FINANCING CONSERVATION IN THE CAROLINIAN ZONE, PART 1: THE DESHKAN ZIIBI CONSERVATION IMPACT BOND

VERGE Capital is part of a cross-sector collaboration that brought the Deshkan Ziibi Conservation Impact Bond to life, and was the sole investor for this first phase. This post was originally published by SVX on their Medium blog.

Stretching from Toronto to Windsor, the Carolinian Zone is the most fragile and diverse ecosystem in Canada with the least habitat, for the most biodiversity, with the highest population density in the nation. Extreme weather events and 85 per cent habitat loss create urgency for protecting wildlife, water and a way of life.

Carolinian Canada’s Conservation Impact Bond (CIB) is a place-based and multi-regional initiative to rehabilitate 1,000 hectares of land and to bolster social, environmental and economic benefits in southern Ontario. In this blog series, we are highlighting the Carolinian CIB, the development of its phase two bond, and results from a community design session in May. In part one of three, we will provide context on the issue, as well as background on the Carolinian bond itself.