Naturaleza en el sector financiero: rompiendo barreras

This report by Transforma provides a comprehensive guide for the financial sector to integrate nature-related risks and opportunities into business models. It identifies four primary barriers—undervaluation of nature, regulatory gaps, challenges in nature-based financing, and a knowledge gap—and proposes strategies to overcome them. A significant portion of the document is dedicated to detailing the 'Locate' phase of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) LEAP approach, offering a roadmap for financial institutions to identify the geographical and sectoral intersections of their portfolios with the natural environment.

• Approximately 50% of global GDP depends directly on ecosystem services, such as agriculture, fishing, and forestry. Low-income countries could lose up to 10% of their annual GDP by 2030 if key services like pollination and marine resource generation collapse.
• The bioeconomy presents a significant financial opportunity, with a current market estimated at $4 - $5 trillion and a potential to reach $30 trillion by 2050. Transitioning to nature-positive economies in energy, infrastructure, and food sectors could create $10.1 trillion in annual business opportunities by 2030.
• There is a massive gap in biodiversity financing, estimated at $700 billion annually. In 2022, private financial flows with negative impacts on nature reached $5 trillion globally, which is 140 times higher than the resources allocated to nature-based solutions (NbS) in the same year.
• The financial sector faces four main barriers to integrating nature: 1) underestimation of nature's intrinsic value and lack of quantification tools; 2) regulatory gaps that increase asset uncertainty; 3) difficulties in scaling nature-based financing due to perceived high risk and long return horizons; and 4) a knowledge gap regarding nature-related risks and dependencies.
• Regulatory frameworks for nature protection are unevenly distributed globally; Europe accounts for 61% of existing environmental policy frameworks (according to OECD PINE data), while American countries contribute only 13%.
• The TNFD's LEAP approach (Locate, Evaluate, Analyze, Prepare) helps financial institutions manage nature-related risks. The 'Locate' phase is particularly challenging for the financial sector because it requires identifying the specific geographical locations of portfolio assets, which is often not captured in standard client databases.
• The 'Locate' phase involves four key steps: L1 (defining the scope of analysis by sector and geography), L2 (identifying dependencies and impacts using tools like ENCORE or SBTN), L3 (identifying the interface with specific biomes and ecosystems), and L4 (checking for intersections with ecologically sensitive locations).
• Ecologically sensitive locations include areas important for biodiversity, areas with high or rapidly declining ecosystem integrity, areas critical for the provision of ecosystem services (including those for indigenous peoples), and areas with high physical water risk.
• Financial institutions can use tools like ENCORE to identify natural capital risks and the SBTN Materiality Screening Tool to determine high-impact activities. Other useful tools include IBAT for biodiversity reports, Trase for agricultural supply chain transparency, and the WWF biodiversity risk filter.
• Practical implementation examples include the Banco de Bogotá and Banco Bolivariano using ENCORE to identify critical sectors, and Grupo Sura using spatial analysis and TRASE to identify intersections between food and beverage companies and sensitive areas like indigenous territories and protected parks.

APA

Farfán, L. T., Arango, V. G., Ramos, S., Andrade, J., & Henao, C. G. (2025). Naturaleza en el sector financiero: rompiendo barreras. Transforma. https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/250228-Naturaleza-en-el-sector-financiero-Rompiendo-barreras.pdf

Chicago

Farfán, Lorena Téllez, Valentina Guevara Arango, Silvy Ramos, Julio Andrade, and Carolina Gutiérrez Henao. Naturaleza en el sector financiero: rompiendo barreras. Transforma, 2025. https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/250228-Naturaleza-en-el-sector-financiero-Rompiendo-barreras.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Farfán |first1=Lorena Téllez |last2=Arango |first2=Valentina Guevara |last3=Ramos |first3=Silvy |last4=Andrade |first4=Julio |last5=Henao |first5=Carolina Gutiérrez |title=Naturaleza en el sector financiero: rompiendo barreras |publisher=Transforma |date=2025 |url=https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/250228-Naturaleza-en-el-sector-financiero-Rompiendo-barreras.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{farfn2025naturaleza, author = {Farfán, Lorena Téllez and Arango, Valentina Guevara and Ramos, Silvy and Andrade, Julio and Henao, Carolina Gutiérrez}, title = {{Naturaleza en el sector financiero: rompiendo barreras}}, institution = {Transforma}, year = {2025}, url = {https://transforma.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/250228-Naturaleza-en-el-sector-financiero-Rompiendo-barreras.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }