Objectives
Fund scope
Human-induced climate change is the primary driver of biodiversity loss, which plays a central role in ensuring nature can regulate the impacts of a rapidly changing climate. If current rates of warming continue, global temperatures are likely to increase by more than 1.5°C (2.7°F) between 2030 and 2052 compared. All it takes is one more degree Celsius of warming (1.8°F) to endanger 20% of the world’s species, posing a ‘severe biodiversity risk’ and ecological crisis to the planet.
The loss of biodiversity further increases the risk of ecological cascades, environmental degradation and extinction. A fifth of countries globally are at imminent risk of ecosystem collapse due to a decline in biodiversity and related ecosystem services, and fuelling interconnected crises that deepen inequalities within and between nations. This is an urgent problem for least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS) where levels of biological diversity are highest and threats to continuity are the greatest.
Everything is connected: Healthy and resilient ecosystems provide the building blocks for human well-being, including clean air, food security, fresh water, and medicine, and are also the foundation for economic activity and development. The loss of biodiversity undermines and even reverses sustainable development, including poverty reduction efforts, economic growth, education, and employment, as well as efforts to enable greater adaptation and resilience.
Stakeholders designed The Nature Facility to focus on the most at-risk and exceptional ecosystems, including those that may eventually become UNESCO World Heritage Sites and UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. The latter are ‘learning places for sustainable development’ and sites for testing interdisciplinary approaches to better understand and manage changes and interactions between social and ecological systems, including conflict prevention and management of biodiversity. Biosphere reserves include terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems.
The fundamental priority for Facility stakeholders is to collectively pool efforts and resources by establishing a portfolio that demonstrates how innovative nature-positive solutions—incubated and scaled through private capital—harness the growing potential for blue and green investment and generate wealth for conservation activities. Development finance and philanthropic funds are used to mobilize private capital flows that are spread across a global portfolio of at-risk and exceptional ecosystems, with a focus on UNESCO Biosphere Reserves and World Heritage sites recognized for their outstanding natural values.
Strategic action and theory of change
Stakeholders of The Nature Facility leverage large-scale resources, a comprehensive programme design and focus, and evidence-based theory of change to focus on strengthening core areas of action: Enabling legislation/policies, institutions, adaptation, mitigation, sustainable transformation of main economic sectors, services, and business models, and applying conflict sensitive approaches as well as enhanced knowledge sharing and capacity building measures that are nature-positive and environmentally-smart.
The Nature Facility builds on the global presence of the United Nations in over 170 countries to secure strong political commitment in programming with local partners to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of interventions and investments. Long-term funding mechanisms are promoted at the national level in concert with national authorities and the technical support of critical local partners. Together, Facility stakeholders strive for results in the following outcome areas:
- Supporting the protection and restoration needs of the most at-risk and exceptional ecosystems and iconic species.
- Accelerate nature-positive financial innovations.
- Transform key sectors to increase resilience and adaptation.
Nature-positive interventions are designed to achieve results through the financing of nature-positive solutions that, at the landscape level, allow for the ecosystem and biodiversity restoration or protection and focus on private sector support that helps to protect and enhance ecosystems, and also broadens networks and funding pools from investors, financial institutions, and bond issuers.
To increase funding flows in favour of the most exceptional and at-risk ecosystems, The Nature Facility relies on ‘Specialist Investment Funds’ (SIF) that either already exist or will be set up and Existing Conservation Trust Funds (CTFs), which are legally independent institutions that provide sustainable financing for biodiversity conservation.
> $55M 
$55M - $25M
$25M - $5M
< $5M
