This May 5-8, 28 passionate participants representing 18 different organizations and institutions gathered at Conservation International's headquarters near Washington DC for the second edition of our newest short course, Finance 4Nature.

Finance 4Nature was launched last year in partnership with the Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA) to address a critical capacity gap: As traditional grant-based and public funding structures for nature become increasingly unreliable for long-term funding, environmental professionals around the world need to leverage new solutions to finance their conservation efforts and generate returns to support long-term conservation outcomes now and into the future.

Taught by CFA Executive Director David Meyers, this course provides these professionals with a broad introduction to conservation finance over four days of intensive instruction. Participants are introduced to the core theory and explore a taxonomy of conservation finance solutions, ranging from traditional sources of finance, such as public funds, to innovative solutions, such as debt conversions and biodiversity credits.

For participant (and 2019 CSF course graduate) Celia Harvey, this course was the ideal opportunity to learn more about conservation finance approaches to bring back to her work in Costa Rica. After the course, she shared:

“It was fascinating to see how many new finance tools are emerging and how people are applying them in innovative ways in different conservation contexts.”

From Theory to Practice

The primary goal of this course is to help participants bridge the gap between theory and practice, understanding not just how finance solutions work, but how they could be implemented in real-world scenarios. Participants are frequently encouraged to evaluate a variety of solutions, culminating in a final finance solution prioritization exercise designed to help them build finance portfolios with the best solutions for the specific conservation context.

For Zach Hoffman, who leads program operations at the Coral Reef Alliance, one of the biggest takeaways from this course was that not all solutions are created equal:

“The "aha" moment was really more a series of moments where David helped us understand that not all solutions are a fit for all situations and that you have to be very thoughtful in evaluating your circumstances and likely seek expertise and support before making decisions or committing your organization to a particular path.”

In several special sessions, participants also had the opportunity to learn from five leading experts implementing conservation finance solutions around the world, including Deborah Spalding from Conservation International, Kevin Bender from Polycentric Capital, and Paulina Arroyo from Enduring Earth.

For Omar Hernandez, who joined this course to expand his portfolio:

“Hearing directly from professionals about their in-the-field experience and technical knowledge, particularly around product development, was very insightful and helped connect the course concepts to real-world application.”

For some participants, these guest speakers were “eye-opening” and inspired them to consider how to apply new mechanisms across new regions and sectors. Carol Chao, for instance, was intrigued by the Passport to Conservation, a finance mechanism developed by CSF to support Bolivia’s Protected Areas, which CSF Bolivia Deputy Director Sophia Espinoza presented on the second day of instruction. Carol shared:

“Learning about the Protected Areas passport project in Bolivia and how tourism activities were being used to support conservation financing. It made me think about how similar approaches could work in Africa, especially in areas where communities, wildlife, and tourism are closely connected. I left that session thinking about the potential for more creative, locally grounded financing solutions back home.”

Gaining an “International Community of Practice”

Other participants recognized that the strength of this course comes from the diversity of its cohort. Participants joined this course from nine countries, representing a range of backgrounds and existing knowledge of finance for nature. Inside and outside of formal instruction, participants' conversations and comments add an additional layer of nuance and insight to course concepts.

There is a huge value to connecting and interacting with such a dynamic and diverse community. As one participant put it:

“I really appreciate learning within a community of people deeply interested in the same topic. The connections and network are a big part of investing in a course like this one.”

The Path Forward

Our 2026 cohort leaves this course with a new understanding of conservation finance to bring to their own corners of the conservation community. For Celia, she left with:

“a new appreciation for the important role that conservation trust funds can play in supporting local community conservation action and will reach out to the conservation trust funds in the country where I work to explore opportunities for collaboration.”

Others will use their newfound knowledge to support their own organization’s goals and initiatives. Mike Seager, who joined from BirdLife International, plans to spread more “top-level takeaways” with his organization to support several programs, including a new incubator under their flagship initiative, Conserva Aves.

Nearly 100% of responding participants from this cohort said that they would recommend this course to others. Building on the momentum from these first two successful editions, we hope to continue bringing Finance 4Nature to conservational professionals around the world.