NatCap is a partnership between interdisciplinary researchers, professionals, and leaders working to make valuing natural capital easier and more accessible to all.
About
The Natural Capital Project aims to improve the well-being of all by motivating greater investment in natural capital. With our global hub at Stanford University, NatCap is a partnership between interdisciplinary researchers, professionals, and leaders around the world. Together, we help people, governments, and corporations incorporate the value of nature into decision-making.
Our Approach
The world’s ecosystems can be seen as capital assets; if well-managed, their lands, waters, and biodiversity yield a flow of vital life-support services. Relative to other forms of capital, living natural capital is poorly understood and undergoing rapid degradation. Often, the benefits nature generates are widely appreciated only when they are lost. The Natural Capital Project aims to change that paradigm.
Starting with listening, we work with decision-makers to develop nature-based solutions. We use iterative engagement that begins with stakeholders and their needs, so the new science and tools that we develop are immediately relevant and can be incorporated into existing decision processes. We work in a wide array of places and sectors, developing nature-based solutions to problems as varied as: building resilience to climate and coastal hazards in Belize and the Gulf Coast states of the United States; guiding development planning in China, British Columbia, The Bahamas, and Myanmar; managing corporate risk in global sourcing decisions for Unilever; informing impact assessment and permitting for the Colombian Ministry of the Environment; making smart transportation loan decisions by the Inter-American Development Bank across Latin America; targeting investments in forest restoration for IUCN and country governments in Africa.
In addition to developing evidence for the power of natural capital approaches to transform decisions, we create software (now downloaded in >185 countries), build capacity through learning exchanges and trainings, and engage leaders to accelerate the uptake and magnify the impact of successes.
The Natural Capital Project in Action
We equip decision-makers with the tools and information to make policies and investments that empower green growth. Learn more about how our work spans from research to impact in this short video.
