Our nature portfolio

Nature

Our nature portfolio

Promoting and restoring nature as our greatest ally

For people, for planet

Protecting nature is a vital task for ensuring the well-being and prosperity of people and the planet.

Putting nature at the heart of development, we are working with governments and people around the world to secure a better, more sustainable, more equitable future through an inclusive green transition.

Our global nature portfolio currently includes more than 350 projects in 140+ countries, leveraging almost US$3.4 billion in grants and US$13.4 billion in co-financing. Through integration and nature-positive action, we contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals across areas including governance, rule of law, human rights, health, climate, energy, inclusive growth, and gender equality.

A force for nature

Nature underpins our lives, societies, and economies. Yet the biodiversity and ecosystems that sustain our life support system, societies and economies are in rapid decline at an unprecedented rate.

We know that nature-based solutions deliver a threefold return: benefitting natural resources, biodiversity, and climate. Nature-based solutions are essential to achieving all the Sustainable Development Goals.

To date, UNDP’s nature portfolio has supported improved management and protection of 482 million hectares of terrestrial ecosystem and 450 million hectares of marine ecosystems.
Over the past 20 years, UNDP has provided technical and financial support to over 200 protected area-related projects – including in indigenous and community-conserved areas – in 130 developing countries and territories.
In Africa alone, since 2002, the UNDP Protected Area-related portfolio has resulted in impacts across 710 protected areas spanning at least 85 million hectares in 39 countries (111 of these were newly established during project tenure), via grant investments of some $240 million.