WWF: New tested and scalable investment model can unlock billions in much-needed financing for nature

• WWF and partners release a toolkit at COP30 that details how an investment model, known as the Landscape Finance Approach, can be the game-changer needed to turn nature into a low-risk, high-yield investment opportunity. 

• The Landscape Finance Approach comes at a critical juncture when the global biodiversity funding gap has reached almost a trillion dollars a year and world leaders have less than five years to make good on pledges to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. 

• WWF is calling on financial institutions and corporates to collaborate with WWF on implementing the Landscape Finance Approach to mobilise at least $20 billion for people and nature by 2030.   

Investors have too often dismissed financing nature as too small, too risky and too niche. The Landscape Finance Approach (LFA) – a new tested and scalable investment model that offers investors a pathway to turn nature into a risk-reduction and positive-yielding opportunity – aims to change such misconceptions. 

Misconceptions around nature’s bankability have resulted in an imbalance where more than US$900 billion a year is needed to restore and protect nature but the large volumes of public and private finance flows required to make that happen remain elusive. To make matters worse, each year, US$7 trillion are invested in activities that harm – rather than restore and protect – nature. 

This imbalance is ripe for a correction. Cue the LFA, a model WWF has been honing with Conservation Capital and the Sustainable Finance Coalition, with an ambitious goal of mobilising at least US$20 billion by 2030 in new or redirected finance for restoring and protecting nature. The LFA aims to do this by turning isolated conservation projects into integrated, investable and scalable portfolios that reduce risk while maximizing returns. 

“World leaders need to bridge the annual global biodiversity funding gap so they can make good on their pledges to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. This requires a workable and scalable plan that reduces risk while maximizing revenues of current and future investments in nature-positive solutions. Through more than two decades of insightful on-the-ground research and experience, WWF and partners have been testing an innovative new approach – the LFA – which can unlock billions in new finance for nature,” said Aaron Vermeulen, WWF Global Finance Practice Leader. 

“Critically, this finance is structured, not pledged – meaning it can create revenue-generating, investable conservation assets rather than one-off grants. The LFA has also identified how each class of investor – from philanthropies to banks and corporates to governments – can play a catalytic role in scaling up nature finance to unlock resilient returns, secure portfolios, and promote systemic change. Generating these crucial financial flows can now be accurate, consistent, and predictable using tested scientific methods and shrewd calculations. This should reduce any perceived downsides investors may have in banking on nature.” 

Current funding to protect and restore nature is low as nature-positive investments are perceived as generating low returns while carrying high risk. This is because such investments tend to be fragmented, can be costly to implement, and poor governance systems – encapsulated by tenure insecurity issues, policy misalignments and harmful subsidies – can increase risk.    

The LFA overcomes these barriers by aggregating projects into landscape-level portfolios. This results in larger total investments that smooth revenue streams across multiple activities – whether carbon and biodiversity credits, eco-tourism, sustainable agriculture or water services – providing investors with a consistent pipeline of high-quality opportunities.  

Larger, smoothed-out investments reduce investment risk by doing away with small, high-risk transactions and by installing stronger governance - transparency is enhanced by standardized data systems such as shared monitoring and verification platforms that also increase efficiency through economies of scale when implemented widely. 

Blended finance structures then bring together grants, concessional debt, commercial capital, and equity, aligning different investors’ risk-return expectations. At the same time, capital is directed towards systemic transformation, shifting entire supply chains, production systems, and ecosystems rather than isolated projects.

“Our mission at Conservation Capital is to help close the nature financing gap and strengthen the links between business, finance and natural capital. Building off 20+ years’ experience in 50+ countries, we are pleased to share insights from our Nature Financing Activation approach and partner with WWF and the Sustainable Finance Coalition to launch the Landscape Finance Toolkit, which sets out a pathway and practical actions for co-developing sustainable financing solutions for critical landscapes" said Giles Davies, Co-Founder and Partner, Conservation Capital.

“Closing the funding gap for nature is at the heart of our mission at the Sustainable Finance Coalition and we’ve been working with partners across the African continent using our Finance Model to FIND, DESIGN and MOBILISE tailormade finance solutions for nature to close the gap - and demonstrating the benefits of taking a Landscape Finance Approach" said Candice Stevens, Founder and CEO, the Sustainable Finance Coalition.

Each investor class also plays specific and distinct roles, preventing wasteful duplication while maximizing utility and efficiency: Philanthropies are tasked with funding the pipeline and absorbing risk; institutional capital and banks scale proven models through blended structures; corporates secure resilient supply chains; and governments provide the enabling policies and fiscal incentives. 

In Brazil’s Cerrado, a biodiversity hotspot facing massive deforestation from the expansion of soy production, the LFA is already reshaping capital flows in the region with these flows estimated to reach billions. 

The LFA used concessional and blended loans to redirect soy expansion to degraded lands. Grants and microfinance were then channelled to local community cooperatives to support sustainable resource use. The LFA then leveraged existing initiatives like Project Finance for Permanence to bring together stewards of a place to co-create a comprehensive agreement that secured long-term funding for large-scale conservation. 

“The success we are seeing in the Cerrado, among other landscapes, demonstrates that the LFA is tested, not theoretical. Early adopters in the Cerrado who aligned capital with nature-positive solutions not only helped to avert ecological collapse, they also secured more resilient, future-proofed portfolios. With less than five years to achieve the 2030 global biodiversity targets, the LFA can be the needed game-changer that accelerates progress in funding bankable nature solutions by enabling investors to secure portfolios, hedge systemic risks, and drive transformative change,” said Jane Waiyaki, WWF Sustainable Finance Lead, Africa & Europe.

ENDS  

Notes 

The Landscape Approach Toolkit toolkit – which will go live on panda.org/landscapefinance on 14 November – consists of the following:

• Investor White Paper: An introduction to the Landscape Finance Approach for an investor audience that includes insights into their roles, why this matters for them, and how they can engage.

• Landscape Finance Approach Guide: A step-by-step placed-based framework that identifies how to align investments in priority landscapes, mitigate risk, access new markets, and support measurable outcomes for people and nature. 

• Case Studies & Deep Dives Supplement: A collection of real-world examples showcasing how the Landscape Finance Approach is being applied across diverse geographies, from the Cerrado to the Mekong Delta, illustrating both successes and lessons learned in mobilising finance for conservation and sustainable livelihoods.

• Practitioner Playbook: A hands-on manual for practitioners and civil society organisations that distils the Landscape Finance Approach into actionable modules, with exercises, templates, and checklists that support project design and stakeholder engagement in landscapes.