Natural capital: Private financing for the benefit of nature

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Spain's prosperity depends on the health of its natural capital: forests, fertile soils, aquifers and ecosystems that support agriculture, tourism and energy. Clean water, pollination, land fertility and climate stability depend on their good condition. Without them, the economy simply does not function.

In Europe, the value of these ecosystem services is estimated at more than 230 billion euros annually, a figure equivalent to 1.5% of European GDP. This «natural dividend» sustains much of our wealth and employment, but it erodes as we degrade soils, rivers and forests. In fact, 75% of all corporate loans in the euro area are granted to non-financial companies whose activity critically depends on at least one ecosystem service, according to the European Central Bank. Caring for nature is not an environmental luxury, but a strategic investment to maintain the very foundations of prosperity.

The European Nature Restoration Law requires rehabilitating at least 20% of degraded ecosystems before 2030, opening an unprecedented space for private investment in nature-positive projects. The OIKOS report proposes mobilizing capital through tax incentives, green guarantee funds and nature credit markets that recognize restoration as an economic asset.

Three Spanish examples —Nittúa, which monetizes aquifer recharge; FSC, which certifies sustainable forest management; and Nactiva, which channels private investment into regenerative projects— demonstrate that protecting nature can be profitable. Incorporating it into economic and financial accounting is not philanthropy, but strategy: an opportunity for competitiveness, stability and prosperity for Spain in the decade of natural capital.

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