Conservation Finance Network

Swiss finance giant Credit Suisse has partnered with The World Bank to issue a $28.6m bond aimed at financing the protection and restoration of fresh and saltwater resources and habitats.

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.

Convincing dealmakers at banks to start viewing their work through a sustainable lens is an uphill battle, say those in sustainable finance roles.

Where will the dollars come from to fund that next conservation practice you want to implement on your farm? Your state department of agriculture might have just the answer — and resources — you need.

Many farmers are adapting and innovating – implementing conservation practices that build soil health and resilience, such as nutrient optimization, cover crops and no-till. Still, there is a growing need for farmers to understand the full financial benefits of these practices and prove their value to ag lenders and other financial partners.

A new report released this week at the Environmental Finance Natural Capital Investing conference in London opens up a new horizon for investors – the world of buying in to nature.

Oliver Withers, ZSL’s head of conservation finance and Aunnie Patton Power, expert in innovative investing and impact finance talk to John Aglionby about the changing landscape of conservation financing.

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 gridlock persists in addressing our nation’s critical infrastructure challenges – America’s roads, bridges and railways – a similar, yet vastly underreported set of challenges exist with our natural infrastructure: namely, the loss of our large privately-owned working forests.

A key goal of the Environmental Markets and Finance Summit, hosted by Forest Trends and AEMI, was to begin mapping out what a coordinated financial strategy could look like, in order to scale up global restoration and sustainable land use dramatically. Environmental markets (the most prominent of which focus on carbon offsets, wetland and habitat credits, sustainably certified products, and water quality offsets and trading) have matured mostly in silos. It is time to start putting the pieces together and cross-pollinating solutions.