Conference Agenda

The global biodiversity crisis demands innovative financing mechanisms to support nature conservation and restoration. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) present an innovative and cost-effective approach to conserving ecosystems while providing multiple benefits. However, funding constraints and the challenges of quantifying ecological benefits often limit their widespread implementation. This study introduces an approach to biodiversity financing through water tariffs focusing on the middle River Brenta area in North-Eastern Italy. This represents a pioneering example in the country of integrating ecosystem services into the financing of water resource management. The study area is part of a Natura 2000 site that supplies water to 1.5 million people annually. Using a multi-step approach, we compare current land use practices with five alternative NbS scenarios identified through stakeholder focus groups. We model the impact of these scenarios on water infiltration, carbon sequestration, and habitat conservation while conducting a cost-effective analysis to assess the development and maintenance costs of NbS relative to the ES they provide. Our results indicate that forest infiltration areas are the most effective for groundwater recharge and carbon sequestration, while constructed wetlands perform best in habitat conservation. Blended solutions emerge as the most efficient option, offering significant opportunities for biodiversity finance by delivering economic returns and conservation benefits. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on biodiversity finance, aligning with multiple initiatives under the EU Green Deal umbrella and the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy (SFT), which seeks to redirect financial flows to slow down and reverse biodiversity loss.