Imagine a company that reports a profit — but only because its activities depleted a wetland, polluted a river, or pushed soil beyond recovery. Traditional accounting would still call that “success,” because the only thing it measures is money.
In BIO-CAPITAL’s second Deep Dive, Diana Tomakh (GND Partners) introduced a framework that challenges this logic. Triple Capital Accounting asks a simple question with consequences: What if financial results also reflected the value of nature and communities?

From Single Capital to Three

Classic accounting sees only one kind of capital: financial. TCA adds two that have been invisible for decades: Natural capital — forests, soils, rivers, biodiversity, all the systems that make life possible, and Social capital — people’s wellbeing, local livelihoods, equity, safety, and the resilience of communities. Suddenly, a restored grassland, a wetland that prevents flooding, or a farm that stops relying on pesticides are no longer “externalities.” They become part of the value a company creates.

When a Forest Becomes a Line Item

Tomakh used concrete examples to show what this looks like in practice. A forest in the Alps isn’t just scenery — it captures carbon, prevents erosion, protects villages from landslides. In the UK, a wetland doesn’t simply store water — it prevents floods, filters pollutants, creates habitat. TCA measures those benefits and turns them into financial information.

The moment nature is quantified, it can enter the conversations where decisions are made: investments, risk models, project evaluation, and balance sheets. Or as Tomakh put it: “The language of business is finance. If we monetise biodiversity and social wellbeing, we bring them into boardrooms.”

A Bridge Between Ecology and Finance

And that is the point. Triple Capital Accounting is not about turning nature into numbers for fun — it’s about making ecological reality visible to an economic system that currently rewards destruction more easily than restoration.

Within BIO-CAPITAL, the framework connects scientific data with financial tools like payments for ecosystem services, insurance models, nature bonds and biodiversity certificates. It allows investors to see which projects genuinely regenerate ecosystems, and which only claim to.

When nature shows up in financial reporting, two things happen: it becomes comparable — and it becomes protectable.

The first BIO-CAPITAL Deep Dive opened with Ahmet Rasim Demirtaş of Agcurate BV, who offered a striking perspective on a financial tool not usually associated with ecology: insurance. But in a world of more frequent storms, droughts and floods, he argued, insurance can become a mechanism not just for compensation, but for conservation.

Traditional insurance waits for damage to occur and then sends assessors to calculate losses — a slow and often disputed process. Parametric insurance works differently. It relies on objective, measurable environmental data: rainfall below a certain level, wind above a threshold, rivers overtopping their banks. When the data crosses the trigger, the payout is automatic. No forms. No inspections. No delays.

From Climate Shocks to Safety Nets

Demirtaş described how this speed and transparency can make a crucial difference for nature. In Alpine forests, for example, a storm can wipe out trees that were storing carbon and generating revenue through carbon credits. A rapid insurance payout allows restoration to begin immediately, keeping the project viable. Farmers shifting to regenerative practices often face short-term yield losses; insurance can cushion that financial risk and give them confidence to stay the course. And in wetlands or grasslands, where floods can destroy years of ecological restoration, parametric payouts can finance repairs the moment water levels spike.

Within BIO-CAPITAL, parametric models are not viewed in isolation. They sit alongside other tools such as Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) and Triple Capital Accounting, creating a financial architecture designed to reward long-term stewardship while protecting projects against sudden shocks. Insurance becomes both an enabler — encouraging people to adopt nature-positive practices — and a safety net, ensuring those efforts aren’t wiped out in a single disaster.

From Coral Reefs to an Idea and Concept

What once sounded experimental is already becoming real. Coral reefs in Mexico are insured against hurricane damage; mangroves in the Caribbean are protected through parametric triggers linked to storm events; wetlands in China are covered against droughts, floods and wildfires. The idea is spreading: biodiversity is an asset, and like any asset, it can be protected.

Demirtaş’ message was direct: if we want nature-based solutions to scale, we must make them financially resilient. Parametric insurance does exactly that — turning environmental risk into measurable triggers, and ecological restoration into something investors can trust will endure.

The Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation Work Package of the project is about explaning BIO-CAPITAL, making its results accessible and usable.

BIO-CAPITAL is a project that brings together a wide range of expertise: finance, earth observation and remote sensing, policy, and environmental protection work. Its multidisciplinary nature requires constant internal exchange and a strong shared project vision. And bringing together very different methods and fields does not always make it easy to explain the project to the outside world with one voice. That is why BIO-CAPITAL has dedicated a separate work package to project communication and the preparation of project results for scientific, economic and social use. Our team at Oikoplus, a Vienna-based company that specializes in this area, has the exciting and challenging task of leading this work package.

When it comes to explaining a complex scientific project, it makes sense to develop a kind of narrative that allows people who are not experts in the field to understand the project. It’s about meaning-making. When I personally want to explain the BIO-CAPITAL project to someone I know, I sometimes use a metaphor. And that is the metaphor of a zoo.

Earth as a Zoo?

The mission statement of many botanical gardens and zoos is that they serve the study and conservation of plants, species and biodiversity. Let’s assume for now, that this self-perception is completely correct. At the zoo, you can study animals, and their behavior. Networks of zoos also serve to breed animals, including endangered species. In the controlled environments of zoos, animals can be cataloged, monitored, and observed. In nature, plants and species cannot be constantly monitored through the bars and glass panes of enclosures and cages, but through satellites and drones with geospatial sensor technology of all kinds.

This is where BIO-CAPITAL comes in. Technology-supported biodiversity monitoring thus follows the logic of the botanical/zoological garden, so to speak, and the growing amount of data on biodiversity turns habitats into such gardens, sort of. However, running a botanical garden or a zoo is a complex task from a micro-economical perspective. It requires resources, which are generated through entrance fees, donations, research grants, public money etc. Only if they manage to generate sufficient resources as market actors, they can fulfill their biodiversity conservation function.

Biodiversity provides a range of crucial ecosystem services, which makes the preservation of biodiversity a crucial necessaty. Since the negative effects of biodiversity loss are large and hardly manageable, the protection of biodiversity is a declared political goal. Nevertheless, Earth is experiencing a dramatic extinction of species and various ecosystems around the world are threatened by biodiversity loss, which is linked to the expansion of human settlements, intensive agricultural production styles and the exploitation of natural resources (IPBES, 2019).

One of the political paths taken to prevent biodiversity loss is the economic valorization of biodiversity. The underlying rationale: If the preservation of biodiversity is given a monetary value, and the destruction of biodiversity is given a price, then market forces can be used to protect biodiversity. However, if natural habitats are to be monitored by geospatial analytical technologies with regard to their biodiversity, this requires financial resources. That’s why BIO-CAPITAL not only seeks to measure biodiversity based on remote sensing, but also develops financial instruments linked to to monitoring. Going back to my little metaphor of the zoo and its business model, one could now ask: Who becomes a zoo financier, a zoo visitor, an animal keeper–how, and why?

Different Perspectives, One Project Voice

The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 specifies that “tackling biodiversity loss and restoring ecosystems will require significant public and private investments at national and European level.” Europe’s goal of mobilizing private investment and developing market-based solutions for the conservation of biodiversity is also reflected in a series of calls within the framework of the EU’s research and innovation programme (EC, 2022), and the EU’s Farm2Fork Strategy. BIO-CAPITAL is one of the projects, helping to bring Europes Biodiversity Strategy to life. The project brings together 17 organizations from 13 countries to harness financial solutions and advanced geospatial analytics to mobilize private capital investments for the protection and restoring of biodiversity.

Let’s go back to the logic of the zoo, or the botanical garden. As places that serve entertainment, pleasure, commerce, but also biological research, and species conservation, botanical gardens and zoos combine many different functions. And people attach very different meanings to them.

Our goal in Work Package 6 of the project is to acknowledge these different perspectives and explain the project in a transparent manner so that people inside and outside the consortium can reach a shared understanding of what the BIO-CAPITAL project is achieving. That’s challenging, but great task.

