Playbook: Designing and implementing a nature-based solutions strategy

Why It Matters

Nature-based solutions (NbS) now attract more than US $200 billion in annual public and private flows globally, yet UNEP estimates that this figure must at least triple by 2030 to meet the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement (UNEP, 2024). At the same time, the World Economic Forum calculates that more than half of global GDP, roughly US $44 trillion, depends on ecosystem services that are currently degrading (WEF, 2024). For corporations, the case for action is sharpening: the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) released its final recommendations in September 2023, and by late 2025 over 500 organizations had committed to report against them (TNFD, 2025). Designing and implementing a credible NbS strategy is no longer optional for organizations with material nature dependencies. It is a board-level risk management imperative and a source of competitive advantage.

Key Concepts

Nature-based solutions are actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems that address societal challenges while providing biodiversity and human well-being benefits. The IUCN Global Standard for NbS, updated in 2024, defines eight criteria spanning stakeholder engagement, ecological integrity, adaptive management, and governance (IUCN, 2024).

Ecosystem services valuation translates biophysical outcomes into economic terms. Approaches range from replacement cost methods (e.g., the value of wetlands in flood attenuation) to benefit transfer models and avoided damage calculations. Accurate valuation is essential for securing blended finance and for internal capital allocation.

Additionality and permanence are fundamental credibility requirements borrowed from carbon markets. An NbS project is additional if the ecological gain would not have occurred without the intervention. Permanence refers to the durability of the outcomes, typically requiring 25 to 100 year monitoring commitments for carbon sequestration projects.

Blended finance combines concessional public or philanthropic capital with commercial investment to de-risk NbS projects that cannot yet deliver market-rate returns on their own. The OECD recorded a 40 percent increase in blended finance deals targeting nature between 2022 and 2024 (OECD, 2025).

Step 1: Conduct a landscape-level ecosystem assessment

Begin by mapping the ecosystems across your value chain that provide material services or face material degradation risks. Use frameworks such as the TNFD LEAP approach (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare) to identify priority geographies.

Satellite platforms like Global Forest Watch and the European Space Agency's Copernicus Land Monitoring Service provide free baseline data on forest cover change, water stress, and soil organic carbon. Nestlé applied this methodology across its sourcing regions in 2024, identifying 15 high-priority watersheds where deforestation-driven sedimentation was threatening factory water intake reliability (Nestlé, 2025). Supplement remote sensing with ground-truth surveys, drawing on eDNA sampling and rapid biodiversity assessments to calibrate species baselines. The goal of this step is a spatially explicit map of ecosystem condition, dependency, and impact that will drive project selection.

Step 2: Engage stakeholders and secure community consent

NbS projects fail when they are imposed without meaningful participation. The IUCN Global Standard requires free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) from Indigenous Peoples and local communities, equitable benefit sharing, and transparent governance structures (IUCN, 2024).

Start stakeholder mapping early. Identify rights holders, land tenure arrangements, local government bodies, and civil society organizations. Hold participatory design workshops to co-create project objectives. The Wildlife Conservation Society's landscape restoration program in the Congo Basin invested 18 months in community engagement before planting a single tree, resulting in 93 percent community retention rates after five years compared with a 40 percent average for top-down schemes in the region (WCS, 2025). Document consent processes and grievance mechanisms. Transparent governance builds trust, reduces conflict risk, and strengthens the long-term permanence of outcomes.

Step 3: Design the intervention portfolio and set science-based targets

Select a mix of protection, restoration, and sustainable management interventions that address the priority ecosystems identified in Step 1. The Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) published its first validated corporate targets for freshwater and land in 2024, providing a methodological framework for setting measurable, time-bound nature goals (SBTN, 2024).

Prioritize interventions with the highest co-benefit density. A mangrove restoration project, for example, can deliver coastal flood protection valued at US $65,000 per hectare per year, sequester up to 10 tonnes of CO2 per hectare per year, and support fisheries productivity (The Nature Conservancy, 2025). Compare this with monoculture reforestation, which may sequester comparable carbon but provides fewer biodiversity and resilience co-benefits. Build a portfolio that balances quick wins (e.g., invasive species removal in degraded grasslands) with long-horizon investments (e.g., peatland rewetting over 30 years). Assign quantified targets for each intervention: hectares restored, species populations stabilized, tonnes of CO2 sequestered, and downstream economic benefits.

