Investing urgently in nature-based solutions is an opportunity for the future

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in collaboration with Vivid Economics, have published this past May the report “State of Financing for Nature“. in which they urge to “triple investments in nature-based solutions by 2030”.

Urging a paradigm shift and the integration of the value of nature into the economic system, for the first time, figures are provided on current global investment in nature-based solutions (NBS), which is estimated to amount to “about $133 billion per year (taking 2020 as a reference year), of which 86% represent public funds and 14% private financing”.

The private sector funding of NBS consists of biodiversity offsets, sustainable supply chains, private impact investments and smaller amounts from philanthropic and private foundations.

Among the NBS to be invested in are NBS in forests, silvopastoral systems, peatland restoration and mangrove restoration.

Finally, the report presents a series of case studies where governments and the private sector join forces in NBS investment, illustrating the potential of these measures to combat socio-economic, climate and environmental challenges.

Note: the executive summary is also available in Spanish.