NatureVest
Catalyzing Investment, Scaling Impact
NatureVest is The Nature Conservancy’s in-house impact investing and nature finance team
As part of TNC’s broader effort to unlock new sources of funding for nature, NatureVest works with internal teams and external collaborators—including investors, asset managers, financial institutions, governments and NGOs—to identify viable projects, design finance and market strategies, structure deals and embed impacts from design through implementation.
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Check out our latest thinking and real-world solutions to some of the most complex challenges facing people and the planet today.
Catalyzing Investment, Scaling Impact
Mobilizing capital and transforming markets to advance solutions for nature, climate and communities.
NatureVest brings together a multidisciplinary team with deep expertise across finance, science, policy, law and business. This unique blend of skills allows us to design and deliver strategies that are financially sound, scientifically grounded and operationally effective.
We help shape market-based projects from the ground up by identifying opportunities, structuring deals and providing strategic guidance to ensure conservation goals are embedded from concept through execution.
Our impact investments and market innovation strategies focus on forestry and carbon, water and agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, infrastructure and renewable energy, sovereign debt solutions, and conservation tourism.
By collaborating with internal teams and external collaborators, including investors, financial institutions, governments, NGOs and local communities, we help build and manage nature finance models that can be adapted and scaled to accelerate impact at scale.
Latest Updates
Private Investment in Nature Grows Fivefold Over the Past Decade, Gaining Momentum with Major Investors
New comprehensive analysis from The Nature Conservancy and Forest Trends explores global private capital flows to nature.
NatureVest Publishes Its 2025 Impact Report
Since 2014, the NatureVest portfolio has helped science and finance collaborate for impact at scale. Explore the NatureVest 2025 Impact Report.
Dr. Catherine (Cat) Burns Appointed as Managing Director to Advance Impact Investing and Sustainable Finance
This appointment underscores The Nature Conservancy’s commitment to scaling conservation through innovative finance and strategic collaboration
Our Approach to Nature Finance
Through a blend of financial expertise and science, NatureVest designs replicable, scalable models that aim to accelerate nature-based solutions and drive lasting market-wide change.
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Collaborations
NatureVest works with internal teams and external collaborators, including investors, asset managers, financial institutions, governments and NGOs—to identify viable projects, design finance and market strategies, structure deals and embed conservation from design through implementation.
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Market Solutions
The NatureVest team identifies and implements market solutions to maximize potential impact capital sources for TNC's existing conservation programs. By collaborating with other Impact Finance and Markets experts in corporate practices, economics and carbon markets, the team leverages synergies across multiple pathways to maximize impact.
Measureable Conservation Outcomes
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NatureVest directs private capital into climate-smart and nature-based projects that can deliver quantifiable outcomes for conservation and communities. Established in 2014, the NatureVest team has designed, structured, funded and closed a portfolio of USD 4 billion in committed capital for conservation.
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- Source and structure investments with measurable conservation outcomes.
- Identify new business models that can reduce negative environmental and social impacts and deliver conservation and community outcomes.
- Pursue investments that directly support The Nature Conservancy’s 2030 goals
- Support the deployment of impact capital from investors across the risk/return spectrum to benefit nature.
- Build pathways for new markets to finance conservation outcomes.
- Manage and report on progress toward conservation goals.
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- Leveraging nature-based solutions to address the climate crisis.
- Equity funds investing in pathways to more sustainable land use.
- Sovereign debt refinancing to generate conservation funding.
- Flexible loans to ecotourism businesses on the front line of big landscape conservation.
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The success of our sovereign debt refinancing initiatives—Blue Bonds and Nature Bonds—have raised significant capital for conservation, accounting for USD 1.2B of the total above. Since the first project launched in 2016, these initiatives have piqued interest from the media and demand from sovereign governments. In 2020, as a natural evolution, driven by the need for specialized expertise and dedicated focus, a distinct Sustainable Debt team grew out of NatureVest to focus exclusively on sovereign debt instruments. All non-sovereign-related debt financing facilities are still housed within the NatureVest team.
