COVID19 and the Conservation Finance Community: Blended Finance

 

The fifth Coronavirus and the Conservation Finance Community online discussion will dive into the benefits of Blended Finance for Nature as a robust conservation finance mechanism in the time of Coronavirus and beyond.

July 31st, 11am EST
Registration required

Blended Finance is defined as “the use of catalytic capital from public or philanthropic sources to increase private sector investment in sustainable development” (Convergence).  This was one of the conservation finance mechanisms that remains potentially robust despite the current Covid19 pandemic (see CFA Covid discussion).  Three panelists coming from diverse organizations active in this area will discuss the benefits and challenges of Blended Finance as a conservation finance mechanism. They will discuss, in the time of coronavirus, how Blended Finance can be used to ensure the continuation of capital flows and alignment of incentives in conservation worldwide. Some specific topics may include how the current Covid19 pandemic has impacted the formation and execution of Blended Finance mechanisms. As well, looking ahead, what are some of the lessons learned as a result of this pandemic that can help strengthen Blended Finance mechanisms.

Moderated by:

David Meyers - Executive Director, CFA

 

Panelists


Adhiti Gupta 190621 5x7.jpg

Adhiti Gupta - Convergence

Adhiti is a Manager at Convergence where she leads the market acceleration program for blended finance vehicles in emerging markets. She manages Design Funding, which provides early stage grant support for the design of blended finance vehicles aligned to the SDGs that aim to attract private capital at scale. Prior to Convergence, Adhiti advised funds, family offices and foundation making impact investments in developed and emerging markets while working at RPCK, a boutique law firm in New York City.

Adhiti has previously practiced in India, where she advised on cross-border M&A transactions and private equity/venture capital transactions. Adhiti also counseled social enterprises as a consultant with Accion Microfinance Council and a project manager with Columbia Impact Investing Initiative. Adhiti holds a master’s degree from Columbia Law School, and a law degree from National Law School of India University. She has been awarded the Temasek Foundation Leadership Enrichment and Regional Networking Award by the National University of Singapore.

Gregory-Watson.jpg

Gregory Watson - Natural Capital Lab, IDB

Gregory Watson currently leads the IDB’s Natural Capital Lab, funded with $44M from the governments of France and the United Kingdom.  The lab serves as a one-stop shop for the IDB Group and partners to drive innovation in natural capital finance and biodiversity mainstreaming.  ​It was created to incubate, accelerate, and scale new solutions to pressing environmental problems by looking at nature as asset.  Previously, Gregory was a Lead Specialist at the IDB Lab’s Climate-Smart Agriculture team. He led the IDB’s first equity investment in oceans, led an award-winning Forest Investment Program equity investment in a silvopastoral system in Brazil, helped develop the first Biodiversity Habitat Bank in Latin America, worked to develop a new asset class for natural capital trading, and designed other private sector projects in forestry, development impact bonds, and technology in the natural capital space.

 

Prior to this, he led the IDB Lab Environment and Clean Energy team in conceptualizing, overseeing, and implementing projects, investments, and research in clean and efficient energy, natural capital, and adaptation.    He created the EcoMicro green microfinance program, which was selected by the UNFCCC as a global “Lighthouse Award”.  He also conceptualized and launched the Climatescope, the first-ever ranking of the investment climate for climate investment in the Latin America and Caribbean region, and designed the first private sector Forest Investment Program project in the world, in Mexico.  A successful fundraiser, he also raised over $50M from the GCF, CIFs, and bilateral donors in this position.

 

Mr. Watson has a Master’s degree in International Development from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and a bachelor’s from Tufts University.

1oXN-GOk_400x400.jpg

Avril Benchimol - Blended Finance, Global Environment Facility

Avril Benchimol is leading the blended finance initiative at the GEF. She has sixteen years of experience in capital markets and structured finance both in multilateral institutions and investment banking. For the last eight years she worked at IDB-Invest, the private sector arm of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and at IDB Lab, designing and executing financial solutions for private sector clients in Latin America and the Caribbean. The projects included the use of guarantees, loans, and structured financing to issue sustainable and green bonds in both local currency and USD. She also led a green microfinance facility in 11 countries that facilitated microfinance clients’ mitigation and adaptation initiatives.

