The CFA Incubator is front and foremost on my mind for this newsletter as we are well into our presentation webinars for Cohort 3 and we are deep into assessing the numerous (239) incredible submissions we received late last year for CFA Incubator Cohort 4. Our amazing group of CFA Mentors provided the teams with valuable insights and feedback to improve and advance their projects - a huge thanks to you all! Our partners, including Milkywire who funded both cohorts through the Nature Transformation Fund in collaboration with Klarna, as well as CI Ventures, and BNP Paribas, among others, supported the projects through mentorship and as part of our selection committee. The need for innovation in conservation finance is so strong given the challenges and opportunities that we face (see the State of Finance for Nature 2026 report below) and the need for supporting entrepreneurs is also incredibly high. I’m so proud of the CFA Incubator team - especially Stephanie O’Donnell and Ben Guillon - and our partners for addressing this need and hope to expand our program next year with additional financial and technical partners - please reach out if interested.
Showcase #4: Trust Funds as Engines for Nature Finance: A Conservation Trust Fund in Cuba and a Biodiversity and Climate Fund in Madagascar and Africa.
🔹 A Conservation Trust Fund in Cuba Presented by Fernando Bretos (Cresta Coastal Network)
A pioneering effort to develop Cuba’s first independent Conservation Trust Fund, channeling diverse finance solutions into biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation, sustainable fisheries, and the management of over 200 protected areas—while strengthening long-term financial sustainability and transparent governance.
🔹 Mitsiry Biodiversity and Climate Technical Assistance Facility Presented by Blanda Andrimamy & Lea Méléard (Miarakap) A blended finance approach combining a $50M investment fund with a dedicated technical assistance facility to support biodiversity-positive enterprises in Madagascar and Eastern & Southern Africa, strengthening governance, impact measurement, and investment readiness.
📅 Thursday, February 5 ⏰ 9 am EST | 6 am PST | 2 pm UTC | 5 pm EAT
Showcase #5: Making Conservation Enterprises Investable: Low-Impact Scallop Harvesting and Improving Biodiversity Outcome Tracking
🐚 Finance Solutions for Sustainable Scallop Fisheries Presented by Tom Hooper (Fishtek Marine Ltd) An innovative, low-impact method for harvesting scallops using pots as an alternative to damaging dredging. A core focus of the work is to integrate robust, science-based models on social, economic and environmental costs and benefits to enhance investment and policy for this transformation.
🦜 The BirdsPlus Index Presented by Eliot Miller (American Bird Conservancy) A science-based tool to measure, report, and validate biodiversity outcomes for conservation finance, impact investing, and nature-positive action. The Index combines data from acoustic recordings, AI-driven species identification, conservation value scoring, and remote sensing to generate site-level biodiversity insights and an overall ecological integrity score.
📅 Thursday, February 12 ⏰ 12 pm EST | 9 am PST | 5 pm UTC | 5 pm GMT | 6 pm CET
The Webinar series, co-hosted with OCTO, is part of the CFA Incubator, supported by Milkywire’s Nature Transformation Fund, in collaboration with Klarna.
Watch the recording of the first three webinars from CFA Incubator Cohort 3
🌱 Showcase #1: Making Conservation Investable: Impact Bonds for People and Nature
🎣 The Salmon Impact Bond Presented by Ross Dixon & Audrey Maria Popa (Coast Funds) and Raven Walkus (Wuikinuxv First Nation). An Indigenous-led initiative advancing salmon habitat restoration and community development in Canada.
🔹 Karukinka’s Impact Bond and Sustainable Finance Presented by Melissa Carmody (WCS Chile) A diversified sustainable finance approach supporting the conservation of Karukinka Park in Tierra del Fuego, Chile.
🌊 Showcase #2: Financing the Sustainable Transition of Small-Scale Fisheries
🐟 Marine Conservation Incentives Presented by Hollie Booth (University of Oxford & Kebersamaan Untuk Lautan) A scalable, evidence-based incentive model being piloted in Indonesia to protect marine biodiversity while safeguarding the livelihoods and wellbeing of coastal communities.
🔹 BlueMove Fund for Small-Scale Fisheries in Africa Presented by Camille Richer and Yousr Benfadhel (BlueMove / BlueSeeds) A new nature-positive fund combining technical assistance and concessional finance to support sustainable fishing, regenerative blue economy activities, and MPAs in Tunisia and Senegal.
🌍 Showcase #3: Sustainable Finance in Africa: Tourism and Blended Finance Solutions
✈️ Global Green Visa® Presented by Bhalin Singh (Prajna Ventures) An innovative mechanism that embeds a transparent conservation contribution into national e-visa systems—transforming tourism into a consistent, scalable revenue stream for biodiversity.