How wetlands in southwest England help shape the future of biodiversity monitoring

In the rolling hills of southwest England, rivers remember how they once flowed free. Today, those memories are being revived — through careful restoration and new technologies that help make nature’s recovery visible, measurable, and ultimately valuable.

This short documentary follows the BIO-CAPITAL project as it explores how Earth Observation (EO) data can reveal the ecological impact of river and wetland restoration — and how this information could one day form the basis of measurable biodiversity value.

Restoring Rivers — and Rethinking Value

At the heart of this story is the Westcountry Rivers Trust (WRT), an environmental charity that has been protecting rivers and wetlands across southwest England for decades. Field officer Rachel spends most of her time knee-deep in streams, creating ponds, bunds, and scrapes designed to slow water and give space back to nature.

“Monitoring biodiversity uplift is one of the hardest parts of any restoration project,” Rachel explains. “It’s often underfunded — and that’s why exploring satellite imagery is so exciting for us.”

BIO-CAPITAL brings together this local expertise with EarthDaily Agro’s experience in remote sensing. Using GPS data and field observations, remote-sensing expert Harold compares what satellites can see from above with what conservationists observe on the ground. The goal: to test whether changes in vegetation, moisture, or biomass detected from space can serve as reliable indicators of biodiversity recovery.

Seeing Change from Above

At small wetland sites near Dartmoor National Park, Harold and maps interventions such as scrapes and ponds — then analyses whether these features show up in satellite imagery. When conditions are right, time-series analysis can reveal subtle seasonal shifts that reflect vegetation growth and habitat health.

Yet, as Harold notes, not all sites are easy to see:

“Dense vegetation or small restoration areas can push the limits of what satellite data can capture. But by combining field data and EO imagery, we can start to calibrate meaningful indicators for biodiversity uplift.”

This combination of muddy boots and clean data is where BIO-CAPITAL’s innovation lies: turning local restoration work into quantifiable, verifiable change.

Duchy College: A Living Laboratory

A key stakeholder in this effort is Duchy College, an agricultural and environmental training campus in Stoke Climsland, Cornwall.
The college manages extensive wetland areas and has become a valuable test site for scaling up the project’s methods.

Here, landscape architect Gemma shows how engineered ponds and bunds are helping to retain water and create habitats for freshwater species.

“Standing water is incredibly important for biodiversity,” she says. “We now have ponds that stay full most of the year — providing habitats for invertebrates, birds, and other wildlife.”

For Harold, these landscapes are also a perfect testing ground: their complex patchwork of fields, hedgerows, and wetlands mirrors the diversity of rural England, helping to refine EO-based monitoring approaches under real-world conditions.

Towards a New Kind of Capital

For Lawrence, Chief Executive of WRT, the value of this work extends beyond ecology:

“The BIO-CAPITAL project allows us to understand not only the benefits of protecting rivers and giving them space for nature, but also how to market that — for example, through biodiversity net gain schemes.”

By connecting field restoration, remote sensing, and natural capital accounting, BIO-CAPITAL seeks to create a framework where biodiversity gains can become recognised and tradable assets.

It’s a bold vision: that the recovery of ecosystems — once seen as priceless but immeasurable — can now be made both visible and valuable.

BIO-CAPITAL aims at transforming Alpine forest management through innovative financial tools. Project Use Case 1 focuses on promoting sustainable practices in forests, addressing biodiversity loss and climate resilience in these critical ecosystems.

What is Use Case 1 About?

Use Case 1 (UC1) of the BIO-CAPITAL project focuses on the sustainable management of Alpine forests in Austria and Italy. The primary objective of UC1 is to explore and implement financial mechanisms that promote biodiversity-friendly practices in Alpine forest management. This use case directly aligns with the EU Forest Strategy for 2030 and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, both of which emphasize the importance of preserving and restoring biodiversity in forest ecosystems.

