Conservation Finance Network

Small forests add up to potentially significant pools of carbon storage. Carbon credits as structured don't make that an economic business for small owners- yet.

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.

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.

The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership recently introduced an Interactive Landowner Resources Tool. By compiling over 300 landowner assistance programs in a single, user-friendly location, this product makes it easier for you to find voluntary, state and federal landowner assistance programs. In addition, the updated website includes interactive GIS maps and information pertaining to local Sentinel Landscape events, project highlights and funding data.

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service is awarding about $12.5 million in grants to support the development of innovative systems and technologies for private lands conservation. The funding is provided through the Conservation Innovation Grants program, which is funding the future of agriculture and conservation through grants to organizations and universities that are developing the next generation of tools and technologies to boost conservation on agricultural lands.

"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.