“[I gained] a sense of hope of what's possible.” 

This December, 36 professionals from 13 different countries and 25 organizations came together for our first ever Finance 4Nature course, delivered in partnership with the Conservation Finance Alliance and hosted at Conservation International’s Headquarters just outside of Washington DC. 

As pressure mounts to address critical funding gaps and attract new investments that will sustainably finance conservation efforts around the world, biodiversity finance is one of the most sought topics for conservation capacity development. Capitalizing on this momentum, Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) and the Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA) launched this short course to help conservation professionals understand the suite of finance solutions available to increase their conservation impact. 

Participants embarked on this three-day intensive learning journey with Lead Instructor and CFA Executive Director, David Meyers. Seven guest speakers from The Nature Conservancy, Convergence, The Inter-American Development Bank, Enduring Earth, and more also shared cases of effective and innovative nature finance projects from around the world. This included a presentation from CSF-Brazil’s Executive Director, Julia Queiroz, who shared CSF’s newest research with the World Wildlife Fund on closing finance gaps for forests in Brazil and Indonesia. 

From the Classroom to Real-World Conservation Solutions

In their initial reflections, our cohort shared how they were inspired and motivated by what they learned. One participant remarked,“In 3 days [this course] consolidated what I've been trying to understand about the pros and cons of different financial instruments over the last year, and brought them all together as a suite of options. [I] gained more knowledge than I could have hoped for.”

Another shared, “I feel more prepared to diversify our organization's funding streams and fulfill our mission!” and another simply stated, “[I gained] a sense of hope of what's possible.”

Many participants came into this course with a specific project or goal that they hoped could be supported by the finance mechanisms and solutions we explored. During the final day of instruction, participants completed a finance prioritization exercise in small groups  to help them evaluate finance solutions and  build a tailored portfolio based on their given conservation context. With her group, Winifred Frick was able to begin brainstorming solutions that could support her work at Bat Conservation International:

“[This] exercise created a new perspective on how to potentially create new funding options for bat conservation. The creative ideas of the group were inspiring.” She shared with us that she plans to bring this exercise back to her organization to help shape their five-year strategic plan." 

For Danny Alejandro Parrado Saenz, this course is crucial for one of his projects with Gaia Amazonas Foundation:

 “I will apply this new knowledge and share it with my team as we are working on the development of financial instruments for the valuation and conservation of the last amazon flying river and a Sustainability Strategy for 10 indigenous governments in the North West Amazon.”

This course is just the beginning of Winifred, Danny, and the rest of the cohort’s efforts to unlock the power of finance for nature. We are grateful for this cohort's thoughtful questions and contributions and can't wait to reach even more motivated conservationists with this course in the future!

This course was run by Conservation Strategy Fund’s Numbers for Nature Training Institute, CSF’s global training program, in partnership with Conservation Finance Alliance. Special thanks to Conservation International for sharing their Arlington, VA office with us for live instruction. 

To learn more about this course and explore other capacity development opportunities, please visit www.numbersfornature.org. Contact us at [email protected] if you are interested in hiring CSF or CFA for your capacity development needs.