periodic fee established by the organisation.

• Crowdfunding

Social media offers opportunities to carry out fundraising campaigns, e.g., for the acquisition of properties for conservation purposes.

• Philanthropy or patronage

Sometimes, a single donor who selflessly decides to provide funding can be counted on. Law 49/2002 regulates the tax regime for non-profit organisations and tax incentives for patronage.

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

An increasing number of companies of all conditions and sizes are getting involved on a voluntary basis in the development of measures that contribute to improving society, especially in environmental aspects. They can do so by providing voluntary actions, their own properties where to carry out actions and by funding. Land stewardship entities offer channels for companies to channel their CSR, for example, to offset their carbon footprint, among other measures.

Compensatory measures for projects with environmental impact

This type of action is regulated by Law 21/2013, of 9 December, on environmental assessment, the aim of which is to remedy the damage caused to nature by certain industrial, infrastructure, mining and forestry projects, among others. Land stewardship entities that have the necessary technical equipment can channel this type of measures if they so agree with the responsible companies, either on properties where they have already established stewardship agreements, or in other natural areas that meet the appropriate conditions.

Services and products offered by land stewardship entities

Profits from the sale of agricultural, livestock, forestry or salt products obtained from properties with stewardship agreements are an interesting source of fundraising for the entities.

Some stewardship entities consider professional services linked to ecotourism, education, and environmental consultancy as another source of fundraising to finance their activities.