Webinar Recording: Investing in Nature-Based Solutions for Enhanced Impact

Apr 24, 2025 | Online

The African Development Bank (AfDB), the Green Growth Knowledge Partnership (GGKP), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the Secretariat of Making Finance Work for Africa Partnership (MFW4A) convened a series of webinars to disseminate the outcomes and lessons learned from two years of implementation of the Natural Capital for African Development Finance Programme (NC4-ADF). The series consisted of three (3) webinars sharing the rich content and recommendations that have come out of the NC4-ADF Initiative with key players in the African finance sector and other interested parties.

The third and final webinar, "Investing in Nature-Based Solutions for Enhanced Impact," was held on Thursday, 24 April 2025, and discussed:

  • Nature-based Solutions for Water and Climate Resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa: Regional Status and Strategies to Scale Investments
  • From idea to reality: Bankable Nature Solutions and Modalities for Scaled Investments

Watch a Recording below;

 

Webinar Slides are available HERE

Background

Natural capital—the stock of nature that yields a flow of benefits to people—supports millions of livelihoods across Africa. Between 30 and 50 percent of the wealth in most African countries is natural capital, including renewable resources, such as arable land, forests, woodlands, wildlife, oceans and water, and non-renewable resources, such as oil, natural gas, and minerals. Despite this importance, Africa’s finance sector is still in early stages to fully appreciate the values of natural capital in their policies and decision-making.

Integrating natural capital into the design and evaluation of development projects and investment plans helps ensure that projects deliver on their economic objectives while delivering co-benefits to people and the environment. Integrating natural capital in investment decision-making can help avoid unforeseen economic and social costs associated with environmental degradation. On the other hand, it is estimated that investing in actions to double conservation of natural capital on land and sea will deliver global economy-wide GDP increases of US $300 to US $500 billion and 30 million green jobs in the ecotourism and sustainable fisheries sub-sectors alone.

Since 2020, the AfDB, the Green Growth Knowledge Partnership and the Worldwide Fund for Nature have joined hands to promote the mainstreaming natural capital in African development finance. Throughout the last few years, under the flag of the Natural Capital for African Development Finance Initiative (NC4-ADF), various approaches and tools for integrating natural capital into development finance operations have been tested and documented. These efforts have been joined and supported by a range of partner organizations, including the African Union Commission (AU), the MAVA Foundation, GIZ, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the World Resources Institute (WRI), the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), and the Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF).

 
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