Iora’s Nature Day at Delhi Climate Innovation Week brings Multi-sectoral Stakeholder Perspective on Scaling Nature-based Solutions in India
New Delhi, Feb 26: Iora Ecological Solutions marked its Nature Day at the Delhi Climate Innovation Week with a day-long series of high-level dialogues focused on accelerating credible, bankable Nature- based Solutions (NbS) across India. The convening brought together more than 65 representatives from government leadership, multilateral institutions, financial sector representatives, technology innovators and community practitioners to articulate a coordinated pathway for embedding nature within India’s development and economic architecture.
Delivering the Keynote Address, Shri Tanmay Kumar, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC), underscored the need to balance development aspirations with ecological responsibility and cultural stewardship. “Our development must be in harmony with ecological balance. We must ask whether we can reverse the damage caused by unsustainable growth. We need a development paradigm inspired by nature’s wisdom, one that integrates ecological health into economics without reducing nature to just a number,” he said.
Mr. Swapan Mehra, Founder and CEO of Iora Ecological Solutions, emphasised the scale of the opportunity before India. “Nature is not a liability but the biggest investment opportunity. India is in a strong position to build on our legacy of regenerative relationships with nature. We have scale, markets, and communities close to nature. The question is, why are we not actively investing?” he stated, framing Nature Day as a call to shift from fragmented restoration efforts to structured, finance-ready NbS portfolios.
Dr Amitabh Kundu (Senior Fellow, IORA), Mr. Ankit Todi (Chief Sustainability Officer, Mahindra Group) and Mr. Gaurav Sarup (Chief Sustainability Officer and Deputy Head – HSE, Vedanta Group), underscored the importance of institutional alignment, private sector participation and innovation-led partnerships in mainstreaming nature within India’s growth strategy.
Four Thematic Sessions Identify Pathways to Scale
To address structural barriers and enabling mechanisms for scaling NbS, expert discussions were curated across four key themes of Economics, Financing, Technology and Community.
Economics of Nature Conservation
Moderated by Dr Madhu Verma, the session examined valuation, incentives and evidence frameworks required for scaling NbS. Experts including Mr. Pyush Dogra, Mr. Reuben Gergan, Dr Ritesh Kumar and Shri Soumitra Dasgupta IFS (Retd.) emphasised the urgent need for credible valuation frameworks, incentive design and landscape-level approaches. Discussions reinforced that measurable ecological restoration and climate resilience must replace narrow metrics such as tree counts.
Financing Nature-based Solutions: Pathways, Instruments and Scale
Moderated by Mr. Varghese Paul, this session addressed persistent barriers to capital mobilisation. Panelists Mr. Kirtiman Awasthi, Mr. Manoj Dabas, Ms Neha Kumar and Ms Nidhi Batra examined why capital flows remain fragmented despite clear socio-economic returns from NbS. The session identified the need for bankable project pipelines, viable revenue models and de-risking instruments to unlock institutional finance at scale.
Nature and AI: Data, MRV and Decision Systems
Moderated by Shri RK Srivastava IFS (Retd.), the discussion focused on monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV), interoperable data systems and technological innovation. With contributions from Mr. Mohammad Aatish Khan, Ms Saranya M, Dr Subhash Ashutosh IFS (Retd.) and Mr. Swapan Mehra, the discussion highlighted the central role of data integrity, monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) systems, and interoperable platforms. Speakers stressed that trust, scientific rigour and governance frameworks will determine whether AI becomes a credible enabler of large-scale nature finance.
Empowering Communities: Institutions, Incentives and Inclusion
Moderated by Ms. Chhaya Bhanti, the session highlighted the institutional and behavioural dimensions of NbS. Speakers including Ms Anjali Makhija, Ms Jaskiran Warrik, Dr Mrigen Barua AFS (Retd.), Dr Nabaneeta Rudra and Mr. Ramanshu Ganguly emphasised that scaling NbS is ultimately an institutional and behavioural challenge, not merely a financial one. NbS scale when institutions are trusted, incentives are aligned, markets are accessible, and communities are architects rather than beneficiaries.
Clear Call for Integrated Action
The closing session featured a synthesis by Dr Aakriti Wanchoo, outlining integrated recommendations across finance, governance and technology. Reflections from Mr. Jagjeet Sareen and Shri Rajbir Singh Panwar, IFS (Retd.) reinforced the need to align national strategy with on-ground implementation.
Delivering the valedictory address, Shri Sushil Kumar Awasthi, IFS, reinforced the importance of institutional accountability and leadership in embedding nature within India’s growth trajectory.
Participants concluded that nature finance must scale, but it must scale with science, transparency and accountability at its core.
This Nature Day convening organised in partnership with Iora Ecological Trust and Vertiver, positioned investment in nature at the heart of climate innovation and economic planning.