Nature for Water

🤩 I am so so glad to witness the strengthening and broadening of The Nature Conservancy and AFD - Agence Française de Développement’s partnership after participating in its origination together with (among others) Sophie Trémolet, Frédéric Maurel, Claire Fargeaudou and Olivier Gilard. We started small and it is nice to see this collaboration flourish. ⏳ A bit of history: TNC and AFD’s collaboration on Nature based Solutions (#NbS) for Water Security started in 2019, through the edition of a common guide on how financial institutions could promote more NbS and watershed conservation into project design (still available online if you are interested). Since then, both our organisations have collaborated on a number of projects, including in #Ecuador, #Senegal, #Kenya, #Angola and #Cambodia - sometimes through the Nature for Water Facility, where AFD holds a Board seat. 🙌🏻 Over the next two years, AFD and TNC will continue to develop the cooperation on NbS in other areas - Water Security will remain a strong focus, in particular through a multi-faceted project in #Brazil, and (I hope) many other projects. 👏🏻 Congrats to Naomi NOEL, Laurent Raspaud, Jean-Noël Roulleau and all involved in this ambitious new step. Justus Raepple | Beatriz Merino | Lionel Goujon | Emmanuel BAUDRAN | Marie Bjornson-Langen | Hélène Djoufelkit | Mai-Linh Cam | Mathilde Bord-Laurans | Damien Delhomme | Sebastien Valleur

🌊 Join Nature for Water in an insightful webinar organized by our partner Merlin! In this webinar, Michael Vice, N4W's program co-lead and Rob Cunningham from The Nature Conservancy (TNC)'s Resilient Watershed Programme, will share valuable insights into TNC's Nature for Water Program and its impact on water security and resilience. 💬 Topic: Upscaling Nature-based Solutions: TNC's Nature for Water Program and how it can support your project 📅 Date: November 4th, 15:00 CET 🖊️ Registration Link: https://lnkd.in/d2z8qTbc This webinar is open and free to all! We especially invite all Case Studies to participate and discover how TNC can assist in scaling restoration and Nature-based Solutions at the catchment level. Pegasys Consulting

The global climate and water crises demand urgent action, and we must rise to the challenge. 🌍 The Nature Conservancy (TNC)’s new 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 (𝐆𝐎) 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝 is an important step forward, supporting watershed investment programs worldwide to scale their impact and secure sustainable, long-term funding. This innovative initiative provides selected new programs with: 1. Sub-grants to kickstart implementation pilots 2. Technical assistance and capacity building to bring their vision to life We were delighted to co-host the launch of this important new fund during an invite-only event alongside #UNGA79 in New York, together with Venkat Iyer (Senior Director at The Coca-Cola Company Foundation), Marina T. Campos (Maitê) (Managing Director at Sall Family Foundation), and our CEO Oliver Karius, to lead this crucial conversation on 𝑆𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑁𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒’𝑠 𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠: 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟, 𝐶𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒. Thank you to all participants, and to TNC's CEO Jennifer Morris and Global Managing Director Michael Doane, for a truly impactful event. We’re excited to see the positive outcomes this fund will create! 👏 #ClimateCrisis #GOFund #VenturePhilanthropy

Whether it's high-level events on the road to the climate and biodiversity COPs or the many closed-door meetings with our partners, Climate Week is always a kickoff to a busy policy season in which we hope to see increased ambition across government, corporates and civil society. This year, there was a lot of discussion around reforming financial systems, addressing the voluntary carbon market, developing ways of properly valuing nature and — crucially — understanding the intersection of climate and biodiversity.     A few highlights from last week include:  🌎 Celebrating the power of women in climate with The Nature Conservancy and Doris Duke Foundation  🌎 Hearing from Santiago Gowland, Ezgi Barcenas, Jason Weller, Simon Mundy, Janett Haas, Pilar Cruz, and Irving Fain at the FT Live and Forbes Sustainability Leaders Summit panels  🌎 Launching the for Nature for Water Ground Outcomes (GO) Fund to scale solutions for local watershed management  🌎 Seeing my colleagues at TNC host a lineup of great events at The Nest Climate Campus and Scandinavia House, tackling a wide range of topics like mangrove restoration, climate finance for Indigenous communities, deforestation and cattle production, scaling natural climate solutions, and corporate decarbonization     I'm grateful I could connect with so many people and hear insights from leaders across the climate and biodiversity space. I'm looking forward to continuing the work in Cali for #COP16 and in the policy season ahead. #ClimateWeekNYC     Kara H. Hurst, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Stephanie Holthaus, Sam Gill, Climate Group 📷 Jonathan Grassi

🌊 Exciting news from Nature for Water! Last week we officially launched the Ground Outcomes (GO) Fund at a special cocktail event during New York Climate Week, co-hosted by our donors, with remarks from The Nature Conservancy’s CEO Jennifer Morris and the Global Managing Director Michael Doane, and a thoughtful panel including comments from Elizabeth Wathuti , O.G.W. , Venkat Iyer , Oliver Karius , and Marina T. Campos (Maitê) . The GO Fund is designed to accelerate the scaling of watershed investment programs around the world by jumpstarting critical projects and mobilizing the long-term funding they need to thrive. To address the connected - and intensifying - climate and water crises, we must move faster. The GO Fund can help. We're proud to support impactful initiatives like the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region NPC in South Africa, the Norfolk Water Strategy Program by Water Resources East in England, and the River Yala Water Fund supported by Women in Water & Natural Resources Conservation Kenya. These projects are designed to restore ecosystems, enhance water security, and mobilize long-term funding. Hear from our GO Fund partners in the video below! And: a big Thank You to The Coca Cola Foundation and other funding partners for making GO Fund possible.

