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For the full story, see part 1 and part 2 of the #ForceForNature blog series.
The Nature Investment Hub was founded on ideals of partnership and collective impact.
In keeping with our function as ‘connective tissue’ for Canada’s nature finance ecosystem, in this final blog of our #ForceForNature series, we are amplifying the efforts of our network of partners who are already working hard to support the ambitions laid out in the three pillars of the federal nature strategy. In doing so, we hope to illustrate how private finance can be leveraged throughout the strategy’s implementation plan.
Indigenous Leadership
Over the past two years, the Nature Investment Hub has been working with collaborators such as First 30×30, RAD Network, and the Indigenous Leadership Initiative to centre Indigenous priorities in nature finance.
Working in a spirit of allyship has helped our team gain a more grounded understanding of the efforts and challenges faced by communities looking to advance new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas such as the work being done by Nlha’ka7pmx Nations and Resolve Canada in the Stein Valley or the IPCA Innovation Centres’ Estuary to Old Growth Gathering that shines a light on the immense knowledge and shared asset base Indigenous Nations, governments, and communities along the Pacific West Coast can bring to the table.
It was at this gathering we also learned about Allied Certifications whose Tribal Parks Allies Program has successfully raised over $1.5 million in private sector funding for Indigenous protected areas in Tla-o-qui-aht (Clayoquot Sound). This is a scalable vehicle to source private revenue for nature, that is ready to deploy in comparable marine or terrestrial protected areas.
Mitigating Threats to Marine Biodiversity
Similarly, we recently worked with our partner Coast Funds,the nations they serve and the Department of Fisheries in Oceans to animate a workshop on practical pathways to advance private capital allocation in the Great Bear Sea through outcomes-based finance, insurance, credits (blue carbon and biodiversity), and ocean-use/natural capital approaches. We were encouraged by the high-quality, actionable advice the workshop generated, and continue to follow leadership by Coastal First Nations on advancing implementation of these solutions.
Another area that falls within our market-building remit is the recognition that Canada lacks an ‘end-to-end’ platform for investors seeking to deploy capital domestically at all stages of the capital continuum. This is precisely the challenge we are aiming to solve with our partners Forum for Impact as we explore workable blended capital architecture that can be rapidly stood up for sustainable oceans initiatives.
Working Landscapes
The Nature Investment Hub is working closely with Canada’s Nature Advantage as it leads the charge to incent private investment into working landscapes and identify the specific policy and finance tools needed to advance biodiversity gains in farms, forests, and Indigenous-led lands. Work on De-risking Best Management Practices adoption in crop farming being led by Farmers for Climate Solutions and the Smart Prosperity Institute is a noteworthy example of the organisations laying critical groundwork for net new financial instruments for nature to come online.
The federal nature strategy argues that our economic and nature goals need not be at odds. While this is a laudable sentiment, much work remains to ensure that the balance tips in favour of effectively tackling the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss with ambition and speed. For our part, we hope the strategy’s implementation will be informed by guidance such as the IUCN’s 2025 report on the link between nature-positive goals and the mitigation hierarchy and reaffirm that getting the proposed Expert Taskforce to weigh in on policy options such as Biodiversity Net Gain or Nature Repair guardrails will be prudent.
In the meantime, a number of Hub partners are advancing Nature-based solutions in ways that advance both climate and biodiversity goals in Canada. For instance, our recent Nature Finance Action Lab saw high levels of engagement on the topic of common asset trusts as a way to support investment in the restoration, protection, and management of biodiversity, ecosystems, and ecosystem services at watershed scale, led by the Natural Assets Initiative. We are also collaborating with SVX to launch a new Nature-based Solutions collection within their Impact Index, and leveraging technical expertise across other Solution Spaces under the Generate Canada umbrella, like CANZA’s environmental outcomes marketplace or how circular construction approaches can create positive biodiversity impacts.
Our previous post has already covered views on the Government’s plan to convene an Expert Taskforce on Natural Capital Accounting and Nature Finance. As we noted there, the federal government need not wait for the Taskforce’s recommendations to advance progress on incenting more private investment in nature.
As an ecosystem builder, here are three pathways and illustrative actions we are pursuing with our partner network in service of Pillar 3:
We are also looking at practical ways to stand up net new financial instruments for nature and resilience in the areas of wildfire, working with Canadian networks like Forest Futures Canada, and supporting SMEs that service the nature economy to move along a maturity/growth curve in areas like nature tech and fin-tech for nature. New collaborations with entities like the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures and UNEP-FI’s North America network is also helping ensure we bring the best of global market opportunities on nature finance to Canada.
Cumulatively, we hope the work being animated by our partner network offers much cause of optimism that coordinated action to increase private capital allocation for nature is already underway. If you feel inspired by this call to action, you will be in good company. Join us!
