Apologies for issues with search

We are having issues with the search index. We have connected to a backup source, so search may be slow or unavailable for a while as we fix it.

A tree in Guatemala, courtesy "RS" on Flickr

Which way will Guatemala and other carbon markets where smallholders dominate grow? (Photo by RS, courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons.) 

Report From an Agroforesty Project Sheds Light on Smallholder Carbon Strategies

Ritika Jain
A green sanctuary in the heart of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, Finca Chimelb hums with the melody of melodious blackbirds and chatter among local laborers. Spanning 4,751 hectares, the farm consists of rolling hills lined with high-value crops, such as cacao, specialty coffee, and cardamom, paired with rubber trees and other...
The United Nations Water conference, March 2023

The author's view of the UN Water Conference. 

Funding Clean Water for All at the United Nations Water Conference

Robin Happel
In many parts of the world, clean water is still an untapped market – but a flow of innovative finance is beginning to change this. Currently, the United Nations estimates that between $182 billion to over $600 billion annually is needed to address the global water crisis. Worldwide, millions of...
Has extractive farming had its day?

The Rise of Regenerative Agriculture: How Food Companies are Catalyzing Regenerative Farming Practices

Christina Kohler
Food companies have started to incorporate regenerative agriculture into their sustainability strategies and supply chains - it’s an important buzzword today for companies, but how are they defining it? And what are they doing to support farmers in the transition? I spoke with Daily Harvest - the plant-based meal delivery...

Staking the State of Nature, With Data and Urgency

Dimitria Spathakis
In December 2022 the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) advocated urgency for an expedited 2025 timeline to more than double finance flows in nature-based solutions (NbS) to limit climate change to below 1.5°C, halt biodiversity loss, and achieve land degradation neutrality. UNEP published the second edition of its “State of...

Deep in the Weeds: Panel Pursues "Seagriculture" Investment Models

Grace Cajski
Seaweed—as a food source and beyond—has the potential to be profitable and sustainable, while supporting culturally important cuisines and strengthening the base of the marine food web. Recently, interest in cultivating seaweed, especially in the United States, has grown—but anyone interested in growing seaweed, investing in it, or processing it...
Abyssinian Roller Bird

An Incomplete Guide to Biodiversity Credits, Part One

Jinsui (Jazzy) Song
Traditional biodiversity credits give financial value to investments in projects that offset regional biodiversity losses. A biocredit is a unit of biodiversity value created through interventions to conserve, restore or sustainably manage a local site. It is the unification of positive change (or “uplift”) in biodiversity conditions, approximated by place-based...
Elizabeth Schuster, Environmental Economist, Sustainable Economies Consulting

Elizabeth Schuster, Environmental Economist, Sustainable Economies Consulting

Partners Unite to Share Lessons Around Regenerative Agriculture, Forestry, and Conservation

Leigh Whelpton
The Network (CFN) convened partners for their 10th CFN Roundtable, hosted in Durham, NC on November 2-3, 2022. The roundtable brought together nearly 70 practitioners representing nonprofit organizations, foundations, private sector firms, governmental agencies, and universities. The event was organized around nine different panels on a variety of...

Conservation Finance Learning Lab Recap, Part Two: Harvesting a Bumper Crop of Federal Funding

Grace Cajski
The available level of funding does not have recent precedent,” said Leigh Whelpton, Executive Director of the Network. This windfall of potential funding is certainly beneficial to practitioners, who often rely on initial government support to attract private investors.
Colorado forest

Conservation Finance Learning Lab Recap, Part One: What's a Carbon Market?

Katie Michels
In this session, panelists from a variety of organizations described their engagement in carbon markets. Spencer Meyer, Head of Science at the carbon-exchange company NCX, moderated a Zoom panel of professionals from not-for-profits, for-profits, carbon project developers, carbon project sellers, and more. Steph Harris, Director of Carbon Markets at carbon...