One of NatureVest’s focus areas is pioneering and piloting replicable conservation finance models. The Sustainable Debt team showcases the effectiveness of these groundbreaking initiatives. Today the Sustainable Debt and NatureVest teams remain connected by insights, strategies, a unified approach to governance, and a common purpose: transforming how nature is valued.
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Having reached more than $3 billion in deals, NatureVest is now expanding its services to explore new opportunities for impact. With the addition of an internal Financial Advisory team helping TNC staff identify market solutions to conservation challenges, NatureVest is in a strong position to support TNC’s 2030 Goals below.
The team at NatureVest is growing in size and refining its approach as it strives to develop market innovations, close impact investments, and influence the market. This growth reflects a significant positive trend within the impact investing sector, which allows us to undertake more projects that benefit people and the planet.
NatureVest brings together a multidisciplinary team with deep expertise across finance, science, policy, law and business.
Leadership Team
Catherine Burns
Managing Director, NatureVest
Dr. Catherine (Cat) Burns is the Managing Director of NatureVest at The Nature Conservancy. Cat provides strategic leadership, overseeing NatureVest’s Impact Investing Team, Sustainable Debt Team, post-close Impact Management Team and Financial Advisory Team. Collectively, these teams, under Cat’s guidance, enable NatureVest to offer a broad suite of financial solutions that deliver impactful conservation outcomes aligned with TNC’s 2030 goals. Cat’s leadership is pivotal in advancing the organization's mission by integrating sustainable financial practices and innovative conservation strategies.
Email: cburns@tnc.org
Melissa Weigel Benn
Managing Director, Capital Raising
As Managing Director, Strategy & Capital Raising, Melissa works across the Impact, Finance and Markets division within The Nature Conservancy to oversee strategy and capital raising efforts. She is responsible for working with product leads and colleagues across The Nature Conservancy to source the capital for NatureVest’s conservation impact investment products, as well as raising philanthropic capital to support the division’s operations. She has extensive experience in nature-based solutions, corporate sustainability efforts, and structuring investable products.
Email: melissa.benn@tnc.org
Jennifer Louie
Managing Director, Nature Finance
Jennifer (Jen) Louie is the Managing Director of Nature Finance and is part of the NatureVest Management Team at The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Jen is responsible for developing new private equity, corporate finance, nature bonds and Green Climate Fund deals and manages an external network of relationships that enables TNC to advance impactful deals that contribute to the organization’s 2030 Goals.
Email: jennifer.louie@tnc.org
Jacob Davis
Senior Director, Financial Advisory
Jacob (Jake) Davis leads NatureVest’s Sustainable Financial Advisory team, supporting TNC field teams and strategies in developing business, finance, and market interventions to solve conservation challenges.
Email: jacob.davis@tnc.org
Caitlin Henning
Director of Finance
Caitlin Henning leads the financial management and operations for The Nature Conservancy’s Impact Finance and Markets division, with a focus on donor reporting, budget creation/control, and human resources.
Email: chenning@tnc.org
Vivian Melody
Associate Director of Communications
Vivian Melody leads strategic communications for NatureVest, working closely with the team to develop and implement marketing and communications strategies in support of NatureVest’s investment and business development objectives in support of TNC’s 2030 Goals. Vivian is a communications and sustainability strategist with over two decades of experience across publishing, public relations and digital marketing, as well as corporate sustainability, nature finance and climate advocacy within the private sector.
Email: vivian.melody@tnc.org
Key Contacts
Glen Jeffries
Senior Director, Impact Investments
Glen Jeffries is a Senior Director in NatureVest’s Impact Investing Team. This team focuses on identifying and structuring impact investment transactions aligned with TNC’s conservation priorities. Glen is responsible for developing TNC's Impact Investment portfolio of deals, designed to deliver high-impact conservation outcomes aligned with TNC’s 2030 Goals.
Email: glen.jeffries@tnc.org
Ekaterina Alexandrova
Managing Director, Impact Management
Ekaterina (Ekat) Alexandrova is the Managing Director of NatureVest’s Impact Management team, where she leverages TNC’s science and technical expertise to provide conservation advice to impact investment partners. Ekaterina joined TNC in 2014 and has held several roles at the organization, including the director of board relations for TNC’s global board of directors and conservation planning advisor for the Africa region.
