Ecological infrastructure refers to naturally functioning ecosystems that deliver valuable services to people, such as filtered water and disaster risk reduction. With natural resources becoming scarcer, there is a growing interest in reinvesting in naturally functioning ecosystems in the form of ecological infrastructure, with the assumption that ecological infrastructure complements engineered infrastructure. In many low- and middle-income countries, ecological infrastructure interventions are seen as a key strategy to simultaneously alleviate poverty and improve ecosystem functioning. However, the socio-economic outcomes of ecological infrastructure investments remain poorly documented. We address this knowledge gap by synthesizing research (n = 53 cases) that analyses how ecological infrastructure investments affect ten different socio-economic dimensions, such as income and food security in low- and middle-income countries. We find that ecological infrastructure investments primarily lead to positive outcomes for short-term income and natural capital, whereas positive outcomes for other socio-economic dimensions are less frequently observed. Cases with a high degree of participant involvement in the early implementation of ecological infrastructure investments are significantly more likely to capture positive outcomes across a variety of socio-economic dimensions. Analogously, cases spanning multiple methods - rather than adopting either a qualitative or a quantitative approach – report positive outcomes across more dimensions.

生态基础设施是指自然运转的生态系统，可以为人们提供有价值的服务，例如过滤水和减少灾害风险。随着自然资源越来越稀缺，人们越来越有兴趣以生态基础设施的形式补充投资于以生态基础设施为形式的具有自然功能的生态系统。在许多中低收入国家，生态基础设施干预被视为同时减轻贫困和改善生态系统功能的关键战略。但是，生态基础设施投资的社会经济成果仍然文献记载不足。我们通过综合研究（n = 53例）来分析这一知识差距，该研究分析了生态基础设施投资如何影响十个不同的社会经济方面，例如中低收入国家的收入和粮食安全。我们发现，生态基础设施投资主要为短期收入和自然资本带来积极成果，而其他社会经济方面的积极成果则很少见。在早期实施生态基础设施投资中，参与者高度参与的案例更有可能在各种社会经济层面获得积极成果。类似地，跨越多种方法（而不是采用定性或定量方法）的案例报告了更大范围的积极成果。