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Send us Fan Mail Discover how community-led conservation finance empowers local stewards. Rony Brodsky reveals how village savings and land tenure unlock green economies. Episode Resources: Commentary on Reforming Multilateral Funding for Local CommunitiesCase Study on the Terra do Meio Network in the AmazonOfficial Website of the Global Alliance of Territorial CommunitiesReport on Recognizing Indigenous and Community Land RightsWhile billions are pledged to global climate funds, true conservation success relies on getting capital directly into the hands of local stewards. In this episode of the 4Nature Podcast, we sit down with Rony Brodsky of The Nature Conservancy to explore how empowering indigenous and local communities through grassroots finance is the key to both economic justice and environmental protection. Listeners will discover how leveraging domestic financial systems and community-led structures can transform global conservation efforts from the bottom up. Rony breaks down the mechanics of integrating large-scale blended finance with deeply localized institutions like Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs). We examine the critical intersection of MSME lending, land tenure rights, and local governance, revealing why top-down impact investing often fails without this essential grassroots infrastructure. By "greenifying" existing community banks and credit unions, she offers a framework to ensure wealth remains local rather than being extracted by outside forces. Tune in to find out how a small, informal herder savings circle in Mongolia successfully evolved into a scalable, nature-positive financial engine that protects millions of hectares of vulnerable land. If you found value in this conversation on decolonizing conservation finance, be sure to subscribe to the 4Nature Podcast and leave us a review! About Rony Brodsky: Rony Brodsky serves as Senior Advisor for inclusive and innovative finance at The Nature Conservancy, where she leads strategies to mobilize blended finance for climate and conservation by greening domestic financial architectures. Rony joined The Nature Conservancy as their inaugural Director for Indigenous- and Local Community-Led Finance, through which she founded and led the organization’s global strategy. In that role, Rony established and managed a global accelerator that pairs locally-led innovative community finance pilots in emerging markets with systems-level market and policy interventions to create and scale inclusive and nature-positive financial markets. Rony is a banker and development economist by training. She began her career supporting Indigenous-led, grassroots humanitarian and development non-profit organizations in Guatemala.  Rony has an MBA from the Harvard Business School, an MPA in International Development from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Maryland.

Send us Fan Mail Discover how Blue Alliance transforms marine protected areas by blending coral conservation with social enterprise to build a thriving blue economy. Episode Resources: Official Website for Blue AllianceBlue Alliance Case Study on Marine Protected AreasTurneffe Atoll Marine Reserve Official Site What if the secret to saving the world's dying coral reefs isn't just better science, but better business? In this episode of the 4Nature Podcast, marine ecologist and former investment banker Nicolas Pascal breaks down how his organization, Blue Alliance, is actively regenerating millions of hectares of ocean ecosystems. Tune in to discover how blending long-term government partnerships with sustainable social enterprises can transform failing conservation zones into thriving marine sanctuaries that also lift local fishing communities out of poverty. Nicolas shares the harsh reality that over 70% of global marine protected areas (MPAs) are simply "paper parks" lacking the real enforcement and funding needed to survive. To combat this, he reveals Blue Alliance’s pioneering marine co-management model: a system where non-profit conservation efforts are directly funded by profitable, community-integrated businesses in ecotourism and sustainable aquaculture. He explores the fascinating tension of building a blue economy and explains why it’s often easier to teach corporate professionals about coral reef conservation than it is to teach NGOs how to run a profitable business. But can this innovative "IKEA model" of conservation truly scale to protect 70 million hectares of ocean, or will the tragedy of the commons ultimately prevail? If you’re inspired by actionable, entrepreneurial solutions to our planet's biggest environmental challenges, hit subscribe and leave us a five-star review.

