A new study shows that current trends in environmental degradation will lead to large economic losses in the coming decades, hitting the poorest countries hardest. But there is hope: investing in nature can turn those losses into gains.

The researchers found:

  • Policy options for investing in nature resulted in annual gains of $100-350 billion (2014 USD), with the largest percentage increases in GDP occurring in low-income countries. The policy options examined in this study include removing agricultural subsidies, financing research into improving crop yields and international payments from wealthy countries to poorer countries to support conservation.

  • Continued trends in environmental degradation, on the other hand, would result in $75 billion losses annually, with the low-income countries suffering from 0.2% losses in GDP year on year.