🌏 Join Us at Nature for Water! We're excited to announce that we are expanding our Asia team! We’re looking for passionate individuals with backgrounds in management consultancy, project finance, or integrated watershed management to make a significant impact as our first permanent hire in the region. This is a fantastic opportunity for candidates based in Australia, Singapore, or Indonesia. If you're eager to contribute to the prioritization of NbS for watersheds, we want to hear from you. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/geC2ZZQy Erik Spiro Justus Raepple Michael Vice

We are honored to have LGT Venture Philanthropy as a partner in our initiative to support local partners in establishing their own Watershed Investment Programs to address local water security challenges via Nature-based Solutions. 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫: bit.ly/3XvpjwD

Will you be at New York Climate Week? Don't miss out this event: Accelerating Adaptation: Mainstreaming nature-based solutions in the race to adapt to increasing floods and drought Whether through prolonged droughts or intensifying floods, the impacts of climate change are often most visibly felt through water. Nature can help. The session will tackle linked market failures (level of investment, local capacity) that are preventing widespread adoption of nature-based solutions (NbS) as a tool to reduce the risk of flood and drought. The session will also showcase real-world examples of how these barriers have been overcome, including with the leadership of forward-looking corporate actors. Register here: https://lnkd.in/eSvgHxKT

During #WorldWaterWeek, The Nature Conservancy, Nature for Water, WaterWorX, Blue Deal, and NWB Fonds brought finance, nature and water community together to talk about the scaling of #GreenInfrastructure and #NatureBasedSolutions (NbS) for water security. 𝐓𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡, 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 The water security of cities, businesses and farmers is challenged by too much, too little and too dirty water. Nature conservation and restoration by water authorities and water utilities is critical to manage and secure the water resources for all. 50 thought leaders and experts gathered on a boat to experience Stockholm from the water. Together, we exchanged strategies on how to scale NbS and anchor these projects in public water institutions. 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 Luzette Kroon opened the floor and explained how The Nature Conservancy, Nature4Water, WaterWorX, Blue Deal and the NWB Fund teamed up to build capacity among water utilities and water authorities to design, finance and implement climate-resilient watershed investments. From her daily work as the chair of a Dutch water authority she understands and stressed the urgent need to scale green infrastructure and NbS to ensure safe and enough water. Meike van Ginneken, the Dutch water envoy, advocated for a sector-wide approach and to bring all stakeholders on board to scale green infrastructure. The current project approach makes it too fragmented and not sustainable. Daniel Shemie, The Nature Conservancy Fresh Water director, indicated that successful NbS depend very much on champions in the local water authority and utility. Dedicated and willing experts in the public sector make a difference and can scale NbS. Peter Szappanos, water expert within the European Investment Bank, brought in the importance of advocacy for NbS. There is some reluctance for these kind of investments, both from the investment banks as from the project promoters. Understanding and knowledge about the effectiveness of NbS is lacking.   𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥 The cooperation is open to all. Do you want to know more and be part of the movement to develop, finance and manage NbS by water utilities and water authorities? Let us know and send a direct message to info@bluedeal.nl.    SIWI - Stockholm International Water Institute, European Investment Bank (EIB), Agence Française de Développement, Laurent Raspaud, WWF, ADB Water, Tanya Huizer, Arnaud de Vanssay, KfW, Jopy Willems, Maarten Gischler, Eva Schreuder, Todd Gartner, Daniel Nordmann, Valentin Post, Conrad Steinhilber, Zhimin Mao, Åsa Johansen, Sophie Trémolet, Robert Proos, Willem Mak, Toine Ramaker, Anke Verheij, Marion Wierda, Piebe Hoeksma, Liesbeth Wilschut, Naomi NOEL, Brooke Atwell, Frodo Van Oostveen, Marieke van Nood, Global Water Operators' Partnerships Alliance/UN-Habitat (GWOPA)

And that’s a wrap - what an amazing week! It's been a privilege to be here in Stockholm at the #WorldWaterWeek alongside my brilliant colleagues at The Nature Conservancy.   Personal highlights for me were: 💦 🌱 The opportunity to moderate a high-level panel with speakers from the World Bank, Veolia, CEO Water Mandate, UNCCD, IWMI, and the US Bureau of Reclamation. (And I still have some finger nails left 😎) 💦 🌱 A presentation and discussion on the big stage on one of our flagship projects in Norfolk, with Ellie McBurney and Louise Ellis from Arup. 💦 🌱And our breakfast-boat event with WaterWorX and Blue Deal.   A central topic of discussion throughout this week was the urgent need to scale and mainstream nature-based solutions. We can no longer treat nature as an afterthought or retro-fit. Key barriers raised repeatedly were:   1. Evidence: we need more success stories and evidence to increase the trust in NbS, alongside effective methodologies so we can accurately measure, value, and monetize their benefits. 2. Funding: The nature-finance gap is huge! We need to increase the project size in order to attract larger investors. 3. Collaboration: to increase project size and funding tickets we need to increase collective action (!!!) across organizational, disciplinary, and administrative boundaries. 4. Capacity: Lastly, to increase project size and collaboration, we need to build more capacity!    These challenges are not unsurmountable, so I'll leave you with my favorite quote of the week: 'We have the tendency to overestimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can achieve within 10'. Lets think big and long-term.   A big thank you to Pegasys Consulting and Nature for Water for sending me as a representative!