One of the world’s leading conservation organizations and one of the most prominent timberland investment managers recently signed a joint agreement to help address the ongoing issue of biodiversity loss and the climate change crisis.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and BTG Pactual’s Timberland Investment Group (TIG) announced that they have teamed up on an $850 million initiative that aims to augment ongoing climate action initiatives worldwide in order to improve conservation outcomes.
The agreement focuses on conserving forests in the United States. TNC will act in an advisory capacity regarding around 530,000 acres of timberland spread throughout eleven states, all under TIG management. Both parties aim to deliver real-time outcomes on the ground at scale with regard to both climate control and natural resource conservation.
In addition, TIG will consolidate these outcomes to maintain or improve the areas’ financial performance.
A green opportunity for investors
It’s a timely move for both parties and both the environmental conservation and investment sectors. According to TIG head Gerrity Lansing, there continues to be a large gap dividing investor demand and the number of conservation efforts executed on an institutional level. Even then, most initiatives neither have the scope nor the resources to deliver impactful and robust results on both environmental and social fronts.
He added that investors desire incentives and rewards beyond profit and support such efforts due to their positive impacts on local communities, biodiversity, and the climate.
For this reason, the joint initiative banks on the shared expertise of the two parties involved in order to facilitate new conservation and climate action efforts on the over 500,000 acres covered by the agreement. Furthermore, it aims to develop a working blueprint on how best to manage a greater number of timberland assets throughout the US.
Widespread initiative
TNC specifically chose large tracts of timberland, which surveys noted were of high conservation value. These areas are located within the Lake States, southern states, as well as in the Pacific Northwest. Activities planned under the agreement include support for habitat restoration, improved connectivity, and reduced carbon emissions.
In recent months, there has been a great deal of effort in the US regarding the fight against climate change. The United States government established permanent funding for conservation initiatives done on private property.
Likewise, there has been a rise in the number of voluntary carbon markets and other privately-funded studies regarding carbon reduction. As it is, companies have been actively working towards a net-zero carbon footprint. They have offered their support for numerous climate-centric projects, including those for the sustainable management of working forests.