🌿 Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCA) Infrastructure Finance Facility Presented by Onkemetse Nteta (IUCN) A regional blended finance facility designed to mobilize long-term funding for conservation and infrastructure across TFCAs in Southern Africa.
The Webinar series, co-hosted with OCTO, is part of the CFA Incubator, supported by Milkywire’s Nature Transformation Fund, in collaboration with Klarna.
CFA Incubator: On the Move
This series brings you first-hand stories from the innovators behind the CFA Incubator Round 3 finalist projects, sharing their journeys as they shape new finance solutions for nature.
🦜 Taking Flight: How the CFA Incubator Enables ABC’s BirdsPlus Index to Soar
Last year, American Bird Conservancy(ABC) took a major step toward transforming how biodiversity is measured, valued, and financed. As part of the Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA) Incubator Program (round 3), ABC’s BirdsPlus team, Eliot Miller, Corey Martignetti, Holly Robertson, and Andrés Anchondo, have been developing innovative monitoring strategies that use birds as indicators of ecosystem integrity and nature-positive impact in conservation finance and value chains. Read more here.
🌿 Charting New Pathways for Cuba’s Nature Finance at RedLAC 2025 In September and early October 2025, Fernando Bretos traveled to Chile to participate in the annual RedLAC Conference — a major regional gathering that brings together environmental funds, public agencies, and nonprofit partners advancing conservation finance in Latin America and the Caribbean. Held in Santiago and Frutillar, at the gateway to Patagonia, the event offered an ideal setting for Fernando to move forward with his CFA Incubator project: supporting the Government of Cuba in establishing its national conservation trust fund (NCTF) and laying the groundwork for a future debt conversion for nature. Read more here.
OPEN FOR REGISTRATION for the fourth edition of the renowned Conservation Strategy Fund course in Spanish
This virtual course, taught in Spanish, is designed for environmental professionals who want to add to their economic and financial toolkit. Throughout the course, participants will learn how to evaluate the economic drivers behind environmental challenges, communicate more effectively with policymakers, and design conservation strategies that are both impactful and financially sound. If you’re looking to elevate your work with stronger evidence and clearer economic narratives, this course is for you.
Tropical Forest Landscapes program: Applications currently open
The ELTI team is pleased to launch the call for applicants to the 2026-2027 delivery of our online certificate program: Tropical Forest Landscapes: Conservation, Restoration & Sustainable Use.The program is designed for postgraduate learners with a professional or intellectual interest in tropical forest landscapes with a focus on translating theory into action.
The curriculum combines the expertise of Yale faculty and ELTI’s extensive network of partners throughout the tropics (including CFA ED David Meyers). Courses cover important core concepts, showcase global case studies, and provide practical tools for understanding and managing the social, ecological, and funding aspects of effective conservation and restoration initiatives. Over the 10-month program, you will learn the science and solutions to help you design, implement, and monitor effective conservation and restoration initiatives.
State of Finance for Nature 2026: Nature in the Red - Powering the Trillion Dollar Nature Transition Economy
The 2026 edition of the State of Finance for Nature highlights the urgent need to get the wheel turning on the ‘Big Nature Turnaround’. This report sets out the latest numbers and offers a new approach to accelerate the urgent transition to phase out nature negative finance and to scale up investment in Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and nature – the Nature Transition X-curve. Globally, finance flows continue to be heavily skewed toward nature-negative activities, which threaten ecosystems, economies and human well-being. Nearly half our global economy significantly depends on nature, and yet governments, business and finance continue to erode our collective nature bank account. Business-as-usual locks us deeper into further degradation of ecosystems, but governments, corporates, consumers and investors have the power to redirect flows and unlock resilience, equity and growth. In 2023, finance directly harmful to nature reached US$7.3 trillion, while investments in nature-based solutions (NbS) amounted to only US$220 billion – a ratio of more than 30:1. To meet global commitments under the Rio Conventions, NbS investment must increase by two and half times to US$571 billion by 2030, while harmful flows must be phased out and repurposed.
Playbook for Climate Finance Investing in a Thriving Planet
The Playbook is a call to action: a roadmap for unlocking the flow of finance to the solutions our planet urgently needs. It gathers a decade of breakthroughs into one guide and includes ten bold approaches that prove we can tackle climate change, protect nature and strengthen communities at scale. A major focus of COP30 negotiations is finalizing the Baku-to-Belém Roadmap to operationalize the new US $1.3 trillion climate finance goal, including who pays, how it’s tracked and how private capital is mobilized. These tools in this playbook are designed for leaders who are ready to finance solutions that deliver for people, nature and climate.
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