Email: ealexandrova@tnc.org
Vikalp Sabhlok
Vikalp Sabhlok leads deal identification and structuring for NatureVest's private impact investment projects in Asia Pacific. Over the past decade, he has worked in various capacities in climate change-related sectors to support the origination, project development, and appraisal of climate-smart investment opportunities. Over the last 5 years, he has also closely worked with national and sub-national governments on policy and capacity-building initiatives to enable the mobilization of climate finance from the Green Climate Fund.
Email: vikalp.sabhlok@tnc.org
Rafael Gersely
As a director of impact investments, Rafael Gersely, CFA, CAIA, is responsible for identifying, structuring, and executing investment opportunities that generate financial, environmental, and social returns. Rafael has over 15 years of global finance experience. He is a seasoned investment professional, having acted in several financial industries, including insurance and reinsurance, management consultancy, and asset management. His expertise includes private and public debt finance, blended finance, project finance, impact funds, nature-based solutions, portfolio decarbonization, and risk management. Rafael is skilled at building impact investment portfolios, including deal origination, managing due diligence, financial structuring, and legal negotiations.
Email: rafael.gersely@tnc.org
Courtney Lowrance
Courtney Lowrance is the Director of Durable Protection Finance, for NatureVest’s Financial Advisory Team. She is tasked with scoping and designing Project Finance for Permanence (PfP) strategies that integrate public, private, and blended sources of capital for conservation initiatives within a host country.
Email: c.lowrance@tnc.org
Michael Kashack
Director, Impact Investments
As Director, Impact Investments, Michael Kaschak is responsible for originating, structuring and closing impact investment opportunities that generate conservation outcomes and market returns. Michael has 15+ years of investment management experience, with extensive exposure to sustainable agricultural and water resource development and strategy, transaction structuring and execution, value creation and business plan realization.
Email: michael.kaschak@tnc.org
Lea Rice
Head of Market Transformation
As Head of Market Transformation, Financial Advisory, Lea leads work to deliver market analyses and develop new business models for commodities that intersect with critical conservation priorities, in addition to managing the portfolio of work supported by TNC’s Social Impact Partnership with Bain & Company.
Email: lea.rice@tnc.org
NatureVest Team Directory
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Meet the TeamMeet the individuals who bring our vision and mission to life. View our profiles in the Team Directory to get to know us better!
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Careers at The Nature Conservancy
Explore Life at TNC. People who work here are passionate, motivated, smart, and authentic. We strive to embody a philosophy of "Work That You Can Believe in." Check out current career opportunities and learn more about our work.
A Platform Dedicated to Conservation Investment
NatureVest, along with its sister Sustainable Debt team, sources, structures and executes investments that aim to deliver conservation alongside financial returns—globally, across multiple sectors.
NatureVest Investment Sectors Include:
- Forestry and Carbon
- Water and Agriculture
- Fisheries and Aquaculture
- Conservation Tourism
- Infrastructure and Renewable Energy
- Sovereign Debt Solutions
A Sample of Our Impact Deals
NatureVest and Sustainable Debt deals are designed to support TNC’s 2030 goals, which include conserving 1.6 billion acres of land and reducing or storing three gigatons of CO2 emissions each year.
Conservation Tourism
Conservation Tourism
- Deal Closed May 2021
- Committed capital: $70M
Africa is rich in biodiversity and iconic wildlife. Its savannahs and forests sequester carbon, protect the climate, and provide livelihoods for millions. It is also home to world-class sustainable tourism, which directly and indirectly supports the protection of those precious lands and animals and the surrounding communities. Events that have the potential to slow or halt global tourism footfall, like the COVID-19 pandemic, threaten both local livelihoods and conservation across the continent.
Recognizing the potential threat to conservation efforts from consistent fluctuations in tourism footfall, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) – through its Africa Program and NatureVest impact investment team – and ThirdWay Partners (ThirdWay) announced the development of the $70m Africa Conservation and Communities Tourism Fund (ACCT Fund). The ACCT Fund is an innovative collaboration that adopts an impact-first approach to demonstrate how driving sustainable investment into the conservation tourism sector can benefit some of the continent’s most ecologically important landscapes and their surrounding communities.
