I’m someone who has always seen conservation as the work done by field biologists on restoration properties and in wildlife rehabilitation centers. As I sat through sessions on debt and ratios, I couldn’t help but think to myself “are all these numbers really that important?” It turns out: yes they...
How does Atlanta's Proctor Creek connect to national water management and worldwide carbon mitigation? The same way conversations about small projects connect to global biodiversity breakthroughs. / Shawn Taylor / CC BY 2.0
How can professionals who devote their lives to sustaining real places connect in virtual space? Judging from the 2021
Boot Camp, pretty intensely. Digital again for the first time, the 2021 Conservation Finance Boot Camp drew over 120 professionals from at least six time zones to learn proven...
(Courtesy the Conservation Fund) From idea to impetus to investment, Maryland's bill aims for impact.
A law is emerging from a structured set of discussions among participants in current Chesapeake Bay conservation program. It represents a series of levers to squeeze clarity and value out of current regulation, redefining blue infrastructure and creating space for profitable trading in carbon. The law, with support from one-half...
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Maine's freshwater supply benefits from fresh ideas and metrics that flow from partnerships.
To the question “should partnerships advance water quality?”, many practitioners answer: “Yes, but how exactly?” A survey at the outset of the 2021 New England
Roundtable showed 36% of participants were “not sure how to get started” with pursuing water utility partnerships, 39% were “already doing it,” and...
Risks and opportunities in natural ecosystems will prove a lot harder to count.
The understanding has spread that companies face risks and opportunities in nature, just as they do in competitive markets or under certain regulations. In that context, a new group called the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) aims to broaden and deepen investors' interest in details from companies about...
(Courtesy Julius Pasay of the Climate Trust.) When delicate landscapes like Oregon's Zumwalt Prairie comprise the asset, the off-take partner needs to pass rigorous review.
This op/ed builds off the Enduring Arches: Building
Projects for Impact report. Gordian Knot Strategies developed that report in collaboration with the Conservation Finance Network and with the generous support of the Walton Family Foundation. The full report can be accessed here. This op/ed originally ran on ImpactAlpha...
How do you think about what makes investors, conservation professionals and members of the public better off? For the authors of a new report, this question sparked an intellectual inquiry that led to a new language for thinking about what gives a project value. The language builds off the framework...
Asset managers have rapidly affirmed biodiversity's value to capitalism. Is there froth ahead?
Two recent investment projects are raising significant money to try to show that taking natural capital investment to the next level is not only possible, but potentially a key piece for future institutional asset managers to include in a balanced portfolio. No matter how you slice it, to get a...
The Taos Land Trust's Youth Conservation Corps poses before working to revive an acequela, tackle invasive species, restore wetlands and sustainably grow food. Attention to community needs and priorities drives this workplan. (Courtesy the Taos Land Trust.)
Traditionally, the conservation movement has fought to protect land, air and water, but it has not served all communities equally. Recognizing the interconnections between injustice done to the most vulnerable communities and the environment clarifies how access to a healthy environment relates to public health, food security, community vitality, education...
We are pleased to announce the launch of a new series called the
Network Toolkit. This series of articles focuses on individual tools practitioners can use. Our goal is to span the range of comfort levels our readers have – from simple to challenging.
This article by Eve Boyce and Marcy Lyman is part of the
Network Toolkit, a resource designed for professionals who want to learn or communicate about the industry. In an increasing number of communities across the country, utilities are working with conservation groups to ensure the ecosystem services...
This article by Nathalie Woolworth and Hazel Wong is part of the
Network Toolkit, a resource designed for professionals who want to learn or communicate about the industry. Ballot measures, also known as initiatives or propositions, are instruments of direct democracy that allow voters to directly shape public...
This article by Maria Martinez is part of the
Network Toolkit, a resource designed for professionals who want to learn or communicate about the industry. State revolving funds (SRFs) have been used for decades as a source of low-cost financing for a variety of water-infrastructure projects.
