Governments have a central role to play if private capital is to flow at scale into land-use practices that restore soils, protect ecosystems and reduce climate risks, according to a new paper led by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
What the paper says
The WBCSD report — developed following a United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) invitation to convene private-sector views — distils input from 58 organisations across agricultural value chains, finance, farmers’ groups and network partners. It argues that businesses are already deploying capital into restoration, conservation and sustainable land management, but that fragmented and misaligned policies are slowing the pace and scale of investment.
The paper frames regenerative landscapes as integrated approaches that combine regenerative agriculture, forestry, conservation, agroecology and ecosystem restoration. It warns that the physical impacts of degraded soils, water stress and nature loss are raising costs and threatening the availability of the natural resources on which many businesses depend.
Size of the prize — and the cost of inaction
The paper points to substantial economic upside from a transition to regenerative practices. It cites an estimate that a shift to regenerative agriculture alone could unlock US$4.5 trillion in new investment each year while avoiding an additional US$5.7 trillion in damage-related costs.
- Private sector consultation: 58 organisations contributed to the consultation process convened by WBCSD at the request of the UNCCD.
- Policy gaps noted: Misaligned regulations, unclear land governance, inconsistent public finance and the absence of shared data systems are named as barriers to confident investment.
- Policy priorities: The paper presents four priorities, comprising three policy recommendation areas and a call for enhanced collaboration between public and private actors.
Policy levers highlighted
While the document is aimed at national and international policymakers, it identifies a short list of enablers that influence whether businesses will allocate capital to regenerative landscapes.
| Policy lever | How it affects investment |
|---|---|
| Policy coherence | Aligning laws and regulations reduces uncertainty and lowers transaction costs for investors. |
| Regulatory certainty | Clear rules allow firms to plan multiyear investments in land restoration and sustainable practices. |
| Public finance | Targeted public funds and blended finance can de-risk private contributions. |
| Land governance & data | Secure tenure, transparent land rights and shared data platforms underpin scalable project pipelines. |
Why this matters to Canadian businesses
Canada’s economy has significant exposure to agriculture, forestry and natural-resource supply chains. The WBCSD paper implies that national policy choices — from land titles and indigenous tenure issues to the design of subsidies and public financing — will materially influence investor appetite and the speed of transition.
For Canadian corporations and financial institutions assessing climate and nature-related risks, the message is straightforward: policy clarity and coherent public-private mechanisms will be decisive in converting corporate commitments into investable projects. The paper also highlights that without such alignment, existing business investment will be insufficient to reach the scale suggested by the cited economic estimates.
Although the report focuses on global recommendations, its findings have practical consequences for domestic policy debates about how to mobilize capital for landscape-scale restoration and sustainable land use — from conservation financing to measurement standards and data-sharing platforms that can verify outcomes.
As governments prepare climate and land-use strategies, the WBCSD-led consultation offers a business-oriented blueprint intended to reduce barriers and catalyse flows of private capital toward regenerative activities that aim to renew, rather than deplete, natural resources.
