- Natural capital approaches are most effective when designed to inform real policy and investment decisions.
- The IDB, with the Natural Capital Alliance and the GEF, helps countries move from analysis to implementation.
- New tools, including a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) and Implementation Toolkit, make these approaches accessible and replicable.
Governments are getting better at measuring and valuing nature's contribution to economies through tools such as ecosystem service assessments, economic valuation, and environmental accounting. Yet despite advances in assessing natural capital, the stock of natural assets that supports human well-being and economic activity, a critical gap remains in translating analysis into policy and investment decisions. At the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), we are working to close this gap by making natural capital practical, decision-oriented, and financeable.
Through the Regional Technical Cooperation "Transforming Policy and Investment through Mainstreaming Rapid Approaches for Natural Capital Assessment and Accounting", implemented in partnership with Stanford University's Natural Capital Alliance and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), we are embedding natural capital into decision-making from the outset. Across five countries (Belize, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Uruguay), this initiative is already helping translate analysis into action.
A defining feature of this initiative is its focus on designing for decisions, not just analysis. Rather than treating natural capital assessments as standalone technical exercises, each country's pilot was structured to influence concrete policy or investment decisions.
The shift, from analysis to decision-focused design, meant aligning technical work with concrete policy and financial entry points, such as:
- Designing and implementing national development, livelihood, investment and planning strategies.
• Strengthening national biodiversity and conservation strategies.
• Designing financing mechanisms for conservation.
• Identifying priority landscapes for conservation and restoration investments.
• Developing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for innovative financial instruments.
By explicitly linking data and analysis to decisions, these pilots helped ensure that data and analysis about natural capital were used to inform decisions.
The initiative produced country reports in English and Spanish about Belize, Colombia, and Chile, as well as case studies for Belize, Colombia, and Chile. They demonstrated how natural capital approaches can inform real decisions about issues ranging from financing protected areas to strengthening policy frameworks.
Importantly, the value of the initiative extends beyond the publications, as these outputs were designed not only to document methodologies and findings, but to serve as practical tools for replicating the experiences in other contexts.
A central outcome has been the strengthening of institutional and technical capacity within government agencies and among local practitioners. This means that institutions are seeking to systematically integrate natural capital into their planning and investment processes.
In other words, the initiative has helped move countries from one-off exercises toward embedded practices.
While country-level results are significant, the broader ambition has always been scalability. How can these experiences inform a wider shift across the region and globally? To scale these efforts, the partnership developed a suite of practical tools:
- A new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) “Natural Capital for Development – Valuation, Investment and Policy”, designed for public officials and practitioners.
- An "Implementation Toolkit for Scaling Natural Capital Approaches" with step-by-step guidance, training materials, and case studies.
Mainstreaming natural capital is not just about better data, it is about better decisions.
This initiative shows that when designed with purpose, natural capital approaches can shape policies, unlock financing, and guide investments toward more sustainable outcomes. The key now is scaling these approaches across countries and sectors. With the right partnerships, tools, and commitment, the IDB is helping turn this opportunity into reality.
If you want to learn more about the IDB’s work to promote the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural capital as drivers of prosperity, well-being, and resilience in Latin America and the Caribbean, click here.