Step 4: Structure financing and build the business case

NbS projects typically require upfront capital with returns that accrue over decades, creating a financing gap that blended finance can bridge. Structure deals by layering concessional grants or first-loss capital from development finance institutions, catalytic philanthropy from conservation trusts, and commercial investment from impact funds or corporate balance sheets.

Mirova's Land Degradation Neutrality Fund, which surpassed US $200 million in commitments by 2025, exemplifies this approach by combining resources from the French Development Agency (AFD), the Global Environment Facility, and private institutional investors to finance sustainable land use projects across 30 countries (Mirova, 2025). Carbon and biodiversity credits can provide recurring revenue streams, but avoid over-reliance on volatile credit markets. The International Institute for Sustainable Development recommends that credit revenues account for no more than 30 percent of total project revenue to ensure financial resilience (IISD, 2025).

Internally, present the business case in terms the CFO understands: avoided costs (e.g., reduced water treatment expenses), risk mitigation (e.g., supply chain continuity), regulatory compliance (e.g., CSRD and EUDR requirements), and reputational value. Holcim reported that its NbS investments in quarry rehabilitation generated a 12 percent internal rate of return when ecosystem service values were factored into the analysis (Holcim, 2025).

Step 5: Deploy a monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) system and adapt

Robust MRV underpins credibility, compliance, and adaptive management. Design a system that integrates remote sensing (satellite imagery, LiDAR, drone surveys), in-situ monitoring (water quality sensors, camera traps, acoustic recorders), and community-based data collection.

Define indicators at three levels: input metrics (dollars invested, hectares under management), outcome metrics (species abundance, canopy cover, soil carbon), and impact metrics (flood risk reduction, livelihoods supported). The TNFD recommends disclosure of both dependencies and impacts using standardized metrics aligned with the Global Biodiversity Framework monitoring indicators (TNFD, 2025).

Schedule formal reviews at annual intervals, but build in real-time alert systems for threshold breaches such as fire, illegal logging, or invasive species outbreaks. The Amazon Biodiversity Fund, backed by the Brazilian government and multilateral donors, deployed an AI-powered deforestation alert system in 2025 that reduced response times from 45 days to under 72 hours across 50 million hectares (Brazilian Ministry of Environment, 2025). Use review findings to adjust interventions, reallocate budgets, and update targets. Adaptive management is not a sign of failure; it is a hallmark of ecological literacy and institutional learning.

Common Pitfalls

Treating NbS as carbon-only projects. Overemphasis on sequestration metrics can lead to monoculture plantations that score well on carbon but degrade biodiversity and water cycling. Always design for multiple ecosystem services.

Skipping community engagement. Projects that bypass FPIC face legal challenges, reputational damage, and higher rates of reversal. Community buy-in is not a box to check; it is the foundation of permanence.

Underestimating monitoring costs. MRV can account for 10 to 15 percent of total project costs. Failing to budget adequately leads to data gaps that erode investor confidence and credit issuance timelines.

Over-relying on credit revenue. Volatile carbon and biodiversity credit markets can destabilize project finances. Diversify revenue with ecosystem service payments, sustainable product premiums, and public funding.

Ignoring land tenure complexity. Unclear or contested land rights can stall projects for years. Conduct thorough due diligence before committing capital.

Key Players

Established Leaders

• The Nature Conservancy (TNC) — Manages over 50 million hectares of protected land globally and leads large-scale NbS programs including coastal resilience and forest restoration.
• IUCN — Sets the global standard for NbS and provides technical guidance for governments and corporates.
• WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) — Operates NbS programs in over 60 countries with deep expertise in community-led conservation.
• Wetlands International — Specializes in peatland and wetland restoration with projects spanning Southeast Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Emerging Startups

• Terraformation — Builds modular seed banks and nurseries to accelerate native forest restoration at scale.
• Dendra Systems — Uses drone swarms and AI to plant native seed pods across degraded landscapes at rates of up to 100,000 seeds per day.
• Pivotal — Develops marine cloud brightening and coral reef protection technologies as NbS-adjacent climate interventions.
• Cultivo — Connects corporate buyers with verified NbS projects and streamlines biodiversity credit transactions.

Key Investors/Funders

• Mirova Natural Capital — Manages the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund and multiple nature-focused impact strategies totaling over US $400 million.
• Bezos Earth Fund — Committed US $10 billion to climate and nature, including direct funding for large-scale NbS projects.
• Global Environment Facility (GEF) — Provides catalytic grants for NbS in developing countries through its GEF-8 replenishment cycle.
• HSBC Pollination Climate Asset Management — Joint venture deploying institutional capital into nature-based carbon and biodiversity projects.

