Introduction
Nature-related investment is defined as private capital committed for sustainable food and fibre production, habitat protection, or clean water, aiming for conservation impact alongside financial returns. The market has expanded rapidly over the past decade, shifting from a niche experiment to a mainstream investment theme. This evolution is driven by a heightened appreciation of nature-related risks, macroeconomic forces, and policy signals like the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Scope
This research quantifies private investment in nature between 2016 and 2025, analysing 1,731 transactions and planned allocation announcements. The data includes return-seeking commercial and concessional capital but excludes philanthropic grants. The taxonomy covers sustainable agriculture, sustainable forestry, nature-based climate solutions, ecosystem restoration, mixed landscape portfolios, and enabling technologies.

Investment landscape
Private investment in nature has grown fivefold over the past decade. Deployed capital in 2025 exceeded $14 billion, with at least $61.4 billion committed between 2016 and 2025. An additional $183.5 billion in planned investment has been identified for the coming years. Sustainable agriculture remains the largest category, accounting for $32.8 billion or over half of total deployments. Geographically, North America led with $20.8 billion, while Latin America received $15.3 billion.

Sustainable working lands: Agriculture and forestry investments
Agriculture and forestry dominate deployments as they are familiar asset classes providing hedges against inflation. Sustainable agriculture’s strength reflects a sectoral shift towards certifications and ESG disclosure requirements. Large food system corporations account for 8% of deals but 27% of capital committed. Sustainable forestry posted $2.07 billion in deployed capital in 2025, its highest single-year volume, as the sector repositions itself as ‘natural capital’ infrastructure.

Mixed landscape portfolios
This emerging model integrates sustainable commodity production with ecosystem restoration and carbon finance across a single landscape. Though nascent at $166.4 million, 71% of commitment deals were announced between 2021 and 2025. By stacking multiple revenue streams, managers can optimise for multiple value flows and de-risk against single-commodity volatility.

Private investment in ecological restoration and conservation
Ecological restoration success varies significantly between compliance and voluntary markets. In the United States, regulation-driven demand for wetland and habitat credits has created market stability, attracting institutional capital to managers with well-established revenue models. However, blue finance for marine restoration remains dependent on public or concessional capital for de-risking and credit enhancement.

Nature-based climate solutions
Driven by voluntary carbon markets and net-zero commitments, deal volume grew from seven in 2016 to at least 41 in 2025. Reforestation dominates the asset mix at 59% of deals. While 69% of deals target commercial returns, risks regarding carbon credit integrity and policy uncertainty remain significant constraints.

Enabling and commercialisation technologies
Often termed ‘NatureTech’, this category attracted at least $11.8 billion between 2016 and 2025. It functions as infrastructure for other categories, providing software, hardware, and biological inputs. Seven in 10 deals support sustainable agriculture, although the sector faced funding pressure in 2023–2024 due to carbon market volatility.

Market maturation
The landscape has transitioned from relationship-driven deals to a more institutionalised environment. Institutional-led deals totalled $22 billion over the decade, with average ticket sizes increasing from $70 million in 2017 to $167 million in 2025. Investors now demand hard evidence of execution capacity and measurable outcomes rather than narrative-driven theses.

Impact and performance
Fiduciary duty and return targets drive institutional allocation, with 88% of respondents anticipating a positive relationship between financial returns and impact. However, the report identifies market development risk as the primary performance constraint. Nature investments often require longer timelines, with time-to-target returns averaging 7–10 years.

Catalytic capital
Catalytic investment plays a vital role in de-risking blended structures. Two-thirds of survey respondents have used or provided catalytic funding, primarily through first-loss guarantees or credit enhancements. Access remains a key constraint due to slow deployment timelines and misalignment with provider mandates.

Outlook and strategic recommendations
The report notes an annual $700 billion global nature finance gap. Strategic recommendations include the need for clearer policy drivers and long-term corporate procurement commitments to create predictable revenue streams. Standardising metrics and due diligence processes will reduce transaction costs and help investors connect nature to economic signals. The reframing of ‘nature as infrastructure’ is identified as a critical path to unlocking larger pools of capital for resilience and productivity.