How the Global South is turning business into a delivery partner for nature and biodiversity

As governments prepare to gather in the Armenian capital of Yerevan for the 2026 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17), the gap between ambition and delivery on nature has never been clearer. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework calls on business to help halt and reverse nature loss by 2030, but too many countries still treat companies as stakeholders to consult, not partners to deliver.

That is a problem for both nature and the economy. Healthy ecosystems underpin productivity, supply chains, investment and long-term resilience. Without meaningful private-sector participation, governments are not only unlikely to achieve their biodiversity goals, they also risk weakening the economic foundations on which their societies depend. For finance ministers and CEOs alike, the stakes are material: weaker ecosystems raise costs, disrupt supply chains and increase risk premiums.

Across the Global South, however, a different model is emerging. Through initiatives supported by Business for Nature, governments and businesses are co-designing roadmaps, policies and metrics that translate biodiversity commitments into practical action.

The lesson from our work is clear: governments are far more likely to achieve biodiversity goals when they treat business as a delivery partner to engage, support and hold accountable. Three insights stand out:

Effective public-private collaboration depends less on the number of companies involved and more on whether the right companies are engaged through a structured process. Done well, that process builds trust, ambition and accountability from the outset.

In Chile, the Ministry of Environment partnered with Acción Empresas, one of the country's leading business networks, enabling government to engage ambitious companies and move quickly from dialogue to action on biodiversity and nature.

In Nigeria, businesses were rigorously screened based on their nature commitments before joining advisory groups, while in Malaysia, business representatives were selected from sectors with significant impacts and dependencies on nature, including plantations, finance, shipping, mining and infrastructure.

Experience shows that governments need mechanisms that bring ambitious businesses into policy design from the beginning, rather than relying on broad but unstructured consultation.

Dialogue alone does not drive implementation. Businesses need a clear roadmap that translates national ambitions into practical expectations and signals where policy is heading.

Chile's business action plan directly supports Target 15 of the Global Biodiversity Framework, which encourages businesses to assess and disclose their risks, impacts and dependencies on nature. Developed jointly by 20 companies and six ministries across government, it sets out the policy, reporting and governance measures needed to support implementation and gives businesses greater clarity about future expectations.

Malaysia's Blueprint for Accelerating Biodiversity Action establishes time-bound expectations across high-impact sectors, including sustainable certification goals and biodiversity action plans. These kinds of shared targets help companies plan ahead, reduce uncertainty for early movers and encourage ambitious action without creating competitive disadvantage.

Indonesia offers another lesson. By aligning biodiversity, forestry and climate commitments within a single framework, it gives businesses a clearer understanding of how nature action contributes to multiple national objectives at once.

Voluntary business action alone is not enough to scale the action required to halt and reverse nature loss. Governments must create the conditions for success.

Several countries are already laying the groundwork for future regulatory frameworks while helping businesses prepare for what comes next. For companies, engaging in policy design is both a risk-management strategy and an opportunity to anticipate change, invest with confidence and strengthen competitiveness.

Capacity building is a key part of that process. Colombia and South Africa have invested in programmes that help companies understand their relationship with nature and develop strategies aligned with national biodiversity goals. These initiatives address a common theme: businesses cannot be expected to act if they lack the tools and expertise to do so.

Governments must also use a broader mix of policy levers. Fiscal and financial incentives need to reward the right action. Public procurement, finance, certification schemes and phased regulation can all help protect and restore nature and strengthen resilience across the economy.

As governments take stock of their progress at COP17, the challenge is no longer only setting biodiversity targets; it is creating the productive partnerships needed to deliver them.

Experiences from the Global South demonstrate that business can be a powerful and necessary partner when governments structure engagement to drive ambition and follow it up with clear roadmaps for action.

Countries that fail to involve the private sector risk slowing progress towards their biodiversity goals. Those that do can accelerate implementation while strengthening the resilience and competitiveness of their economies.

Governments do not need to start from scratch. Practical examples from the Global South already offer a blueprint for turning biodiversity ambitions into action. The task now is to replicate and scale what works.