Send us Fan Mail Season 3, Episode 4: Unlocking Capital for a Regenerative Blue Economy with Melissa Walsh  How do we fix a broken system — and unlock the investment needed to save our oceans? Despite the urgency of the climate crisis, ocean conservation remains dramatically underfunded. In this episode, we explore how to change that by building a true capital market for the ocean. Our guest, Dr. Melissa Walsh — a global leader in blue finance and Director of Blue Finance & Scaling at ORRAA — explains why blue finance has lagged behind green finance, what’s holding investors back, and how we can redesign the system so money flows to ocean solutions at scale. We break down: 🌊 Why oceans are still “invisible” in global finance⚓ The risks and barriers that stop investment — and how to remove them💡 How ORRAA is acting as the connective tissue between finance, insurance, governments & communities🔄 Tools that de-risk ocean projects, like SCIFF and the Nautilus Blue Guarantee📊 Why the world needs shared “ocean-positive” metrics to prevent bluewashing🤝 The future of blue equity — ensuring coastal communities benefit from a thriving ocean economyThis episode offers a clear, hopeful roadmap for shifting from extraction to regeneration, and finally giving the ocean the investment it deserves.  About Our Guest:  Dr. Melissa Walsh is the Director of Blue Finance and Scaling at the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA). A leading global expert in ocean finance and the blue economy, she transitioned from a 24-year career in coral reef biogeochemistry and science management to tackle the primary roadblock she saw in conservation: a lack of capital. Today, she works to build the systems, partnerships, and financial products needed to drive investment toward a sustainable and resilient ocean.  Learn More From Our Guest / Episode Resources:  Learn more about the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA): https://oceanriskalliance.org/  Explore ORRAA's SeaChange Impact Finance Facility (SCIFF): https://oceanriskalliance.org/blue-finance/  Discover the BackBlue Initiative: https://oceanriskalliance.org/project/back-blue-ocean-finance-commitment/  Read about the Nautilus Blue Guarantee Company: https://www.guarantee.blue/  What are your thoughts on building a blue economy? Do you believe these financial tools can create the systemic change we need? Let us know in the comments below! Don't forget to like this video and subscribe for more conversations with the people on the front lines of protecting our planet.

Send us Fan Mail How do we move beyond small, isolated conservation projects to protect nature at scale? This special episode of 4Nature, made for the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025, explores what transformational leadership looks like in practice. Host David Meyers speaks with two trailblazing leaders—Kathleen Fitzgerald, Project Director for Enduring Earth, and Vatosoa Rakotondrazafy, Regional Ocean Governance Manager for IUCN—who are reimagining how conservation can empower communities and achieve durable, system-wide impact. Kathleen shares how the Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) model brings together governments, funders, and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities around long-term conservation goals. She highlights how Indigenous-led PFPs in Canada are setting a new global standard for inclusive, lasting protection. From the ocean’s edge, Vatosoa recounts her journey leading Madagascar’s Mihari Network and building a Western Indian Ocean alliance for Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs). She emphasizes that the traditional knowledge of small-scale fishers—“a PhD in the ocean”—must guide conservation, supported by tools like LMMA trust funds that channel resources directly to communities. Together, their stories reveal how humility, persistence, and local leadership can transform conservation from short-term projects into resilient systems that work for both people and nature.

Send us Fan Mail Every breath you take is free - but in an economic system that only values what's priced, could this be nature's greatest vulnerability? In this rare podcast-meets-podcast exchange, David Meyers and Juan Pablo Romero Rodríguez (host of Poder Ambiental) flip between interviewer and interviewee to dissect this dangerous paradox. Their conversation transcends typical environmental gloom, revealing how innovative financial mechanisms are already transforming our relationship with nature - from biodiversity credits empowering Global South economies to debt-for-nature swaps creating billion-dollar conservation opportunities. As the two environmental specialists analyze not just what we say about nature but how we say it, they unveil why reframing our relationship with the natural world might be less about saving the planet and more about saving ourselves. Links: uan Pablo Romero Rodríguez 's Podcast website

Send us Fan Mail What if we've built conservation markets backward? Mike Korchinsky, founder of Wildlife Works, reveals how we've created elaborate systems to pay for reducing destruction while assigning zero value to what remains intact. After pioneering REDD+ carbon credits that moved millions to indigenous communities, Korchinsky is now challenging both corporate leaders and environmental activists with a provocative framework: "The market is the worst form of conservation finance - except for all the others." His work with Amazonian indigenous peoples has produced a revolutionary financial instrument that values functioning ecosystems rather than just measuring avoided harm. Join this philosophical journey through the carbon market's turbulent history to discover why the future of biodiversity finance might depend on abandoning guilt-based "footprint" approaches for something radically simpler: recognizing and rewarding what communities have protected for millennia. Links: Wildlife Works website The Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project Biodiversity Stewardship Unit/methodology information Verra CFA's Nature Credit Task Force