Prior to joining the IDB Group, she spent six years working in investment banking for Morgan Stanley and BNP Paribas Fortis in London, Madrid, and Brussels. Her main areas of expertise included the structuring and origination of equity and debt transactions as well as the sales of structured equity derivatives. In 2011, she received her Master’s of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown, where she graduated with honors.


Background on the Conservation Finance Alliance and the Coronavirus and Conservation Finance Community Series

 

The Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA) is the leading global professional alliance of conservation finance experts, practitioners, and organizations.  The CFA’s mission is to promote awareness, expertise, and innovation in conservation finance globally.

The CFA has recently introduced a new series of online discussions regarding the impact of COVID-19 on conservation finance, titled “Coronavirus and the Conservation Finance Community”.

To date, three online discussions have been held. The first discussion focused generally on CTF’s, with representatives from CAFÉ and RedLAC discussing how the pandemic was impacting operations, finance flows, and what the future could look like. The second discussion identified specific conservation finance tools that are viewed as most robust in the face of the crisis. Following the taxonomy of conservation finance mechanisms outlined in the CFA white paper “Conservation Finance: A Framework”, three tools were identified: Public-Private Partnerships, Blended Finance, and Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Development.

The CFA is continuing the discussion by holding three additional online calls, focusing on each of these priority finance mechanisms.  The first of the three calls, which focused on Public-Private Partnerships with an emphasis on Marine Protected Areas, was recently completed on June 18th (recording available here).

The remaining calls are Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Development planned for July 10th and Blended Finance planned for sometime in late July (date will be announced shortly).

Investment Outlook for Environmental Funds in a Post-COVID World

As members and friends of the CFA and RedLAC networks, you are cordially invited to join a virtual panel discussion on the investment outlook for Environmental Funds in the time of COVID-19.  


July 21st, 11AM - 12PM EDT
RSVP below

In this moderated discussion, investment advisors from UBS, FINAD GmbH, and JP Morgan Chase will share their perspectives on the investment outlook for Environmental Funds (Conservation Trust Funds) in the context of the current COVID-19 global pandemic.   

 


Panelists:

Andrew B. Peake, CFA

Managing Director – UBS International, New York

 

Andrew joined UBS International in 2013 with over 30 years of experience in financial services, primarily in private wealth management, specializing in managed investment portfolios for ultra-high net worth clients and institutions.  His regional focus includes China, Europe, Latin America and the United States.

He began his career in 1989 in various portfolio management positions at Offitbank and Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.  In 1994, Andrew was recruited by JP Morgan as a Senior Portfolio Manager, where he was responsible for $2B in discretionary global balanced portfolios.  He was also a member of the Trust and Investment Committee for Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of the Bahamas.  In 1998 Andrew was recruited by Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, which deals exclusively with that firm's ultra-high net worth clients.

Andrew has two degrees from the University of Pennsylvania - a BA Magna Cum Laude in Chinese History and East Asian Studies and a MA in East Asian Studies.  His Master’s thesis analyzed and discussed the future of Hong Kong.  He also earned a MBA in Finance from New York University and the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.  Andrew is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and has lived, worked and traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America.  He is an avid sports enthusiast and competed for a place in the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team.  Andrew is actively involved in mentorship programs for students from Asia and is often asked to speak on cultural matters pertaining to China and US business relations. Additionally, Andrew serves on the Financial Advisor Advisory Council a group of Financial Advisors that represent the 6,000 Financial Advisors with senior management in the US. 


Christian Tury

Chief Investment Officer, Managing Director — FINAD GmbH, Vienna

christian-tury.jpg

As a manager in a multi family office, we are all-rounders with a very in-depth understanding of a wide range of financial operations. Assuming responsibility is an obligation, which is why we also invest lots of time in our younger colleagues.

I studied sociology and political science at the University of Vienna, and European Studies at the Danube University in Krems. I always wanted to work in the financial sector. I was approved as a student of business studies at the Vienna University of Economics and Business when I encountered Warren Buffet in Omaha, Nebraska, for the first time. A speculative application to Chase Manhattan Bank made the dream reality. 



