Conservation Finance Network

Mainstream green finance initiatives conceptualize environmental funding gaps as examples of market failures. Nature- and climate-related risks are perceived as underpriced in financial markets, resulting in negative externalities borne by society and the natural world.

Experts in conservation and finance say the reaction shows wildlife conservation finance, for decades largely the preserve of wealthy donors and governments, has massive potential to attract institutional investors, helped by growing public awareness of the delicate state of the planet.

With support from Conservation International, BHP also integrated forest carbon into its broader climate change strategy, through support for REDD+, the United Nations program for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. This included development of the Forests Bond, a first-of-its-kind bond issued by the IFC.

As more and more exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers launch their own ESG products, it's gotten harder for investors to sort the real impact investments from those that make an impact in name only. Enter green bonds. This special category of debt allocates dollars toward specific eco-friendly projects, making it one of the most concrete ways for investors to make an impact with their money.

"Locals in Seychelles will have the chance to play an equal role in decision-making and the management of marine protected areas in a first-of-its-kind participatory project. The project – enhancing coastal and marine socio-ecological resilience and biodiversity conservation in the Western Indian Ocean – is being funded by the German Climate Initiative (IKI) through the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)."

A detailed look at how the Rhino Impact Bond, the first financial instrument linked to the conservation of rhinos, works.

"The Trump Administration says it 'improved' the Endangered Species Act this week by creating a new rule that incorporates the cost of lost profits from logging, mining, and other operations into the process of identifying endangered species. The rule has been rightly slammed for reducing environmental protections and excluding climate impacts from habitat decisions, but it should also be slammed for its impact on rural American workers."

Investors in the $50 million bond will be paid back their capital and a coupon if African black rhino populations in five sites across Kenya and South Africa increase over five years.