As governments and financial institutions increasingly recognize the economic importance of nature, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security, and Nature (LNV) sought to strengthen its ability to integrate ecosystem service values into financial planning and policy. 

The Challenge:

With biodiversity loss posing growing financial risks (particularly in the Agri-Food sector), access to robust, spatially explicit ecosystem service data becomes crucial for improving investment strategies, risk assessments, and sustainable decision-making. In this project, we explored the following key questions:

• What is the current state of Natural Capital knowledge in the Netherlands? 

• How do ecosystem services in key investment regions impact Dutch financial interests? 

• How can we operationalize ecosystem service values to drive nature-positive financial products? 

• What tools are needed to integrate these values into decision-making?

Our Approach:

The project aimed to expand the coverage of the Ecosystem Services Valuation Database (ESVD) by incorporating valuation data for the Netherlands and global locations critical to Dutch investments in the Agri-Food sector, which is exposed to high biodiversity-related financial risks. This sector’s production geographic hubs, largely in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, were prioritized to improve understanding of supply chain dependencies and risks. 

We performed a knowledge synthesis by examining scientific literature containing evidence of ES values to identify the current state of knowledge around natural capital in the Netherlands and other relevant geographies. We then applied Ecosystem Services Valuation (ESV) techniques to analyze and structure valuation data in a way that allowed further applications. During the project:

• We engaged key stakeholders across financial, governmental, and research sectors to identify technical requirements for integrating ecosystem service values into financial and policy operations. 

• We added 591 new Dutch-related ecosystem service values (nearly quadrupling the previous dataset) while addressing key data gaps in biodiversity-sensitive investment regions. 

• The first-ever online interface for the ESVD was launched (esvd.net), providing advanced tools for data visualization, submission, and analysis, making ESVD the world’s largest online open-access database on ES values.

Outcomes & Impact:

The project directly supported the Dutch Ministry’s efforts to enhance nature-positive agri-food investments and were applied across multiple initiatives, including:
✅ Integrating monetary values into the Biodiversiteitsmonitor (Biodiversity Monitor);
✅ Using ESVD outputs for investment decision-making;
✅ Aligning ESVD with satellite data to assess deforestation in Indonesia;
✅ Evaluating transitional financial products;
✅ Valuing mangrove restoration projects in Indonesia;
✅ Assessing the ‘green value’ of government real estate and equity (Rijksvastgoed);
✅ Developing a biodiversity-related financial risk methodology;
✅ Conducting Integrated Cost-Benefit Analyses (ICBA) for large-scale landscape restoration.

The diverse applications of this project underscored the growing importance of Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services Valuation in shaping sustainable policies, responsible investments, and biodiversity-positive outcomes. By making ecosystem service data more accessible, actionable, and policy-relevant, we helped lay the foundation for nature-inclusive financial strategies that can drive real-world change.