As countries allocate trillions of dollars to respond to the economic impacts of COVID-19, they can choose to invest in this natural capital. Yet preliminary analysis shows that these responses are more likely to contribute to further environmental and climate problems rather than solutions. Countries are missing a big opportunity. Why? Low-carbon and climate-resilient investments deliver far higher economic returns than investments in traditional infrastructure and fossil fuels.
Nature-Based Solutions for The Economy
Nature-based solutions — like protecting, managing and restoring landscapes like forests, farms and wetlands — are a smart investment now more than ever. They are typically cost-effective and offer a triple dividend of job creation, avoided losses from protecting communities from natural disasters and benefits for local incomes and biodiversity. Nature-based solutions can also help to prevent further zoonotic disease pandemics. Actions to curb the loss, degradation and fragmentation of natural ecosystems and the illegal wildlife trade, reduce the risk of diseases spilling over from animals to people.
Investments in nature-based solutions typically create jobs — on average, between 7 and 40 jobs per $1 million invested — in labor-intensive fields like growing trees. They can reach other segments of the labor market as well. For instance, thousands of small- and medium-sized enterprises are restoring forests and landscapes. Investing in restoration through these businesses, which can generate $7-30 in benefits for every dollar spent, can create even more jobs.
Countries and Cities Are Already Showing the Way
Some countries are already showing how to put nature at the center of their approach to COVID-19-related economic stimulus and recovery. New Zealand announced a $1.1 billion program that aims to create 11,000 jobs through major investments in restoring wetlands and riverbanks, removing invasive species and improving tourism and recreation services on public lands.
For its part, Malawi has invested in growing trees to protect its farmers’ livelihoods. This small African country is dedicating 1.5 percent of its domestic budget to its Youth Forest Restoration Program, employing thousands of young people to revitalize 50,000 hectares of land. Other countries are including restoration targets in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement in the lead-up to the COP26 climate conference. Chile, for example, will restore 1 million hectares of land as part of its NDC.
City and local governments are doing their part, too. Jakarta and Mexico City, for example, are investing in massive tree-planting campaigns to improve poor air quality, which studies have shown is linked to higher death rates from COVID-19.
Five Action Areas for Restoring Ecosystems and Economies
Here’s how governments and their partners can take full advantage of this opportunity as they recover from COVID-19:
- Restore agricultural land. Restoring 160 million hectares of degraded agricultural land could generate $84 billion in annual economic benefits. That could boost smallholder farmers’ incomes by an estimated $35-40 billion per year, providing additional food for nearly 200 million people.
- Restore forests. Forests create jobs. In the United States, the tree “restoration economy” already generates an estimated $9.5 billion in annual economic output and directly supports more than 125,000 jobs. And in Ethiopia, forest products like honey could represent a $2.6 billion economic opportunity.
- Leverage existing jobs programs. Major public works and rural employment programs in many developing countries already invest in nature. In Pakistan, for instance, more than 60,000 unemployed laborers are being paid to set up tree nurseries, plant trees and monitor forests through the country’s ongoing 10 Billion Tree Tsunami program.
- Link economic support with environmental management. Governments can shift public incentives to protect rural communities and the environment. El Salvador is now designing three new policy instruments to enable local banks to: 1.) provide loans for people restoring land by sustainably growing food and commodities, 2.) invest in restoring key watersheds and 3.) reward farmers that grow trees to prevent floods and landslides.
- Manage and protect natural areas. During the previous global financial crisis, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) estimated that investments in sustainable forest management could create 10 million new jobs worldwide. In Europe, the Natura 2000 Network of protected areas supports 4.4 million jobs, while providing benefits worth up to $339 billion per year.
A Nature-Positive Future for All
Nature-based solutions are not a silver bullet, but they are a key part of a broader green approach to economic recovery that creates jobs in the short term, supports economic growth in the medium term, and shifts the global economy toward nature-friendly approaches that provide long-term benefits for sustainability and resilience.
As we address the immediate impacts of COVID-19, we must not further weaken the environmental systems that underpin our economies and societies. Instead, we must look to a more resilient future for everyone.
About the authors
Jonathan Cook is a Senior Associate in the Climate Resilience Practice at World Resources Institute, where he supported the Global Commission on Adaptation. He co-led the Commission’s Nature-Based Solutions Action Track and co-authored two chapters of the Commission’s flagship report, Adapt Now. Prior to joining WRI, Jonathan was a Senior Adaptation Specialist with the U.S. Agency for International Development, and prior to that, he spent seven years at the World Wildlife Fund. He is a co-author of the Fourth National Climate Assessment and co-author of various books and publications. Jonathan holds a M.S. from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a B.A. in environmental studies from Harvard University.
Rod Taylor is the Global Director of the Forests Program at the World Resource Institute (WRI), with oversight of Global Forest Watch, the Forest Legality Initiative and the Global Restoration Initiative. Before joining WRI, Rod worked as the Forests Director at WWF International, and before that led WWF’s forest work in the Asia Pacific region. Earlier in his career, Rod worked as a forest policy adviser in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Rod began his career as a lawyer in Australia and has a Masters Degree in Environmental Law from the Australian National University.