The ACCT Fund provides loans to responsible tourism operators that create local jobs and support long-term conservation efforts in Africa. The loans are structured to offer flexible payment options and fair interest rates to help these businesses survive fluctuations in tourism footfall while still being able to afford their contributions to conservation and communities.
The ACCT Fund will continue to support the expansion of the conservation tourism industry, benefiting both people and biodiversity. It also aids operators in utilizing underused conservation areas to enhance conservation and community benefits. This work in Africa demonstrates the alignment between economic prosperity, conservation, and community. The ACCT Fund is a replicable model for driving conservation globally, and we look forward to sharing our insights on creating similar projects that benefit both conservation and communities.
Contribution to TNC’s 2030 Goals
Biodiversity protection, land conservation, and support of local stewards
Water and Agriculture
Water and Agriculture
- Deal closed: April 2020
- Committed capital: $900+ million in equity
TNC worked with RRG Capital Management LLC (“RRG”)—an experienced investment and asset management firm focused on sustainable, innovative approaches to agriculture, water, and renewable energy—to create a new model for investing.
The result is the $900+ million Sustainable Water Impact Fund (“SWIF” or the “Fund”), which closed in April 2020. SWIF’s strategy is to acquire land and water assets, improve the management of farms and water sources, and ultimately address the needs of people and nature.
Multiple projects to date demonstrate how water and land can be managed to better meet the needs of both people and nature.
Contribution to TNC’s 2030 Goals
Land conservation, clean water, biodiversity protection, and support of local stewards
Forestry and Carbon
Forestry and Carbon
- Deal closed: April 2019
- Committed Capital: $130.8M equity and debt
TNC acquired 253,000 acres of working forests, containing over 700 miles of streams that feed into globally important river systems.
Under TNC’s management, sustainable forestry provides long-term land protection, habitat restoration, and carbon sequestration. Other project benefits include public recreation access and contributions to local economic development.
Contribution to TNC’s 2030 Goals
Carbon sequestration, land conservation, clean water, biodiversity protection, and support of local stewards
Fisheries and Aquaculture
Fisheries and Aquaculture
- Deal closed: October 2024
- Committed capital: EUR 92M
Blue Revolution Fund (BRF) is a sustainability-focused impact investment fund, a collaboration between Hatch Blue and The Nature Conservancy, that is raising the bar for the aquaculture industry.
While poorly managed aquaculture can lead to negative impacts, well-managed sustainable practices can transform it into a beneficial solution that helps meet food demand, reduce ecosystem strain, and support economic development.
Targeting sustainable practices, BRF invests in next-generation fish farms, regenerative seaweed and bivalve farming, nutrition, enabling technology, health and genetics, and alternative seafood.
Contribution to TNC’s 2030 Goals
Support of local stewards
BRF's first Impact Report will be published this summer. Check back for details.
Infrastructure and Renewable Energy
Infrastructure and Renewable Energy
- Deal closed: November 2020
- Committed capital: $10M
From a conservation perspective, wind power projects can present siting challenges and may introduce new impacts to wildlife, such as bird strikes with wind turbines. But, those same projects often secure long-term power purchase agreements, leading to predictable revenue streams—funding that can be utilized to support conservation.
One such project is the Kipeto wind farm project, 45 kilometers outside Nairobi. Working with the project’s owners, TNC designed an investment structure that provides a $10 million loan with a commitment from the project to make conservation payments totaling $500,000 per year for off-site mitigation. The use of the conservation payments is governed by an independent committee comprising TNC and several other leading local and international non-profits.
Biodiversity conservation in the Kipeto Wind Farm area includes protecting vultures and other birds of prey. The project also benefits local communities by providing clean energy essential for economic development.
Contribution to TNC’s 2030 Goals
Biodiversity protection and support of local stewards
Check out the 2024 Kenya Vulture Conservation Project Impact Report here.
Sovereign Debt Solutions
Sovereign Debt Solutions
- Deal closed: September 2022
- Committed capital: $150M debt co-guarantee
Barbados’ high debt burden had stifled the country’s efforts to invest in essential conservation and climate change adaptation activities that would allow its nature-based economy to thrive.
