Sustaining the organisms, ecosystems and processes that underpin human wellbeing is necessary to achieve sustainable development. Here we define critical natural assets as the natural and semi-natural ecosystems that provide 90% of the total current magnitude of 14 types of nature’s contributions to people (NCP), and we map the global locations of these critical natural assets at 2 km resolution. Critical natural assets for maintaining local-scale NCP (12 of the 14 NCP) account for 30% of total global land area and 24% of national territorial waters, while 44% of land area is required to also maintain two global-scale NCP (carbon storage and moisture recycling). These areas overlap substantially with cultural diversity (areas containing 96% of global languages) and biodiversity (covering area requirements for 73% of birds and 66% of mammals). At least 87% of the world’s population live in the areas benefitting from critical natural assets for local-scale NCP, while only 16% live on the lands containing these assets.

Many of the NCP mapped here are left out of international agreements focused on conserving species or mitigating climate change, yet this analysis shows that explicitly prioritizing critical natural assets and the NCP they provide could simultaneously advance development, climate and conservation goals.

Identifying critical natural assets could enable national and global leaders to prioritize the conservation of a wide range of NCP. We find it encouraging that securing 90% of the NCP mapped here is feasible with an area comparable to other proposed conservation targets6,7,32,53. Global analyses such as this can set a broader context for local decisions including understanding of distant connections that extend outside a country’s borders, provide rapid information for global actors such as CBD signatories and non-governmental organizations working on conservation priorities across many countries, and supplement gaps in local information while it is still being generated54. National- and local-level use of spatial data is timely and relevant for countries seeking to access scarce international Sustainable Development Goal-related finance, as it can improve the ecological, social and economic aspects of project readiness55,56. However, we emphasize the value of the approach developed here more than the maps or data.

This approach can be adapted and refined at the scales at which policy implementation occurs, with the best available data and complemented by input from local experts and diverse stakeholders, to improve accuracy and public legitimacy57,58 and to ensure that human rights and diverse human relationships with nature are safeguarded. Moreover, creation and use of spatially explicit information allows for a focus on ecosystem quality over quantity, helping to avoid potentially perverse outcomes of area targets for conservation59. This approach for identifying critical natural assets is a vital step forward in empowering actors at all levels to make decisions that benefit both nature and people.