Why We Need a Venture Approach to Protecting Nature
Conservation finance is often stuck in a “Field of Dreams” trap: design the perfect ecological project and hope the money follows. But private capital doesn’t move on hope — it moves on demand. That’s why in my new article for the World Economic Forum, I argue that protecting nature requires a venture-studio mindset: test ideas early, adapt quickly, and build solutions around who will pay and why.
From biodiversity credits to water funds, too many mechanisms have struggled because they weren’t designed with real customers in mind. The alternative is to treat conservation like a venture: prototype, validate, pivot, and scale. This approach aligns ecological goals with financial logic — and makes nature protection not just possible, but investable.