The growing diversity of private capital nature investments - The World Economic Forum

Private capital deployment to nature has accelerated dramatically, according to the 2026 "Gaining Ground: State of Private Investment in Nature" report from Forest Trends and The Nature Conservancy. The analysis, drawing on more than a decade of global data tracking, demonstrates that annual flows have increased fivefold from $2.8 billion in 2016 to over $14 billion in 2025. Cumulatively, more than $60 billion has been deployed over the past decade, with over $180 billion in private capital targeted for deployment in the years ahead—a clear signal of accelerating institutional momentum toward nature-based investing.

The research methodology reflects the sophistication of modern private markets analytics. The study examined 1,731 transactions spanning 2016–2025 and surveyed 70 institutions representing $207 trillion in assets under management, combining survey outreach, desk research, and public data sources. This scale of data collection positions the findings as the most comprehensive benchmark tracking private capital flows to nature since the initial analysis published in 2014.

The growth is being catalyzed by structural shifts in global capital markets. An increase in high-net-worth individuals and intergenerational wealth transfer, combined with companies staying or going private, has expanded the available capital base. Additionally, private capital has demonstrated resilience during volatile macroeconomic periods, presenting significant opportunities for investors seeking diversified returns. Simultaneously, strengthening policy signals and growing recognition of nature-related financial risks are pulling institutional capital toward the sector.

However, a critical capacity gap persists. Despite rising investor interest and capital deployment, only 0.2% of institutional investment is currently allocated to nature, highlighting the vast underallocation relative to the scale of global climate and biodiversity crises. To close this gap, practitioners are increasingly employing blended finance structures that combine concessional public or philanthropic capital with private investment, effectively reframing the risk-return profile of nature projects to attract institutional allocators. Financing instruments and strategies focused on biodiversity-related outcomes are proliferating rapidly, enabling private capital funds—particularly those serving as majority or significant minority owners of unlisted, fast-growing enterprises—to drive measurable nature-related outcomes across their portfolios.