Global markets are beginning to reward nature-positive business practices, and South African organisations have an opportunity to join the movement.
For many years, biodiversity conservation was largely viewed as the responsibility of governments, conservation agencies and environmental organisations. Today, that reality is changing rapidly. Biodiversity finance is emerging as one of the next major investment and economic conversations, driven by a growing recognition that healthy ecosystems are foundational to economic resilience, water security, food production, infrastructure protection and long-term business sustainability.
The adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity's Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (the framework) marked an important shift in how biodiversity is viewed and managed. The framework recognises that public resources alone will not be sufficient to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and calls for systemic changes in how economies, institutions and societies value, govern and finance nature.
This shift is reflected in Targets 14, 15 and 19 of the framework, which call for greater integration of biodiversity into financial systems, business practices and public policy. Collectively, these targets highlight that biodiversity conservation has become an economic and development imperative.
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Nature underpins SA's economic resilience
Recent findings from the SA National Biodiversity Institute's (SANBI's) National Biodiversity Assessment (NBA) 2025 report paint a concerning picture. Nearly half of SA's ecosystem types are now threatened, while freshwater ecosystems remain...
