The Nature Conservancy (TNC) & Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

This award recognises a strategic partnership that has placed the mobilisation of capital for ecosystem restoration at the very centre of the global climate agenda. At COP30 in Belém, The Nature Conservancy and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly design and scale innovative financial instruments—including nature and environmental impact bonds, debt-for-nature swaps, biodiversity credits and blended green–grey infrastructure investments.

By combining TNC’s global conservation reach with GIZ’s fifty years of development experience across more than 130 countries, the collaboration translates ambition into concrete, investable projects that generate measurable returns for nature, people and the climate. More than a statement of intent, this agreement is already producing tangible impact across three continents. From strengthening marine resilience in the Coral Triangle to co‑designing the Lower Kafue Watershed Investment Programme in Zambia and advancing nature‑based territorial development in Colombia, each initiative demonstrates that restoration finance is not a theoretical promise but an operational reality.

By bridging development cooperation, private capital and on‑the‑ground conservation, this partnership turns nature‑positive growth into lasting economic and environmental outcomes—proving that ecosystem restoration funds can work at scale when anchored by institutional commitment and financial innovation. For demonstrating that a conservation partnership anchored by institutional commitment can mobilise finance, verify outcomes and replicate impact across continents, this partnership receives this recognition.

Score: 90

Reference: https://www.nature.org/en-us/newsroom/tnc-giz-cop30-announcement/