Synthesis Report on Sustainable Financing of the Establishment of Ponds and Pondscapes

Ponds and pondscapes (a complex of multiple ponds) can serve as Nature-based Solutions (NbS) that address numerous societal challenges, including the need for climate adaptation, biodiversity enhancement, and water management. Financing has been identified as a key barrier that limits the upscaling of nature-based solutions, including pondscapes. This report aims to address this challenge by supporting pondscape developers to answer a simple question: how can I pay for my pondscape nature-based solution project?

To support pondscape developers cover the costs of implementing their nature-based solution, this report introduces the PONDERFUL Sustainable Finance Inventory, which consists of a total of 22 financing instruments for nature-based solutions. Each instrument is matched by at least one concrete example of the financing instrument in action. Different financing instruments have different strengths and weaknesses, making them more or less appropriate for different contexts and actors. The Inventory aims to support pondscape developers to understand financing options and identify the finance instruments best suited to their pondscape NbS project.