I need your help, so does the climate, biodiversity, forest-dependent communities, and ultimately, your children. Okay, a bit dramatic, I know – but I’m serious. I’ve been reflecting a bit over the last little while and realize that my LinkedIn news feed is on doom and gloom repeat. Alarming scientific evidence about the state of our planet abounds. Case in point – the latest from the IPCC, announces that we have about 10 years at our current emission rates until a *low* 1.5C rise is out of reach. Forecasts aside, physical evidence is right under our nose. Personally, I see the fires ravaging my home in British Columbia, floods ravaging my new home in Europe, and in recent news, tropical forests (the home of my career) are now found to be emitting more CO2 than they are absorbing.
Something must change…
I know this is a complex issue, but one thing those of us travelling in this circle would all agree on, is that we need to attract new capital to this sector – to create win-win-win scenarios at scale, for people, planet, and profit. Despite our consensus, apart from a few bold initiatives by the financial and corporate sectors, the majority of this is all talk. We don’t have time to talk about the problems anymore, to continue preaching to the choir about the nature-based solutions at our fingertips. We need to reach a new audience that is ready to act.
So, this autumn, I am making it my mission to educate, and provide tools to impact investors new to the tropical forest space that enable them to get started, to create a strategy, build a pipeline and invest capital in solid triple bottom-line opportunities.
I want to disrupt the status quo of spinning circles around the same problems. I want to create open and transparent dialogue among investors, project developers and other expert practitioners, provide useful how-to resources, and present high-quality opportunities to generate investment and impact outcomes in line with expectations.
Here’s where you come in…
I have created two short surveys (5-10 minutes) so that I can gather and provide the most relevant information, experts, and resources. I want to seek your thoughts on the key elements to enable the flow of more impact investment funds into tropical forest landscapes. Depending on whether you are a seasoned practitioner OR are new to the space, I have a different survey for you. Please click in the relevant link below to share your input. Your responses are confidential, and much appreciated.
If you have or are working in tropical forest landscapes: This survey is for you if you work in tropical forest landscapes in the following capacities: investor, investment manager or advisor, Nature-based solutions (NBS) project developer or forest business, expert/practitioner in the field, corporation supporting NBS or having deforestation risk supply chains. Please take the quick survey here.
If you are new to forest impact investments in the tropics: This survey is for you if are new to forest investment in the tropics and work in the following capacities: impact investor, impact investment manager or advisor, timberland investment manager or advisor, corporations supporting nature-based solutions (NBS) or having deforestation risk supply chains. Please take the quick survey here.
Other resources
Please check out the Theory of Change guide I created for forest impact investments in the tropics aligning to the UN SDGs, and visit my website – where you can review the 5-part series on forest impact investments in the tropics, sign up for my twice weekly newsletter, and register your interest in the upcoming Forest Impact Investment in the Tropics Seminar set to run later this autumn.
As always, please feel free to reach out to me directly with any questions.