Forests in the Alpine region face unique challenges due to their geophysical characteristics, such as limited accessibility and the harsh effects of climate change, making it difficult for forest managers to adopt sustainable practices. This use case aims to overcome these barriers by leveraging innovative financial tools like Biodiversity Certificates (BC) and Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) to incentivize ecologically sustainable forest management (SFM) .

Where is this Use Case Being Implemented?

This use case is set within the Alpine region, spanning parts of Austria and Italy. Alpine forests are critical for biodiversity conservation but also face increasing pressures from climate change, unsustainable logging practices, and other environmental crises. The unique geographic challenges of the Alpine terrain, such as steep slopes and limited access, further complicate efforts to implement sustainable forest management practices .

When is the Project Timeline?

UC1 is part of the broader BIO-CAPITAL project, which started in June 2024 and will run for 42 months. The implementation of UC1 involves a step-by-step approach, beginning with stakeholder engagement and research on existing forest management practices. Throughout the project, multiple pilot interventions will be evaluated for their economic and ecological impact, with results expected to influence forest management policies across Europe .

Who is Involved in This Use Case?

UC1 is a collaborative effort between forest operators, conservation authorities, local communities, and private investors. Stakeholders in the forestry sector, including logging companies and wood industry associations, will be actively engaged in discussions on how to align current forest practices with sustainable management principles. Additionally, policymakers and financial institutions will contribute to the design of innovative financial solutions that can help bridge the gap between economic viability and ecological sustainability .

Why Is UC1 Important?

Alpine forests play a critical role in maintaining biodiversity, regulating water cycles, and mitigating the effects of climate change. However, current forest management practices often prioritize short-term economic gains over long-term ecological sustainability, leading to soil degradation, loss of biodiversity, and increased vulnerability to natural disturbances like pests and windthrows.

UC1 seeks to address these challenges by introducing financial mechanisms that reward forest owners for implementing biodiversity-friendly practices. By assigning a monetary value to the ecosystem services provided by forests, such as carbon sequestration and habitat preservation, UC1 aims to make sustainable forest management economically viable, and will also promote the use of Nature-based Solutions (NbS), such as deadwood management and mixed-species forests, which can enhance the resilience of forest ecosystems to environmental disturbances. These practices, combined with financial incentives like Biodiversity Certificates and PES schemes, will create a sustainable model for forest management that can be replicated across Europe.

The recently launched BIO-CAPITAL project contributes to the development of financial tools that protect biodiversity by linking private capital investments and Earth observation data from space.

The BIO-CAPITAL project has just launched with the aim to develop tools and strategies for the protection and restoration of biodiversity in Europe. It uses the view of the Earth’s ecosystems from space to link Earth observation data with innovative financial instruments that incentivise private capital investments in species conservation and biodiversity. The research and innovation project is funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe framework, bringing together 17 partners from 13 countries.

Hynek Roubík is an Associate Professor at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, and coordinator of the project: “Protecting and restoring biodiversity is of crucial importance for maintaining ecological balance and ensuring the sustainability of our planet. Innovative approaches to conservation are essential. And that is where our BIO-CAPITAL project comes in.”

The involvement of private investment in biodiversity conservation is promising. Green bonds, index insurance, and other sustainable finance mechanisms to provide long-term funding for conservation projects all make substantial contributions to the challenge of reversing biodiversity loss with private sector resources complementing public finance.

The BIO-CAPITAL project thus supports the development of financial models that valorise ecosystem services.

Hynek Roubík: “I am particularly excited about the project’s focus on activating innovative sustainable finance solutions and integrating technological advances in geospatial analytics. The application of remote sensing technology offers valuable insights into the health and status of ecosystems, enabling targeted and effective protection and restoration efforts. This technology can help identify areas at risk of environmental degradation, facilitating proactive conservation measures.”

By using remote sensing data, BIO-CAPITAL will co-design, demonstrate, and promote a sustainable model for financing biodiversity protection and restoration. “This model will not only benefit the environment but also secure investor confidence, making it a viable and attractive option for private investment.”

The project duration of BIO-CAPITAL is 42 months with a project budget of EUR 4.7 million.