Nature-Based Solutions Are Still a New Sport — Learn the Rules Early

A lesson from my teenage rugby days about why some nature-based solutions projects scale—and others stall.

When I was 16, I started playing women’s rugby.

At the time, it was still a relatively new sport for women. Most of us hadn’t been playing since childhood. We were simply good athletes who were curious enough to try something new. Once we learned the rules and the flow of the game, progress could be surprisingly fast. Players who, the year before, had never picked up a rugby ball were suddenly competing at a high level.

The key wasn’t decades of experience. It was taking athletic talent and discipline and layering in an understanding of how the game worked.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) today feels very similar.

Many of the project developers building restoration, afforestation, and sustainable forestry projects have the experience of their craft (the athleticism) but lack the “rules” of the structured investment context. The industry is evolving in real time, and new participants are joining from many backgrounds: forestry, conservation, agriculture, development, and entrepreneurship – they want to scale up their efforts, but they need to complement their implementation skills with institutional investment knowhow.

The difference between the developers that accelerate through the so called ‘valley of death’ quickly, and those that stay stuck in it, is learning how to play by the rules of the professional investment game.

Learning the Rules of the Game

When I started rugby, being a strong athlete was a good starting point, but someone still had to explain the rules, the positioning, and the tactics. With the right guidance, the learning curve could be steep—in a good way.

The same dynamic applies to nature-based solutions projects seeking institutional capital.

Investors evaluate opportunities through a particular lens. They need to understand governance structures, financial projections, risk management, legal clarity around land rights, and how environmental and social safeguards are managed. What might feel like obvious elements of a project internally often need to be translated into formats and documentation that investors recognize and trust.

Without this information discipline, promising projects can appear unprepared—even when the underlying work on the ground is strong.

One practical starting point is ensuring that your project documentation reflects what investors expect to see. I’ve put together a Data Room Checklist for early-stage NbS developers that outlines the types of information institutional investors typically look for when reviewing an opportunity. For many developers, organizing this material is an important first step toward becoming investment-ready.

A Word to Asset Managers

For asset managers reading this, the dynamic can look different.

In more mature investment sectors, the “players” have often been in the game for decades. By the time someone reaches a professional level, they may have been developing their skills since “childhood”. Entering the field late can be difficult unless something changes—such as new rules, new teams that bring in some ringers, or new opportunities created by shifts in the market.

Nature-based solutions as a sector, is still early enough that new entrants can emerge quickly. But the projects that ultimately attract institutional capital will be those that not only excel at implementation but learn how to operate within the expectations of professional investors.

Get Help Learning the Rules of the Game

You don’t necessarily need decades of experience in institutional finance to succeed. But you do need to understand the rules of the game – that is, how investors evaluate opportunities so that you can present your project in a way that aligns with their decision-making processes.

If you’re developing a nature-based solutions project and thinking about how to attract investment capital, feel free to reach out and set up a call. I’d be happy to discuss where your project sits today and the most practical steps to move it forward.