Through a new co-guarantee structure, TNC worked alongside the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), to enable Barbados to complete a debt conversion that will facilitate the expansion of the country’s marine protected areas—from virtually zero to approximately 30%. The project is expected to free up approximately $50 million to support environmental and sustainable development actions in Barbados over the next 15 years, making both the country and the livelihoods of its people more resilient in the face of climate change.
Contribution to TNC’s 2030 Goals
Ocean conservation, biodiversity protection and support of local stewards
Read more details about the project in TNC’s official press release.
Learn more in the Barbados Blue Bonds for Ocean Conservation Case Study
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Download our portfolio map to explore project locations, types, and top-line data. Gain insights into our projects to understand our work.
DownloadNews
TNC Publishes New Case Study Exploring The Bahamas Debt Conversion Project for Marine Conservation
Investors learn to design nature-based investments around natural cycles
NatureVest Publishes Its 2025 Impact Report
Dr. Catherine (Cat) Burns Appointed as Managing Director to Advance Impact Investing and Sustainable Finance
Thought Leadership
Pricing Water Risk and Scaling Climate Resilience
Bloomberg ESG Currents podcast featuring NatureVest's Cat Burns and RRG Capital Management's Alyssa Go to discuss climate- and water-smart ag.
Inside the Cumberland Forest Project
NatureVest's Greg Meade joins Forest Invest podcast to share how this fund is delivering nature and community impact alongside financial returns.
Investing in the Agri-Food Transition
NatureVest's Cat Burns and RRG Capital Management's Ari Swiller's op-ed in Green Money Journal on investing in the agri-food sector's transition.
Building Impact into Investment Structures
Q&A with NatureVest's Glen Jeffries on creating investable impact projects for climate and biodiversity outcomes. Published in Impact Alpha.
NatureVest Impact Reports
Since 2014, NatureVest has worked with internal teams and external collaborators to mobilize private and public capital and transform markets to advance solutions for nature, climate and communities. Each annual report covers new deals, project updates and progress toward measurable impact outcomes. Discover how NatureVest is driving impact at scale.
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2025 NatureVest Impact Report
Learn more about how NatureVest’s USD 4 billion impact investing portfolio is delivering measurable outcomes for nature, climate resilience, and communities. Download
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2024 NatureVest Impact Report
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2023 NatureVest Impact Report
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2022 NatureVest Impact Report
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2021 NatureVest Impact Report
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2020 NatureVest Impact Report
Project Impact Reports
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2025 RRG Sustainable Water Impact Fund (SWIF) Impact Report
SWIF invests in land, water and agriculture in key farming regions around the world, showing that private investment can help manage vital natural resources for nature and communities. Download
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2025 Cumberland Forest Project Impact Report
The Cumberland Forest Project is a blended finance impact investment comprising 253,000 acres of working timberland forests in the Central Appalachians that seeks to provide positive conservation and community benefits. Download
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2025 Africa Conservation & Communities Tourism (ACCT) Impact Report
ACCT, a collaboration between TNC and ThirdWay Partners, is a dedicated impact investment fund that provides loans to conservation tourism operators across sub-Saharan Africa who demonstrate strong environmental and social commitments. Download
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2025 Blue Revolution Fund Impact Report
Blue Revolution Fund (BRF), a collaboration between The Nature Conservancy and Hatch Blue, is a sustainability-focused impact investment fund that invests in early-stage aquaculture ventures. Download
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2025 Kenya Vulture Conservation Project Impact Report
The Kenya Vulture Conservation Project has been working to protect vultures in the areas surrounding the Kipeto Energy PLC wind farm. Learn how the Project supports the coexistence of renewable energy, communities, and wildlife. Download
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2024 BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group and TNC Collaboration Report
Explore how TNC is collaborating with BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG) to use innovative land management strategies that enhance biodiversity and climate resilience across TIG’s expansive U.S. timberland portfolio. Download
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2024 Africa Conservation and Communities Tourism Fund (ACCT) Impact Report
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2024 Blue Revolution Fund Impact Report
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2024 Cumberland Forest Project Impact Report
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2024 RRG Sustainable Water Impact Fund (SWIF) Impact Report
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2024 Kenya Vulture Conservation Project Impact Report
