Environmental Markets Participation Initiative

Environmental markets, apart from the carbon market, are still in their infancy in Australia. The administrative and payment arrangements operating in environmental markets can be complex and confusing for landholders. These characteristics may make landholders reluctant to engage in environmental markets.

The ‘Environmental Markets Participation Initiative’ (EMPI) is a research project aimed at identifying key leverage points within extension and outreach, and exploring ways through on-ground trials to improve how these can be utilised. This information will help inform future outreach and extension activities for environmental markets.

The objectives of the EMPI project are to:

• Consolidate existing research, knowledge and findings on past and current extension and outreach programs;
• Work with key stakeholders, including landholders, to understand factors that influence participation in environmental and biodiversity markets, and identify knowledge gaps;
• Conduct on-ground trials of extension and outreach for biodiversity markets with regional NRM organisations and other delivery groups;
• Produce communications, engagement and outreach materials and activities on environmental markets that help overcome the inherent complexity of environmental markets, and provide advice on best practice extension, as informed by the project research; and
• Report on key learnings, including recommendations, to inform the design of landholder interfaces with the market, as well as future outreach and extension schemes to support market participation.

There is growing interest and activity in environmental markets as corporations explore opportunities to maintain social licence and meet reporting requirements for climate and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements. This includes Taskforce for Nature-based Financial Disclosures (TNFD) reporting. At the same time, governments and conservationists are increasingly engaging with the private sector to enable opportunities for environmental protection and nature repair.

However, environmental markets are still relatively new and developing, and can be complex and confusing for landholders to navigate. This in turn can impede engagement and participation in opportunities presented through environmental markets.

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) has invested in EMPI as a two-year project to investigate and trial engagement and outreach to support landholders in understanding and navigating environmental market initiatives. The research project will explore the opportunities, barriers and enablers for different types of landholders to participate in environmental markets.

The EMPI project has been designed to create an evidence-base that enables an iterative learning approach.

The project has four main stages:

• Stage 1 (July 2024 – November 2024)
  • Project set-up
  • Establish framework for project delivery.
• Stage 2 (est. December 2024 – February 2025)
  • Consolidate and extend existing knowledge, research and findings on past and current extension and outreach programs. 
  • Engage key stakeholders, including landholders, to understand the factors that influence participation in environmental markets, and identify gaps in existing knowledge.
• Stage 3 (est. February 2025 – December 2025)
  • Regional NRM organisations and other delivery groups develop and deliver on-ground trials of extension and outreach for biodiversity markets . 
  • Develop  communications, engagement and outreach materials on environmental markets.
• Stage 4 (est. January 2026 – June 2026) 
  • Finalise the communications, engagement and outreach materials on environmental markets.
  • Report on key learnings and recommendations from the project, with a particular emphasis on informing the design of landholder interfaces with the market, as well as future outreach and extension schemes to support market participation.

The intended outcomes of the EMPI project are:

• Prospective and active environmental market participants can access information and advice on the Nature Repair Market that considers their location, learning preferences and land management requirements and are making informed choices about participating in the Nature Repair Market.
• Government has a strong understanding of the range and effectiveness of different approaches to landholder extension and outreach, and their application in the environmental markets context.
• Future Commonwealth outreach and extension schemes are fit for purpose for prospective and active participants of environmental markets, specifically the Nature Repair Market.
• Regional NRM organisations have enhanced capacity and capability to develop, support and deliver tailored extension services to promote understanding of, and participation in environmental market initiatives, especially the Nature Repair Market

Environmental markets will continue to evolve, as will landholders’ understanding and engagement with the opportunities they present. In turn, extension and outreach programs for environmental markets will also need to adapt as the needs from landholders change. Through its work, the EMPI project will identify the key leverage points within extension and outreach programs that policymakers, program designers, and extension and outreach officers can focus their efforts to help landholders navigate environmental markets, and establish an evidence base to help inform and improve extension and outreach for environmental markets initiatives in the future. 

Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

NRM Regions Australia team

Advisory Committee

Regional NRMs input etc. 

Trial participants (when available)

Advisory Committee

The project is receiving strategic guidance from an Advisory Committee with expertise in financial markets, landholder extension and engagement best practice, biodiversity program delivery, natural resource management and other relevant fields.

The members of the Advisory Committee are… Dr Kate Andrews (NRM Regions Australia), Laura Higgins (DCCEEW), Chris Cosgrove (consultant), Chris Pitfield (Corangamite CMA), Dave Johnson (DAFF), Fran Wright (BCTNSW), Dr Helen Murphy (CSIRO), Katherine Allen (NACC), Katie McRobert (AFI), Lucinda Corrigan (landholder and businesswoman), Nicole Yazbek-Martin (ASFI)