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Forest carbon offset companies see a source of credit, and value, in small forest owners. These owners, in turn, see offsets as a way to sustain their assets. What does this emerging field need to normalize about valuation, verification and communication to make deeper financial and ecological impact?

In May, the Conservation Finance Network spoke to Nathalie Woolworth, conservation finance manager of the United States Forest Service about the Innovative Finance for National Forests program. This program offers $1.8 million in grants for the development and deployment of innovative financial models to support resilience of the National Forests.

Conservation finance, by definition, involves risk. But land trust staff who engage board members in understanding and navigating risks and opportunities can bring forth new and durable income streams. How can staff members build board members' comfort and earn their support for new approaches? Success stories highlight methods for educating...

How do you sum the value of everything in, from, and under these trees? — (Courtesy City Forest Credits.) Beyond soothing imagery, urban trees measurably lift air quality, energy affordability and employment. City Forest Credits aims to quantify what that's worth.

City Forest Credits matches nonprofits and cities to fundi urban trees. It describes its mission as one to make “American cities greener, healthier, and more equitable.” By computing value of rainfall interception, air quality benefits and energy savings, the outfit aims to define premium price for nonprofit organizations to charge...

In the nation's Covid epicenter, a well-funded park stokes wellness — New York City's Brooklyn Bridge Park, here on a morning during the Covid shutdown, blends public and private capital to broaden open space access. More neighborhoods need parks like this.

America has a long tradition of creating public parks and open space, from the rugged wilds of our National Parks and National Forests to the pocket park down the road from our homes. Today, in the midst of Covid-19 social distancing, those of us who are fortunate to have access...

Is this the way to crop reform? — (Photo courtesy of Pexels.com) Farmers can deliver steeper returns to themselves, their ecosystem, and their economy when their insurance system makes more sense.

Across the political spectrum, most Americans have favorable opinions of farmers and are happy with the idea that the federal government provides financial assistance to help pay for crop insurance. If they knew crop insurance's full cost, that might change. This system, while well-intentioned, leaves out the majority of farmers...

A kook at trees that green bonds can support — Forests like this can grow in steadier fashion when ratings for green bonds become steadier as well. (Photo by David Gierth, accessed via Pexels.)

Given the short history and dynamic state of the green bond market, wide variation exists in external review processes — based on regions, frameworks and evaluation parameters. Green bonds can fund energy, transportation, buildings or natural capital such as conservation. Work so far on certification shows how investors can keep...

The scale of private forest land ownership indicates that its managers have significant influence on both the environmental and economic services forests provide. However, the timber investment industry is facing a new set of challenges — challenges that may dictate a turn to a new set of business strategies.

Mangroves in Florida — Mangroves on Florida's Manatee River / Rick Schwartz / CC BY-NC 2.0

Blue carbon could be crucial in facilitating both private and public capital investment in coastal and marine ecosystems. The blue carbon market is, at present, still nascent. Governments and international institutions are revising methods of monitoring carbon to include blue carbon and develop structures to encourage private investment in blue...

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new series called the Conservation Finance 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 Conservation Finance 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 Conservation Finance 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 Conservation Finance 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.

How Regenerative Agriculture Can Grow

This series, by the Yale Center for Business and the Environment's Regenerative Agriculture Initiative team, looks at how changes in training, investing, insuring and marketing the work of regenerative farmers can bring about broad benefits.

Sustaining land, water, and habitat means showing how society can outgrow fossil energy. Visit our partners at the Clean Energy Finance Forum to learn how states, startups and serious investors are building a clean energy economy. cleanenergyfinanceforum.com

Voices of Conservation Finance is a podcast series that interviews conservation finance practitioners to explore career paths and opportunities for professional development in the field.

Conservation Finance Network

New Forest Carbon Offset Strategies Turn to Small Landowners for Big Impact

Forging Fresh Ideas for Forests: An Interview with Nathalie Woolworth

Rewards Outweigh the Risks: How to Introduce Land Trust Boards to Conservation Finance

Latest Articles

A Startup Seeks to Raise Urban Equity

A Necessity, Not A Luxury: Crisis Reasserts Why Everyone Needs Open Space

The Case for Crop Insurance Reform

Look for the Green Bond Label? The State of Green Bond Certification

Can Non-Timber Strategies Generate Cash for Timberland Investment Management Organizations?

Mainstreaming Blue Carbon to Finance Coastal Resilience

Tools for Financing Conservation

Launching the Conservation Finance Network Toolkit

Conservation Partnerships with Water Utilities

Ballot Measures

Using State Revolving Funds for Land Conservation

Tourism Was Backstopping Conservation. Then Came Coronavirus.

Event Hub Leverages Water-Quality Credits on Oyster Shells

Madagascar Official Worries About Threats to Conservation After Covid

An Eight-Figure Infusion from Amazon's Fund Aims to Nurture Forests...

...as Small Forests' Capital Needs Come Into Focus