Preserving Nature Makes Smart Economics

Many of us admire big cats and other wild species for their extraordinary beauty and the richness they add to the world. They are fierce, endangered, and vital to the ecosystems they help balance. But preserving nature is also a livelihood for a growing number of people around the world — especially in places where other opportunities are scarce.

Preserving nature underpins hundreds of millions of jobs globally. Forestry supports 50 million workers. Small-scale fisheries sustain up to 500 million. Nature-based tourism, one of the fastest growing sectors in global travel, employs millions more — often in regions where few other sources of income exist.

In these areas, nature is not just beautiful. It’s bankable. It provides the first step on the ladder to the middle class — a step that communities can build without destroying the ecosystems they depend on.

Big cats offer a powerful lens to understand this dynamic.

Today, big cats roam in 95 countries across Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Their story mirrors the challenges and choices of development — a mix of progress, missed opportunities, and cautionary tales. These apex predators often share their landscapes with some of the world’s poorest communities. As climate shocks intensify — floods, droughts, land degradation — natural resources become scarcer. Conflict follows: big cats attack livestock, and sometimes people. In turn, people retaliate, either to protect their livelihoods or to profit from the illegal wildlife trade.

And the profits are high. The global illegal wildlife trade is thriving, and big cat parts remain especially lucrative. That’s why we work with law enforcement partners through the International Consortium to Combat Wildlife Crime. Together, we help countries dismantle the high-reward, low-risk dynamics that fuel wildlife crime — from crime scenes to courtroom steps. Strengthening governance in this way is not just good conservation; it’s smart development policy.

But this is not a story of decline. It’s a story of potential — and of progress.

In Nepal, the tiger population has tripled over the past two decades, while forest cover has doubled. Crucially, that conservation success is creating livelihoods. Our research shows that 45% of international visitors come to Nepal to experience its natural beauty. Around Chitwan National Park — home to 128 of the country’s 355 tigers — tourism-related jobs now employ 3% of the working-age population. That’s not just spending — it’s economic lift. Each dollar from a tourist grows by nearly 80% as it moves through local jobs, services, and supply chains.

In Bangladesh, a mix of anti-poaching patrols, fencing, and community engagement has helped boost tiger populations without a rise in human-wildlife conflict. In Uganda, former poachers are now trained wildlife rangers, tracking lions in national parks and turning conservation into steady work. In Mexico, jaguar cubs are being rehabilitated and released into the wild, backed by foundations that support both nature and local communities.

India — home to five species of big cats: leopard, lion, snow leopard, tiger, and cheetah — has gone even further. It has built a model of nature-positive development that lifts both biodiversity and GDP. India hosts the world’s largest tiger population and has revived the Asiatic lion through Project Lion. These achievements now fuel a booming tourism sector, with marquee tiger parks like Ranthambore emerging as engines of economic growth. Ranthambore alone attracted over 650,000 visitors in 2023–24 — a number growing by up to 15% year-on-year — creating jobs and nurturing local talent among forest-dependent communities.

The ripple effects are real. Nature-based tourism brings income, sparks entrepreneurship, and creates jobs — especially in rural areas. Global research we’ve conducted shows that every dollar invested in national parks delivers an economic return of at least six times the original investment.

This success wasn’t accidental. It came from deliberate strategies to integrate conservation into development — across three pillars: managing nature, building businesses around it, and sharing the benefits. The World Bank Group helped champion this model through the Global Tiger Initiative, launched in 2008, which united 13 tiger-range countries to craft national action plans — a milestone that culminated in the 2010 St Petersburg Tiger Summit. India’s recent launch of the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) builds on that legacy — enabling countries especially across the Global South to share knowledge and scale solutions. Its collaboration with the Sankala Foundation to publish BigCats magazine is one more example of homegrown leadership and innovation.

Preserving nature is smart economics. It creates jobs where few others exist. It opens doors to inclusive growth. And it strengthens the foundations for a better, more sustainable future.

No species tells that story more powerfully than the big cats.