Naturaleza en el sector financiero: rompiendo barreras

The report identifies four primary barriers to nature-integrated finance: the underestimation of nature's intrinsic value, regulatory gaps, challenges in scaling nature-based financing, and a knowledge gap within financial institutions. It argues that the financial sector is critical for redirecting global capital toward biodiversity protection, noting a biodiversity financing gap of $700 billion annually. To address these, the document details the 'Locate' phase of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) LEAP approach, guiding institutions through scoping, identifying dependencies and impacts using tools like ENCORE, and mapping intersections with ecologically sensitive locations. It provides practical examples from entities such as Banco de Bogotá, Banco Bolivariano, and Grupo Sura to demonstrate how spatial analysis and heat maps can identify material nature-related risks in investment portfolios.

• Approximately 50% of global GDP depends directly on ecosystem services, yet the financial sector often underestimates the intrinsic value of nature, treating it as a mere economic resource.
• There is a massive disparity between financial flows that harm nature and those that protect it; in 2022, private financial flows with negative impacts on nature totaled $5 trillion globally, which is 140 times the amount directed toward nature-based solutions.
• The global biodiversity financing gap is estimated at $700 billion per year, while capital generating negative impacts is calculated at $7 trillion annually.
• Regulatory gaps create uncertainty for financial assets; for example, in 2019, the 'Nitrogen Crisis' in the Netherlands led to the suspension of 18,000 construction projects and forced livestock farms to sell properties due to sudden environmental regulation changes.
• Financial institutions face a 'knowledge gap' where a lack of technical expertise and a focus on short-term returns (often under 20 years) discourage investments in nature, which typically have longer horizons.
• The TNFD's LEAP methodology (Locate, Evaluate, Analyze, Prepare) allows financial institutions to identify nature-related risks; the 'Locate' phase specifically requires identifying the geographic locations of portfolio activities to determine intersections with sensitive areas.
• The ENCORE tool is highlighted as a key resource for financial institutions to analyze dependencies and impacts by subsector and economic activity, as used by Banco de Bogotá and Banco Bolivariano.
• Ecologically sensitive locations are defined by four criteria: importance for biodiversity, high or rapidly declining ecosystem integrity, importance for ecosystem service provision (including indigenous lands), and high physical water risk.
• Practical implementation by Grupo Sura involved using open data and the TRASE platform to identify that agricultural footprints in its food and beverage portfolio overlapped with national parks and indigenous territories.

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} }