Action Checklist

• Map ecosystem dependencies and impacts across your value chain using the TNFD LEAP framework.
• Conduct baseline biodiversity and ecosystem service assessments for priority sites.
• Initiate stakeholder engagement and secure FPIC from Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
• Set science-based targets for nature aligned with SBTN guidance.
• Design a diversified intervention portfolio balancing protection, restoration, and sustainable management.
• Structure blended finance with layered capital from public, philanthropic, and commercial sources.
• Build a business case quantifying avoided costs, risk reduction, compliance value, and credit revenue.
• Deploy an integrated MRV system combining remote sensing, in-situ sensors, and community monitoring.
• Establish adaptive management protocols with annual reviews and real-time alert systems.
• Report progress against TNFD, CSRD, and GBF indicators transparently.

FAQ

How long does it take to see measurable ecological outcomes from NbS projects? Timelines vary by ecosystem type. Mangrove and wetland restoration projects can show measurable biomass and species recovery within three to five years. Forest restoration typically requires 10 to 15 years for canopy closure and meaningful carbon sequestration. Peatland rewetting may take decades to fully restore hydrological function, though water table improvements can be detected within the first year.

What is the typical cost per hectare for NbS projects? Costs range widely. Tropical forest restoration costs US $1,000 to $3,500 per hectare depending on site accessibility and planting density. Mangrove restoration is typically US $2,000 to $10,000 per hectare due to the complexity of coastal planting. Peatland rewetting can be as low as US $500 per hectare for dam construction and canal blocking, but ongoing monitoring adds recurring costs. These figures exclude land acquisition and opportunity costs.

How do NbS credits differ from traditional carbon offsets? NbS credits increasingly bundle carbon sequestration with verified biodiversity and social co-benefits, commanding price premiums of 30 to 60 percent over conventional avoidance credits (Sylvera, 2025). Standards such as the Verra SD VISta and Plan Vivo explicitly require co-benefit documentation. However, NbS credits face permanence risks from fire, drought, and land use change that engineered removal credits do not, which is why buffer pool mechanisms and long-term monitoring commitments are essential.

Can small and mid-sized companies implement NbS strategies? Yes. While landscape-scale projects require significant capital, smaller companies can contribute through supply chain partnerships, pre-purchase of NbS credits, participation in landscape coalitions, or direct investment in site-level restoration. The SBTN's freshwater targets, for example, are accessible to companies of any size that depend on watershed services.

What regulatory frameworks require NbS disclosure? The EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requires large companies to disclose biodiversity impacts and dependencies starting in 2025. The TNFD provides a voluntary but increasingly expected framework for nature-related disclosure. The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) mandates deforestation-free supply chains for specific commodities. In aggregate, these regulations make NbS strategy a compliance necessity for companies operating in or selling into the EU.

Sources

• UNEP. (2024). State of Finance for Nature 2024. United Nations Environment Programme.
• World Economic Forum. (2024). Nature Risk Rising: Why the Crisis Engulfing Nature Matters for Business and the Economy. WEF.
• TNFD. (2025). Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures: Status Report on Adopter Progress. TNFD.
• IUCN. (2024). IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions: Second Edition. International Union for Conservation of Nature.
• OECD. (2025). Blended Finance for Nature: Trends and Opportunities. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
• SBTN. (2024). Science Based Targets for Nature: Corporate Guidance for Freshwater and Land. Science Based Targets Network.
• The Nature Conservancy. (2025). Mangrove Restoration Economics: Co-benefits Valuation Across 15 Countries. TNC.
• Mirova. (2025). Land Degradation Neutrality Fund: Annual Impact Report 2024. Mirova Natural Capital.
• IISD. (2025). Revenue Diversification for Nature-based Solutions: Reducing Credit Market Dependency. International Institute for Sustainable Development.
• Nestlé. (2025). Nature and Water Stewardship: 2024 Progress Report. Nestlé S.A.
• WCS. (2025). Community-led Landscape Restoration in the Congo Basin: Five-Year Outcomes. Wildlife Conservation Society.
• Holcim. (2025). Biodiversity and Quarry Rehabilitation: 2024 Sustainability Performance Report. Holcim Group.
• Brazilian Ministry of Environment. (2025). Amazon Biodiversity Fund: AI-Powered Monitoring Results. Government of Brazil.
• Sylvera. (2025). NbS Credit Pricing and Quality Premiums: 2024 Market Review. Sylvera.