Send us Fan Mail What if money flowed through landscapes like water - nurturing life and creating abundance - instead of extracting value and leaving depletion behind? Samantha Power, regenerative economist and co-founder of the BioFi Project, reveals how "bioregional financing facilities" keep capital rooted in places like nutrients in healthy soil. From community-governed trusts to venture studios supporting Indigenous entrepreneurs, her four innovative models challenge the assumption that finance must operate in opposition to nature. Already transforming economic relationships from California to the Amazon, these approaches build local capital aligned with living systems rather than extracting wealth from them. Join this paradigm-shifting conversation to discover not just how to increase investment in nature, but how to fundamentally reimagine our relationship with capital to serve life itself. Links: Samantha Power's book: "Bioregional Financing Facilities: Reimagining Finance to Regenerate Our Planet" The BioFi Project Finance for Gaia Commonland Planet Drum Foundation Capital Institute Fritjof Capra's work on living systems principles

Send us Fan Mail Today we dive into the remarkable story of Mozambique's BIOFUND, a trailblazing conservation trust fund that has revolutionized biodiversity protection in the country. Join our conversation with BIOFUND's visionary leaders, Dr. Narciso Matos and Sean Nazerali, as they share insights on the fund's innovative approach to engaging local communities, fostering public-private partnerships, and achieving impressive financial growth. Discussed in this Episode: BIOFUND's unique membership model for engaging conservation stakeholdersStrategies for efficiently disbursing funds to support protected areasThe critical role of conservation trust funds during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic  Approaches for aligning community development with conservation goalsInnovative finance mechanisms being explored, such as biodiversity offsets and a conservation credit cardVision for BIOFUND's future growth and impact in Mozambique and beyond

Send us Fan Mail Sinclair Vincent currently serves as the Senior Director of Sustainable Development, Program Development, and Innovation at Verra, a leading organization driving global investment in biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. In her role, Sinclair oversees the strategy, direction, and evolution of Verra's suite of programs, including the Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard, the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards, and the Plastic Waste Reduction Standard. She is also spearheading the development of Verra's SD VISta Nature Framework, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at scaling investment in biodiversity conservation on a global scale. With a strong focus on market development, Sinclair engages with corporate, commercial, and government stakeholders to ensure Verra's programs empower users to set and achieve increasingly ambitious environmental and social goals. Discussed in this Episode: The crucial role of standardized measurement in scaling biodiversity credit marketsStrategies for engaging Indigenous peoples and local communities in nature conservationThe future of biodiversity credits and their potential to drive investment in natureNavigating the complex landscape of emerging biodiversity credit methodologiesInsights on building trust, transparency, and capacity in nascent nature markets

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we explore the cutting-edge of conservation finance with Kevin Webb and Tom Quigley, co-founders of Superorganism - a trailblazing venture capital firm on a mission to catalyze the nature tech revolution. We dive into their unique approach to funding startups that are harnessing the power of technology to tackle the biodiversity crisis head-on. From harnessing mycorrhizal fungi networks to boost timber growth to turning invasive species into sustainable leather, the innovations in Superorganism's portfolio will give you a glimpse into the future of nature-positive business. Tune in for an inspiring and eye-opening discussion on the role of venture capital in saving Earth's precious biodiversity. For more insights on the growing nature tech ecosystem, be sure to sign up for Superorganism's monthly substack newsletter.

