Restoring Nature, Creating Wealth: Evidence from Rural Households in Africa

Geoffrey Heal, Claudio Rizzi and Simon Xu

No 34929, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Human-driven degradation of ecosystems threatens both global biodiversity and the livelihoods of communities that depend on natural systems for production and income. Yet empirical evidence on the economic returns to restoring nature remains scarce. We examine whether nature-enhancing interventions can generate measurable improvements in household wealth, in addition to environmental benefits. We study a large-scale agroecological intervention implemented by Trees for the Future (TREES) across farms in sub-Saharan Africa, combining detailed household surveys with high-resolution satellite imagery. We show that quasi-exogenous increases in natural capital lead to substantial gains in household wealth, proxied by livestock ownership, of about 75% by the third year of treatment. Each dollar invested in the intervention returns about $2.28 in direct wealth benefits for participating farmers, before accounting for positive health impacts and carbon sequestration. We further document dramatic increases in tree cover and crop diversity, significant improvements in food security and dietary diversity, and detectable enhancements in vegetation indices measured from space. Together, these results demonstrate that restoring natural capital generates both ecological and economic returns, offering a scalable pathway for nature-positive development in rural economies where biodiversity remains a critical productive asset.

JEL-codes: O13 Q01 Q13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-agr and nep-env
Note: DEV EEE
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