Ecosystem restoration is critical to the global ambition of halting and reversing nature loss. Tremendous efforts have been deployed globally to conserve the remaining rainforests, grasslands, rivers and lakes, reefs and mangroves, and other ecosystems that are critical for safeguarding biodiversity and the ecosystem services that humanity depends on.

However, the extent of environmental degradation is such that recovering the productivity of ecosystems where it has been lost is equally important – for nature, communities, and economic sectors. While restoration is often viewed as the purview of the public sector, this report demonstrates opportunities for private sector investment. It aims to shift the perception that restoration finance is limited to grant funding from domestic and international public sources only. Drawing on case studies, it highlights the investment drivers and entry points for private finance in restoration projects. The financing models presented also point to opportunities for replication and scaling.

This report is a product of the Finance Task Force of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, an initiative led by the United Nations Environment Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The United Nations Decade aims to drive the restoration of one billion hectares of degraded land between now and 2030. The role of the Finance Task Force, chaired by The World Bank, is to catalyze action that can contribute to unlocking the capital needed to meet the United Nations Decade’s goals.