Pricing nature at COP16

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On average, a single hectare of mangroves provides an astounding US$77,928 in ecosystem services each year. Coral reefs offer even more at US$87,211 per hectare annually, while tropical forests provide US$8,166 per hectare.

Yet, despite their immense worth to the global economy, these ecosystems face unrelenting pressure from human activity. As world leaders convene in Cali, Colombia this week for the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference, the world’s US$700 billion annual biodiversity finance gap will likely dominate discussions. In line with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework – dubbed the “Paris Agreement for Nature” – this is the funding needed to finance the protection of the ecosystems on which humanity depends.

Biodiversity credits offer a potential solution – though the novel mechanism’s ability to avoid the well-documented flaws of carbon markets remains uncertain.

This week’s talks come at a time when 14 out of 18 of the world's ecosystem services – including flood and disease control, regulation of air and water pollution, and fertile soils to grow food – are in decline.

With global decarbonisation rates falling short last year and developing countries – disproportionately impacted by climate risks – struggling under mounting debt, nature-based climate interventions are sorely needed. Troublingly, less than a fifth of member states have filed their renewed commitments and conservation action strategies even though the biodiversity talks are already underway.

Ahead of the COP29 climate talks in Baku later this year, there’s pressure on policymakers to show that pledges to protect nature can be turned into action.

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