What we do

We help find win-win solutions for protecting nature.

Natural Capital Insights is a consultancy firm that merges scientific knowledge and technology for strategic guidance on development. Building on two decades of experience from the Natural Capital Alliance, we provide spatial insights on nature's benefits to support sustainable development planning for governments, agencies, and NGOs that support people and planet.

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An aerial view of a city highway with multiple lanes of traffic, surrounded by trees with fall-colored leaves, and residential buildings with orange-tiled roofs.

How we are making a difference

Measuring & mapping the value of nature to people.

Our team combines expertise in ecosystem science, data analysis and visualization, and software development to offer comprehensive solutions that address the complex challenges of large-scale land-use planning aimed at achieving sustainable development and biodiversity conservation. Our goal is to shepherd decision-making towards landscapes that promote multiple objectives and lead to a sustainable future. 

We believe economic prosperity,
environmental protection,
and social progress cannot be separated.

Meet Our Team

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    Peter Hawthorne 

    CO-FOUNDER

    Dr. Peter Hawthorne (he/him) brings more than 10 years of experience in ecology, economics, and computation to spatial planning for multi-benefit landscapes. He was a lead author and analyst for a groundbreaking report on Nature’s Frontiers in collaboration with the World Bank, which demonstrated how 146 countries around the world can use their natural capital in more efficient and sustainable ways.

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    Eric Lonsdorf

    CO-FOUNDER

    Dr. Eric Lonsdorf (he/him) has over 15 years experience developing ecosystem service and natural resource management models for land management decisions. He works across systems from agricultural landscapes to urban environments. He has worked with the Natural Capital Project for the last eight years, co-leading their livable cities program and helping to develop models underlying the InVEST software.

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    Adrian Vogl

    CO-FOUNDER

    Dr. Adrian Vogl (she/her) has over 15 years of experience in leading interdisciplinary collaborative teams. Her work focuses on providing spatial analytics on the values of ecosystem services at national and regional scales, and developing actionable plans for using nature-based solutions to help meet policy and development goals.

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    Chris Nootenboom

    CO-FOUNDER

    Chris Nootenboom (he/him) has been modeling ecosystem services for close to a decade. He specializes in the benefits of urban nature and its connection to socio-economic inequalities in cities, creating decision-support tools for habitat restoration, and designing geospatial tools to aid corporate sustainability efforts.

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    Jorge León Sarmiento

    GEOSPATIAL ANALYST

    Dr. Jorge León Sarmiento has extensive experience developing and deploying spatial tools for ecosystem services modeling and assessment, landslide and land degradation risk, prioritizing investments in nature-based solutions in rural landscapes, and training local staff in the use of these tools in multiple countries in Latin America and Africa.

Flexibility • Innovation • Engagement

Clients & Collaborators

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    Government

    US Fish & Wildlife Service

    US Geological Survey

    US Department of Agriculture

    NASA

    Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources

    Ecuador Ministry of Finance & Ministry of Environment

    Brazil Ministry of Finance

    City of San Antonio, Texas

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    Development Finance

    The World Bank

    Inter-American Development Bank

    Asian Development Bank

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    Universities

    Stanford University

    University of Minnesota

    NatCap TEEMs

    University of California, Davis

    Emory University

    University of Georgia

    Stockholm Resilience Centre

    Michigan State University

    University of Vermont

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    NGOs

    Environmental Defense Fund

    Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund

    The Nature Conservancy

    Project Drawdown

    Peninsula Open Space Trust

    Conservation Finance Alliance

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    Consultancies

    Seascapes Solutions

    ATUK

    Africa NCA

A desert landscape with tall cacti, dry shrubs, rocky terrain, and a distant salt flat. Mountains are visible on the horizon under a blue sky with scattered clouds.

Ready to work with us?

Together, let’s design landscapes that foster your sustainable development goals