When Nature Has a Number on the Balance Sheet
How the financial world is starting to recognize the value of ecosystems services
In this episode of the Healthy Seas Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Ralph Chami — financial economist, former Assistant Director at the International Monetary Fund, and Co-Founder of Blue Green Future — to explore one of the most powerful shifts underway: integrating the value of nature’s services into economic and financial systems.
From whales and seagrass to elephants and bison, Ralph’s work centers around measuring the economic contributions of living ecosystems and designing financial tools that recognize their role in climate regulation, biodiversity support, and human wellbeing. The goal? To accelerate funding for restoration and protection by making nature visible on the balance sheet.
A Whale, a Shift, a New Vision
The conversation begins with a deeply personal story: a moment in the Sea of Cortez that transformed Ralph’s life and career. From that encounter with a blue whale came a new path, one that brought together climate science, conservation, and high-level economics. Since then, Ralph has helped governments and organizations understand how to value nature’s services — not to commodify ecosystems, but to make the case for investing in their preservation and restoration.
In the episode, you’ll hear about:
- Why whales can be worth millions over their lifetime through carbon storage
- How forward contracts are being used to fund environmental restoration
- What makes a nature-based project “investable”
- Why markets are slow to respond — and what could unlock faster change
- The role of communities in managing and benefiting from ecosystem services
- The risks of leaving nature outside the financial system, and how to avoid them
When Oceans Meet Economics
For companies, investors, and governments trying to build credible climate and biodiversity strategies, this episode offers a new lens. As Ralph puts it, valuing nature’s services isn’t about replacing conservation with markets — it’s about finally recognizing the systems we depend on, and funding their protection before it’s too late.
It’s a bold reframe of where value lies, and how finance can be part of the solution.
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