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A major coalition of finance and conservation organizations has launched a series of blueprints aimed at replicating and expanding successful investment in nature.

One would not typically think a timberland investment manager would partner with a land trust to conserve a ranch as an impact investing deal. However, this is exactly the case for the 25,000-acre BX Ranch in Pueblo County, Colorado. At the 2018 Land Trust Alliance Rally Conference, the “Impact Investing – The ‘Real’ Deal” workshop showed how the Palmer Land Trust developed an innovative impact investing framework with Lyme Timber Company and The Nature Conservancy to secure the funds necessary to protect the ranch.

Financial modeling is an emerging application for land trusts. It could make a great difference in their ability to forecast and plan for various future financial scenarios. At this year’s Land Trust Alliance Rally conference during the “Your Future: Financial Modeling for Long-Term Stability” workshop, the Dutchess Land Conservancy of Dutchess County, N.Y., presented a financial model it developed.

Stock image of cattle — Cattle rest on a mountain slope. (Credit: Chad Harder)

Food entrepreneurs are exploring plant-based meats and cell-based meats. According to one market analysis, the global meat-substitutes market is estimated at $4.63 billion USD as of 2018. It will be worth $6.43 billion USD by 2023 at a compound annual growth rate of 6.8 percent.

The Sustainable Blue Economy Conference concluded with hundreds of pledges to advance a sustainable blue economy, including 62 concrete commitments related to marine protection, plastics and waste management, maritime safety and security, fisheries development, environmental financing and infrastructure, biodiversity support, climate change, technical assistance, capacity building, private support, and project partnerships.

The second Business and Biodiversity Forum, which convened on the sidelines of the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, called for creating an enabling environment for mainstreaming biodiversity and sustainability considerations into business operations and models.

Investing in regenerative agriculture has the potential to address not only food supply but also climate change, conflict resolution, and water supply.

Federal funding for conservation in New England has declined sharply since 2008.

Entrepreneurs from Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia and more come for training and networking - and to pitch investors their restoration business plans.

The meeting comes on the heels of a new IPCC report that makes clear that the stakes are higher than ever before. Impacts of just half a degree Celsius of additional warming will be worse than originally feared.

Conservation Finance Network

CPIC Releases New Blueprints to Boost Investment in Nature Conservation

New Impact Investing Partnership Fuels Ranch Conservation

Using Financial Models Sets up Land Trusts for Success

Venture Capital Can Fund Meat Alternatives

Sustainable Blue Economy Conference Concludes with 62 Commitments

Business and Biodiversity Forum Calls for Mainstreaming Biodiversity into Business Operations

How Investing in Regenerative Agriculture Can Help Stem Climate Change Profitably

The Role of NRCS Funding in Forwarding New England’s Conservation Vision

World’s First Startup Accelerator for Land Restoration Launches in Africa

Crunch Time for the Green Climate Fund: 5 Issues to Watch at Critical Board Meeting