Financing Nature: From Grants to Investable Conservation

​Event Description

Nature is essential to climate resilience, human wellbeing, and long-term prosperity, yet the systems for financing its protection remain fragmented, short-term, and often poorly aligned with what conservation actually requires. Too much funding still flows through restricted project grants, while too little supports the long-term governance, trust, and flexibility needed to protect intact ecosystems and respond to real-time threats.

This discussion explores what it would take to make nature and biodiversity more visible, valued, and investable without losing sight of community leadership and ecological integrity. How do we move from short-term conservation funding to financing models that support enduring stewardship? What roles can private capital, climate adaptation finance, biodiversity credits, and new mechanisms such as the Cali Fund play?

The session will also examine how funding can better support Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and frontline conservation leaders, especially in places where standing forests and healthy ecosystems are already delivering enormous value. Together, participants will explore how to align conservation finance with the realities of protecting nature over the long term, and how to mobilize more capital and broader public support for action.

​Speakers

• ​Ben Warren is CEO of Adaptation Asia, working at the intersection of climate adaptation, smallholder agriculture, and sustainable finance.

• ​Fei Gan is a nature and planet investor at Serambi Alam, focused on making nature-based assets investible through cross-sector collaboration.

• ​Emil Rostgaard Schelde is Co-founder and Chief Program and Strategy Officer at UN Live, advancing global collective action through culture and engagement.

• ​Nick Oakes is Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Impact Earth, leading investment strategies that advance environmental and social impact.

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Discussion Questions
- What would make nature-based assets and conservation efforts genuinely investable while still protecting ecological and community priorities?
- How can conservation funding shift from short-term project grants to longer-term, more flexible financing that builds trust and durability?
- What financing mechanisms, from adaptation finance to biodiversity credits, show the most promise, and where do they still fall short?
- How can funding better recognize and support the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in protecting ecosystems?