Send us Fan Mail Today we explore the groundbreaking intersection of finance and conservation with Douglas Eger, Chairman and CEO of the Intrinsic Exchange Group. Learn how the innovative concept of Natural Asset Companies (NACs) proposes a new way to value nature, transforming it into a recognized economic asset that benefits both the environment and communities. Through Eger's journey from conserving acres to conceptualizing financial mechanisms for nature, we examine how integrating nature’s value into capital markets can drive ecological and economic prosperity. We also discuss the challenges and future visions for NACs, including pilot projects that aim to redefine our approach to conservation. Join us as we navigate the evolving landscape of conservation finance, where the preservation of nature meets economic innovation.

Send us Fan Mail This week, we're joined by Torsten Thiele, the trailblazer in blue infrastructure financing. From the depths of the ocean to the frontlines of urban development, we dive deep into how investing in the sea could be a game-changer. Learn how nature-positive projects, from preserving mangroves to enlarging wetlands, promise resilience and financial rewards. Our discussion takes us to who's catching this wave—from city mayors to development banks. We also tackle the obstacles, like the shortage of ecologists in engineering projects and municipal resistance to novel solutions. All this while shedding light on opportunities for scaling up awareness and action. Intrigued? Cast your net and reel in this episode for a deep dive into a future where finance, ecology, and urban planning coalesce.

Send us Fan Mail Today we talk with Slav Gatchev from The Nature Conservancy to unravel the complexities and triumphs of sustainable debt and conservation finance. Gatchev, leading the sustainable debt team, brings a unique perspective shaped by his background in investment banking and emerging market development. He shares his transition from renewable energy and infrastructure financing to his pivotal role at The Nature Conservancy, highlighting the innovative ways in which financial instruments are employed to tackle conservation and biodiversity challenges. Delving into the evolution of debt-for-nature swaps, he explains their journey from small-scale initiatives to groundbreaking transactions like the Belize Blue Bonds, illustrating their significant impact in reducing national debt and bolstering conservation efforts. We also examine the future potential of blue bonds and sovereign debt issuances in mitigating the triple crisis of debt sustainability, biodiversity loss, and climate change. Gatchev emphasizes the importance of these financial tools in the conservation community and their role in forging sustainable solutions for both governments and the environment. The conversation shifts to explore the innovative work of Gatchev's team, the broader implications of debt in environmental conservation, and the necessity of recognizing the economic and financial returns from investing in nature. This episode is a deep dive into the world of conservation finance, where debt transforms into a powerful agent for ecological preservation and economic resilience.

Send us Fan Mail In our first episode of the year, David speaks with Sue Stolton and Nigel Dudley, proponents of the protected area movement for more than 20 years and the partners behind Equilibrium Research, a conservation consultancy offering practical solutions to conservation challenges, from concept, to implementation, to evaluation of impact. Sue and Nigel discuss the social origins of protected areas, the evolution of protected areas conservation as a force for climate change mitigation, their Protected Areas Benefit Assessment Tool and discuss their hopes for the future of protected areas in light of the Global Biodiversity Framework's "30x30" Target.  Sue and Nigel speak about the importance of empowering local and indigenous communities in OECM and PA management and integrating input from local communities in the policies surrounding these areas. They share with David their hope that more work can go into discovering what the wider social values and benefits of PA’s are for local communities, beyond the economic impact of protecting and restoring nature.  Learn more about Sue Stolton and Nigel Dudley’s work and the critical role of area-based conservation in their new book, “Leaving Space for Nature”.

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Kim and David sit down with Andrew Bovarnick, the United Nations Development Programme Global Head, Food and Agricultural Commodity Systems (FACS). In this engaging discussion, Andrew shares highlights of his professional journey from researching in the Ecuadorian tropics, to his environmental economics and policy training and now his current priority to bring economic instruments and market-based incentives into the conservation work supported by UNDP. With his focus on collaboration, Andrew is leading UNDP’s commodities platforms approach to establish  long-term stakeholder engagement around the world. As successfully piloted in the cattle ranching community of Paraguay, these platforms bring relevant parties together to debate, discuss, disagree, and ultimately  formulate collective actions to positively transform their sectors to the benefit of all; nature included.    “We sometimes assume…that there are a lot of opposing agendas. But… it may just be about bringing the stakeholders to the table and facilitating conversations to find those common areas of interest” - Andrew Bovarnick