What is natural capital, and can it help economic resilience and global stability?

The document positions natural capital as critical infrastructure, noting that 85% of companies in the S&P Global 1200 depend on nature. It highlights the economic and security risks of ecosystem collapse, which affects a fifth of the world's countries, and advocates for the adoption of natural capital accounting and biodiversity-linked financial instruments. Examples of this transition include China's use of gross ecosystem product (GEP), Gabon's integration of natural capital into development planning, and corporate reporting by Puma and Natura.

• Natural capital is increasingly viewed as essential infrastructure, similar to energy and transport, yet it remains undervalued and deteriorating. Failure to recognize its value has led to significant capital misallocation, where trillions are invested in nature-depleting infrastructure while regenerative models lack funding.
• Ecosystem decline poses severe economic and security threats. Approximately 20% to 40% of global land is degraded, and only 3% of ecosystems remain ecologically intact. Such degradation has been linked to conflict, migration, and social upheaval in regions including the Sahel, Syria, the Middle East, and Africa.
• Nature loss is identified as a material risk class that impacts equity prices, increases inflation through supply shocks, and threatens debt sustainability. Research indicates that 85% of the 1,200 largest companies worldwide (S&P Global 1200) have a significant dependency on nature in their direct operations.
• Various nations and corporations are adopting tools to mainstream natural capital. China and India's Uttarakhand State use the gross ecosystem product (GEP) to guide restoration and compensation. Gabon has integrated natural capital accounting into national development planning. In the corporate sector, Puma and Natura have implemented environmental profit and loss accounts.
• Regulatory and reporting frameworks are evolving to value natural capital, including the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and India's Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting. Additionally, over 500 organizations representing $17.7 trillion in assets under management have committed to the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures.

APA

Mehra, S., & Daouda, A. (2025). What is natural capital, and can it help economic resilience and global stability? World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/natural-capital-economic-resilience-global-stability/

Chicago

Mehra, Swapan, and Akim Daouda. What is natural capital, and can it help economic resilience and global stability? World Economic Forum, 2025. https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/natural-capital-economic-resilience-global-stability/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Mehra |first1=Swapan |last2=Daouda |first2=Akim |title=What is natural capital, and can it help economic resilience and global stability? |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=16 June 2025 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/natural-capital-economic-resilience-global-stability/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{mehra2025what, author = {Mehra, Swapan and Daouda, Akim}, title = {{What is natural capital, and can it help economic resilience and global stability?}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/natural-capital-economic-resilience-global-stability/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }