Education
AGESI urges Africa to prioritise decision literacy to unlock nature finance – EnviroNews
– Advertisement –
The African Green Economy and Sustainability Institute (AGESI) has called on African governments and financial institutions to prioritise decision literacy, policy coherence and nature capital accounting to unlock investment in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration.
The institute’s Executive Director, Dr. Eugene Itua, said Africa needed to develop the capacity to translate biodiversity priorities into bankable investment decisions rather than continue producing plans without clear financing pathways.
Itua made the call during a side event at the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia, on Friday, October 23, 2026.
The event, themed “Blended Finance for Nature: From Policy Coherence to Investment,” was convened by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Pavilion.
“Africa needs decision literacy, not more plans, to unlock nature finance,” Itua said.
He argued that many African institutions were structured around generating short-term revenue rather than recognising and maximising the long-term economic value of natural capital.
According to him, the major capacity gap across the continent is not necessarily a lack of technical knowledge but the ability to convert nature conservation priorities into investment proposals capable of attracting financing.
“Across Africa, the biggest capacity gap is not technical knowledge — it is the ability to turn nature priorities into investable, bankable decisions,” he said.
Itua said ministries, regulators and development finance institutions needed practical tools to help decision-makers assess the economic value at risk when ecosystems deteriorate, identify potential financial returns from nature-positive investments and structure incentives that deliver benefits to local communities.
He highlighted two approaches: a nature-positive decision system and the FIPRE framework, which evaluates whether a proposal delivers genuine ecosystem functions, measurable impact, prosperity, resilience and equity.
According to him, these approaches can make nature finance more accessible to budget officers, bankers, government officials and other decision-makers responsible for approving public expenditure and investment.
He stressed that effective nature financing required more than conservation commitments, calling for policy coherence, fiscal reforms, risk-reduction instruments and systems for accounting for natural capital.
Itua warned that existing economic incentives in Nigeria continued to favour the depletion of natural resources over their restoration, undermining efforts to achieve sustainable development and protect biodiversity.
He said governments needed to align fiscal policies and financial instruments with biodiversity objectives to make investments in ecosystem protection economically attractive.
The AGESI executive director also identified the Business and Biodiversity Action Plan, implemented through the Business Advisory Group (BAG), as a mechanism for engaging the private sector in delivering these reforms.
He explained that the initiative was designed to translate national biodiversity priorities into corporate investment decisions, disclosure practices and supply-chain management.
According to him, stronger private-sector participation would help integrate biodiversity considerations into business operations and investment planning.
Itua further called for African countries to develop their own natural capital standards, warning that failure to do so could leave them dependent on frameworks developed for ecosystems and economic contexts outside the continent.
“If Africa does not publish its own natural capital standard, it will be forced to adopt external frameworks designed for non-African ecosystems. Writing our own standard is not optional; it is a strategic economic necessity,” he said.
He added that aligning policies, financial instruments and fiscal measures would help position nature as an economically viable investment rather than an activity dependent on charitable contributions.
The discussions at the event also highlighted the need for countries to transform their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) from policy documents into practical investment roadmaps that identify funding requirements, investment opportunities and implementation pathways.
Participants further stressed that domestic financial institutions should take a leading role in developing nature-finance markets instead of waiting for global trends to shape national approaches.
The call comes amid growing international efforts to mobilise public and private finance for implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which seeks to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.
For African countries, translating biodiversity commitments into investable projects will require stronger institutional capacity, reliable information on the economic value of ecosystems, supportive fiscal policies and closer collaboration between governments, financial institutions and businesses.
AGESI’s position is that integrating these elements into national economic planning would help African countries attract investment for nature conservation while supporting livelihoods, resilience and long-term economic prosperity.