Juan Etinger

Managing Director, Global Head of Institutional Portfolio Solutions, J.P. Morgan

juan.JPG

Juan Etinger is a Managing Director and Global Head of Institutional Portfolio Solutions. The group focuses on designing and managing single and multi-asset portfolios for endowments, foundations and institutional families.

Previously, Mr. Etinger was Senior Portfolio Manager overseeing the firm’s offshore Global Access Portfolios, a suite of global multi-asset investment funds that combine traditional asset classes with alternatives, structured investments and portfolio insurance strategies. Additionally, Mr. Etinger served as member of the investment team for the J.P. Morgan Access UCITS Funds, a multi-asset family of open-ended, offshore mutual funds tailored for international clients.

Mr. Etinger was a member of the J.P. Morgan Investment Strategy Team for over six years, responsible for development of investment strategy, including tactical and strategic asset allocation, for over $600 billion in client assets. In addition, he was a member of the Hedge Fund Advisory Council and due diligence’s Investment Review Committee.

Mr. Etinger holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business (Booth), where he graduated with honors with a concentration in Quantitative Finance and Entrepreneurship. He also holds a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering from the University of Buenos Aires. He lives in New York with his wife and three children.


Sponsored by the CFA Environmental Funds Working Group CFA - RedLAC - The Nature Conservancy

Sponsored by the Environmental Funds Working Group

A partner event with:

RedLAC-espanol+logo.jpg
 
TNC logo.png

Upcoming Partner webinar: The Rising Blue Dollar, Sustainable Ocean Financing for Marine Conservation

Upcoming webinar presented by Blue Finance and The Commonwealth Blue Charter

The Rising Blue Dollar: Sustainable Ocean Financing for Marine Conservation

When : July 22nd

14:00 - 15:00 BST (GMT + 1)

Marine Protected Areas often suffer from inadequate and unsustainable funding sources, with over 60% globally of existing MPAs having reported inadequate budgets for basic management and compliance. The Commonwealth has a huge stake in the future of our ocean, together covering more than one-third (35%) of national marine waters globally.

This webinar will –

• Provide an overview of the sustainable financing concept for the effective management of MPAs

• Showcase good and best practice case studies from two project sites

• Elaborate how financial resilience needs to be built in, to move forward in a post COVID-19 world

0001.jpg

Experienced Consultant (WWF) - Brazilian Atlantic Forest

World Wildlife Fund is looking for an experienced consultant to conduct a feasibility study to establish a fund for landscape restoration in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. The consultant will assess existing legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks, identify levels of interest and potential roles of different stakeholders, analyze fundraising potential and options for design of financing instruments including blended finance investments, and develop recommendations for design and governance of the restoration fund. The ideal candidate has experience in evaluating and designing grant-based as well as investment funds. To receive the detailed Terms of Reference and application information, please send an e-mail to conservation.finance@wwfus.org

COVID19 and the Conservation Finance Community : Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Development

 

The next Coronavirus and the Conservation Finance Community online discussion will dive into the benefits of Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Development as a robust conservation finance mechanism in the time of Coronavirus.

When: July 10th, 11am EST



Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Development is a broad category of strategies that supports the alignment of diverse interests towards multiple sustainable development objectives.  Some examples for conservation include prioritizing nature based solutions to climate change, integrating watershed management with urban development, integrated planning for SDG targets at the national level, etc.  This was one of the conservation finance mechanisms that remains potentially robust despite the current Covid pandemic (see CFA Covid discussion).  Three knowledgeable panelists will discuss the benefits and challenges of Mainstreaming Biodiversity in a time of COVID19. They will discuss how mainstreaming assures that investments in nature (including recovery efforts) provide essential co-benefits for other sustainable development objectives.

Meet our panelists:

Onno van den Heuvel, Manager, the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN), UNDP

onno.png

Onno is the Global Manager for BIOFIN – based at UNDP’s Istanbul Regional Hub. He leads the BIOFIN team, responsible for all global and national activities, programme development, resource mobilisation and partnerships. Onno holds a Masters Degree in Economic Geography from the University of Utrecht

Katia Karousakis, Biodiversity Team Leader, OECD Environment Directorate, OECD

Katia Karousakis_3_1.jpg

Katia is the Programme Lead of the Biodiversity, Land Use and Ecosystems (BLUE) programme at the OECD. She works within the Climate, Biodiversity and Water Division of the OECD Environment Directorate, which she joined in 2006. Prior this, she worked on climate change at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. An environmental economist by training, Katia has a PhD from University College London, U.K., and a Masters from Duke University, USA.

