The word 'capital' signals value, investment and growth. It speaks directly to the people who hold the levers of large-scale finance – ministers of finance, treasuries and institutional investors. Without framing nature as capital, ecosystems risk being treated as peripheral, worthy only of philanthropy, rather than core to economic stability and prosperity.

Kenya offers a striking example. EarthAcre, a conservation and technology initiative, has begun enabling landowners to receive direct payments for keeping wildlife corridors open around Nairobi National Park and Amboseli.

A new wave of nature-positive entrepreneurs is rising to the challenge: some taking direct action through nature-tech and conservation innovations, others transforming high-impact industries like agriculture and construction. Alongside them, investors are recognizing the opportunity, with many funds expanding into nature and biodiversity.

In April 2025, 256 landowners, including those adjacent to Nairobi national park, Amboseli and Masai Mara, more than 100 miles away, received $175,000 (£129,000), the first of a biannual payment earned from a pilot programme that pays landowners to keep more than 14,000 hectares (35,000 acres) open and intact. Each landowner will be paid $5 an acre each year, a modest amount that locals hope will increase as more join the programme and it attracts more finance.

“Conventional incentives have focused on the representatives of these communities, such as management committees or trusts, with low visibility on how those funds are actually used and distributed. Our platform creates a scalable pathway for nature-based projects to directly and transparently pay communities and their constituents for their essential role as stewards of nature, and ensure long-term resilience of their culture.”

Indigenous-led leads: Niue Ocean Wide Trust, Toha Network and Savimbo are some of the early market leaders (with EarthAcre seemingly doing just as well). And they’re all Indigenous-led. It’s a signal of confidence that the right thing is being rewarded.

Big Idea: Nature-based payments to incentivize biodiversification practices