Scaling up nature-based climate solutions for carbon emissions though an Indigenous- and community-led Conservation Impact Bond
Partners: Carolinian Canada – Deshkan Ziibi Conservation Impact Bond (DZCIB) facilitator
This project aims to scale a highly innovative project that applies finance for nature-based carbon mitigation, known as the Deshkan Ziibi Conservation Impact Bond (DZCIB). The DZCIB pilot phase targets 1000ha of ecosystem restoration to optimize the sequestration of 750t of CO2/year. Once matured, these ecosystems will store up to 200,000t.
The DZCIB is an innovative financial model addressing the urgent need to scale nature-based investments through rethinking traditional conservation funding models in collaboration with private investors. Each pilot involves different stakeholders, lands, nature-based climate solutions and First Nations.
A community-based participatory research methodology will help answer the following question: how can the DZCIB be replicated to scale, to maximize biodiversity benefits and carbon mitigation? This research project will create a sustainable pathway for current and future CIBs to deliver measurable and verifiable nature-based climate solutions at scale. From a national perspective, we are creating a dynamic and adaptable model for scaling up both private and public investment in conservation and climate action, that can make a major contribution to the achievement of Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan.
Researcher Biography
Dr. Diane-Laure Arjaliès is an Associate Professor at the Ivey Business School, Western University (Canada). She ambitions to push the boundaries of knowledge and practice by investigating how fashioning new devices, and collective actions can help transform financial markets towards sustainability. Over the years, she has studied the emergence of responsible investing, ESG integration, impact assessment, integrated reporting, and cryptocurrencies. Her work in this area has won her several academic, teaching, and professional prizes.
She founded and has led the Sustainable Finance Lab, an impact lab from the Centre for Building Sustainable Value. She is currently conducting an extensive research program on conservation finance, aiming to channel capital toward protecting ecosystems, notably through conservation impact bonds. As an ethnographer, she enjoys doing field research and sharing her experience with students and practitioners. She published her work at the Oxford University Press, Chains of Finance: How Investment Management is Shaped, and in major academic journals across various disciplines.