 


Tracey Cumming, Expert on Biodiversity Finance CBD, and Technical Advisor BIOFIN.

TCummingNov17_small.jpg

Tracey Cumming has extensive experience in biodiversity finance and policy at a national and international level. Tracey is a Technical Advisor for the UNDP Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN), and a member of the Convention on Biological Diversity Panel of Experts on Resource Mobilisation, where she is leading the work on recommendations for resource mobilisation in support of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework for the next 10 years.

Moderator:

Sean Nazerali, Director for Innovative Financing, BIOFUND

sean.jpg

Sean Nazerali is the Director for Innovative Financing at BIOFUND Mozambique, the national CTF. He has focused on a variety of mechanisms to increase financing for conservation, and is currently working on promoting initiatives on Biodiversity Offsets, Payments for Ecosystem Services, and mobilizing Private Sector Finance. 


Background on the Conservation Finance Alliance and the Coronavirus and Conservation Finance Community Series

The Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA) is the leading global professional alliance of conservation finance experts, practitioners, and organizations.  The CFA’s mission is to promote awareness, expertise, and innovation in conservation finance globally.

The CFA has recently introduced a new series of online discussions regarding the impact of COVID-19 on conservation finance, titled “Coronavirus and the Conservation Finance Community”.

To date, three online discussions have been held. The first discussion focused generally on CTF’s, with representatives from CAFÉ and RedLAC discussing how the pandemic was impacting operations, finance flows, and what the future could look like. The second discussion identified specific conservation finance tools that are viewed as most robust in the face of the crisis. Following the taxonomy of conservation finance mechanisms outlined in the CFA white paper “Conservation Finance: A Framework”, three tools were identified: Public-Private Partnerships, Blended Finance, and Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Development.

The CFA is continuing the discussion by holding three additional online calls, focusing on each of these priority finance mechanisms.  The first of the three calls, which focused on Public-Private Partnerships with an emphasis on Marine Protected Areas, was recently completed on June 18th (recording available here).

The remaining calls are Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Development planned for July 10th and Blended Finance planned for late July (date will be announced shortly).


 

COVID19 and the Conservation Finance Community : Public-Private Partnerships

 

Missed the Webinar? View the recording below:

This is the third webinar in our Coronavirus and Conservation Finance webinar series. In this webinar we will dive into the benefits of Public Private Partne...


The next Coronavirus and the Conservation Finance Community online discussion will dive into the benefits of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as a robust conservation finance mechanism in the time of Coronavirus. Join us as our panelists discuss the resiliency of Public-Private Partnerships in times of economic and social unrest. The call will involve presentations from the panelists (~30 mins) and then a Q&A session for the remainder of the hour.

The panelists for the discussion are as follows:

ERIC CAREY

Executive Director of the Bahamas National Trust (BNT)

ELEANOR CARTER

Deputy Director of the Chumbe Island Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Zanzibar, Tanzania; and Founder and Director of Sustainable Solutions International Consulting.

NICOLAS PASCAL

Director of Blue finance


 
 

Some of the themes and questions that our panelists discussed include: 
 

  • The pros and cons of institutional arrangements for the management structure of PPP's

  • How COVID19 has impacted operations 

  • What are plans to build resilience into PPP related financing mechanisms in the future. 

 
 

ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS AND CONSERVATION FINANCE COMMUNITY

The CFA has recently introduced a new series of online discussions regarding the impact of COVID-19 on conservation finance, titled “Coronavirus and the Conservation Finance Community”.

To date, two online discussions have been held. The first discussion focused generally on CTF’s, with representatives from CAFÉ and RedLAC discussing how the pandemic was impacting operations, finance flows, and what the future could look like. The second discussion identified specific conservation finance tools that are viewed as most robust in the face of the crisis. A detailed recap of the two online discussions can be found here.

Following the taxonomy of conservation finance mechanisms outlined in the CFA white paper “Conservation Finance: A Framework”, three tools were identified: Public-Private Partnerships, Blended Finance, and Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Development.

