Over the past decade, climate-related extreme weather events have inflicted more than USD 2 trillion in economic losses globally and is expand is expected to grow over time. A significant portion of this damage stems from coastal flooding, erosion, and storm surge—impacts that are intensifying as sea levels rise and weather patterns grow more volatile.  The devastating floods and landslides that have claimed the lives of over 1,000 people in Indonesia are a stark reminder of this reality.

As governments and investors prepare to deploy USD 94 trillion in global infrastructure spending over the next 20 years, the financial sector faces a pivotal opportunity: to align capital with climate resilience by investing in nature as infrastructure. 

Coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, tidal marsh, and coral reefs provide protection to coastal communities from coastal floods by acting as natural buffers to waves and storm surge.  At Conservation International, we are advancing a new paradigm: green-gray infrastructure. This approach integrates the protective value of ecosystems, such as mangroves, reefs, and wetlands, with traditional engineered solutions to safeguard coastal communities, enhance biodiversity, and deliver long-term economic value. These hybrid systems, considered nature-based solutions, are not only environmentally sound and demonstrably effective, they are financially smart. From Florida to Fiji, and the Netherlands to Eastern Australia, green-gray infrastructure is already protecting lives and livelihoods. Nature-based solutions can provide multiple benefits such as climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, water security, carbon sequestration, and ecosystem services.  

Our Blueprints for Coastal Resilience offer a scalable framework that integrates nature-based solutions to restore large stretches of coastline while protecting vulnerable communities, biodiversity, and habitats. Currently being implemented across the North Brazil Shelf spanning Brazil, Suriname, and Guyana, these Blueprints provide a pipeline of vetted, scalable, and investment-ready green-gray infrastructure projects designed to meet the criteria of development banks and institutional investors. They are engineered for impact: reducing flood risk, restoring ecosystems, and supporting food and livelihood security. 

Yet two barriers persist. First, scale: most nature-based solutions remain small and local, while climate change demands responses that match its global scope. Second, recognition: nature-based projects are often excluded from infrastructure portfolios due to their smaller budgets and perceived complexity, falling below the investment thresholds of major financial institutions. 

We are tackling these challenges head-on. The Blueprints for Coastal Resilience approach is providing these integrated nature-engineering solutions to regional, and in some cases national, scales protecting vulnerable communities, while simultaneously restoring habitats and safeguarding biodiversity. The approach maps optimal coastal protection strategies—whether nature-based, engineered, or hybrid—for each location, enabling governments and developers to pursue coordinated, large-scale implementation. Projects are structured as modular, investment-ready portfolios aligned with national adaptation plans, allowing for phased funding and strategic deployment. 

Multilateral development banks, including the Inter-American Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, are exploring ways to finance this programmatic approach to regional resilience. Meanwhile, we are working with Conservation International's Global Green-Gray Community of Practice, comprising over 750 engineers, policymakers, and financiers, to develop innovative instruments such as parametric insurance, resilience bonds, and revenue-based finance structures to unlock capital and deliver measurable returns in risk reduction and ecosystem services. 

In Brazil’s northern state of Pará, a mangrove restoration project along a coastal highway is poised to restore over 400 hectares of mangroves and benefit 65,000 residents through reduced flooding and improved fisheries. This initiative is being positioned as a pilot for financing nature as infrastructure—a real-world test case for scalable investment. 

For investors seeking climate-aligned, high-impact opportunities, the message is clear: nature is essential infrastructure. This principle lies at the heart of the Mangrove Breakthrough’s mission to mobilize $4 billion to protect and restore 15 million hectares of mangrove forests by 2030. Investing in mangrove-positive businesses and initiatives that strengthen coastal ecosystems makes sense economically, environmentally, and ecologically. It’s time to treat nature—and fund it—accordingly.

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