Conservation finance represents a massive, undeveloped private sector investment. Research suggests private investors—wealthy individuals, pension funds, other institutional investors and even mainstream retail investors—could supply as much as the $200 billion to $300 billion per year needed to preserve the world’s most important ecosystems.
În an effort to pool expertise and experience, IUCN joined forces with Credit Suisse, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Cornell University to launch the Coalition for Private Sector Investment in Conservation (CPIC) at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in September 2016.
The Coalition plans to develop new investment models and funding pipelines that will help close the current conservation funding gap and contribute to the global goals for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. It will serve as a hub, connecting investors and financial institutions with in-country partners, who can help develop and execute investable deals that eventually produce an environmental and financial return.
Initially, Coalition members want to focus on priority investment sectors, such as forest landscape restoration, sustainable agriculture intensification, sustainable coastal fisheries and resilience, and watershed management. Read more about the Coalition here.
Also in 2016, an IUCN-backed a report examined what financial product structures have the potential to establish conservation finance in mainstream investment markets. Produced by Credit Suisse and McKinsey’s Center for Environment and Business, with support from IUCN, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, the report built on a previous study that identified the unmet demand for conservation funding. Read the full report, Conservation finance from niche to mainstream: The building of an institutional asset class.
To find out more about other IUCN initiatives related to green finance and microenterprises, visit the Resources section.