The CFA would like to continue the discussion by holding three additional online calls, focusing on each of the finance mechanisms in turn. 

 

CFA Webinar: Blue Natural Capital Financing Facility

 

Please join us for another very insightful CFA Webinar, hosted by our Marine and Coastal Finance Working Group. The webinar features the Blue Natural Capital Financing Facility, and will focus on recent report : Blue Infrastructure Finance: A new approach, integrating Nature-based Solutions for coastal resilience.


All coastal and marine ecosystems are critical to human well-being and global biodiversity. But urban and rural infrastructure developments are having a heavy negative impact on these systems, and it is increasing over time.
 
Habitats like tidal mangrove forests, seagrasses and coral reefs, can help to make infrastructure investments better, more resilient and financially more attractive. These are known as Nature-based Solutions (NbS). Financial mechanisms are needed to support a shift away from infrastructure investments with unclear or negative impacts on nature towards those providing clean water and energy, flood and erosion control, etc. The developments must also preserve and enhance their coastal and marine environments.
 
The Report and the Webinar present new finance solutions integrating Blue Natural Capital, a critical tool for this transition.

Speakers: 
D. Herr (IUCN, Moderator)
S. Crooks (Silvestrum)
T. Thiele (Global Ocean Trust)
 

Missed the webinar? Please find a recording of it below.

 

Portfolio Management Consultant (SDG Finance)

The Fund supports countries as they accelerate their progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It operates through a series of Calls for the United Nations (UN) system that lead to the implementation of transformative Joint Programmes (JPs), under the leadership of Resident Coordinators (RCs). In doing so the Fund is committed to forge paths and partnerships that unlock public and private capital for the SDGs at scale

The Joint SDG Fund launched in December 2019 its first Call for Proposals [link to download] on SDG Financing. The Call has two components. Component 1 is about the development of SDG-aligned financing strategies and related capacities for implementation, while Component 2 is about catalyzing investment at scale for the SDGs.

This vacancy is about the provision of support to the UN Joint SDG Fund (the Fund) on grant and portfolio management.

Duties and Responsibilities

Support quality joint programme implementation and monitoring (60%)

Support innovation and learning, and communicating joint programme results (30%)

Support to stakeholder collaboration (10%)

Link

Solicitation of Proposals for an Independent Financial Advisor for “La Fondation pour le Tri-National de la Sangha”

The La Fondation pour le Tri-National de la Sangha (“FTNS”) is a private foundation established as a Charity under English law with permission to operate in Cameroon, where its headquarters are located. The FTNS was established in 2007 with the purpose to provide sustainable financial support for the conservation of the Sangha Trinational (“TNS”) which is a transboundary forest complex including three contiguous protected areas: the Lobeke National park (Cameroon), Nouabalé Ndoki (Republic of Congo) and the Protected Areas of Dzanga Sangha (Central African Republic).

In accordance with its “Manuel de Procedures Administratives, Comptables, Financieres et Budgetaires Specifiques”, the FTNS intends to procure and contract an Independent Financial Advisor (the “Advisor”) by means of a competitive, fair and transparent Solicitation Procedure.
The FTNS now invites Proposals by interested and qualified firms and individuals. The Solicitation procedure is implemented by a Tender Agent on behalf of the FTNS. Interested firms and individuals may contact the Tender Agent Rene Meyer by email  ftns@renemeyer.org to obtain the Terms of Reference and more details about the Solicitation Procedure.

Proposals may be submitted until June 15th, 2020, 6 pm (West Africa Standard Time). Please view the flyer here.        

RedLAC Webinar: Sustainable Tourism in the Post COVID-19 Era

When: May 29th, 10 a.m (Mexico/Colombia/Peru)
RedLAC

Zoom:
ID: 864-5298-7217
Password: 455230
Registration required

This webinar aims to analyze the changes that the tourism sector is ecperiencing and the opportunities that are arising for the development of sustainable tourism. We will have the participation of three international experts in the subject: Paloma Zapata, Director of Sustainable Travel International; Hans Pfister, Director of Cayuga Collection; and Vicente Ferreyra, Director of SustenTur. The webinar will be in Spanish.

Register HERE