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2023 Belize Blue Bonds for Ocean Conservation Impact Report
Belize Blue Bonds for Ocean Conservation Impact Report Download
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Collaboration at Scale: Enhancing Impact in U.S. Working Forests
Learn about TNC’s collaboration with BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG) and the development of management interventions to deliver biodiversity and climate benefits across TIG’s million-plus acre core U.S. timberland portfolio. Download
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2023 Africa Conservation and Communities Tourism Fund (ACCT) Impact Report
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2023 Cumberland Forest Impact Report
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2023 Kenya Vulture Conservation Project Impact Report
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2023 Sustainable Water Impact Fund (SWIF) Impact Report
Case Studies & Other Reports
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TNC Case Study: The Bahamas Debt Conversion Project for Marine Conservation
TNC’s Nature Bonds project in support of The Bahamas unlocks approximately USD 132 million for marine conservation and climate action over 15 years. Explore the full case study to learn more. Download
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Gaining Ground: State of Private Investment in Nature, 2026
TNC's NatureVest and Forest Trends have published the most comprehensive analysis to date on private capital flows to nature, finding a fivefold increase over the last decade, and outlining what is needed for the next stage of growth. Explore the report
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A Case Study for TNC’s Nature Bonds project in support of Ecuador
TNC’s Nature Bonds project in support of Ecuador’s Amazon Biocorridor Program, the first-ever terrestrial and freshwater project, will unlock $460 million in funding for conservation over 17 years. Explore the full case study to learn more. Download
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Investing in Adaptation for Small-Scale Agriculture
TNC developed this guidebook to provide a step-by-step process to help the private sector identify, evaluate and integrate adaptation strategies that support Small-Scale Producers Learn More
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A Case Study for the Barbados Blue Bonds for Ocean Conservation
TNC's third debt conversion is a deal that will unlock approximately USD 50M to support environmental and sustainable development actions. Read the new case study to learn more. Download
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A Case Study for the Belize Blue Bonds for Ocean Conservation
Learn about The Nature Conservancy’s award-winning debt conversion in this detailed case study: Belize Blue Bonds for Ocean Conservation. Download
Other Organizations
Noted organizations in the impact investing space include:
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Conservation Finance Network
The Conservation Finance Network (CFN) advances land and resource conservation by expanding the use of innovative and effective funding and financing Learn more
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The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)
The Global Impact Investing Network is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the scale and effectiveness of impact investing. Learn more
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Conservation Finance Alliance
The Alliance promotes global awareness, expertise, and innovation in conservation finance. Learn more
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Mission Investors Exchange (MIE)
Mission Investors Exchange is the an impact investing network for foundations, philanthropic asset owners, and their partners. MIE provides resources, inspiration, and connections to help members increase the scale of their impact. Learn more
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The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)
TEEB seeks to draw attention to the invisibility of nature in the economic choices we make. TEEB advocates a three-step approach valuing biodiversity and ecosystem services; recognizing, demonstrating and capturing value. Learn more
Private Investment and Capital Markets Have a Crucial Role to Play in Addressing the Climate and Biodiversity Crises
We are dedicated to developing a pipeline of impactful investments and broader market interventions that can deliver conservation at scale. Successful investing in conservation requires expert advisors, active management, and good governance. With NatureVest and the Impact Finance and Markets Division’s other market-facing teams, TNC has the experience and knowledge necessary to achieve measurable conservation.
Past Participants in Our Projects Have Included:
- Individuals
- Foundations
- Family offices
- Pension funds
- Insurers
- Investment banks
- Development finance institutions
Neither TNC nor any of its affiliates are registered, or intend to register, as an Investment Adviser under the U.S. Investment Advisors Act of 1940, as amended, or similar laws of any other country or jurisdiction. TNC does not engage in activities that could subject it (or any affiliate or subsidiary) to any regulation under relevant securities or investment adviser regulations. TNC is not a broker or dealer of securities and does not engage in brokering or dealing activities. The information provided by TNC does not constitute any offer or a recommendation to buy, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any particular security or other financial product.