{"id":29645,"date":"2020-08-27T00:52:36","date_gmt":"2020-08-27T04:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/?p=29645"},"modified":"2020-10-02T16:42:10","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T20:42:10","slug":"sustainable-endowment-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/sustainable-endowment-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainable Endowment Management"},"content":{"rendered":"
>> Back to September 2020 Issue<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/h3>\n

Conservation Trust Funds \u2013 Sustainable Investment Management for National Parks<\/h2>\n

Background \u2013 How I Got Involved<\/h3>\n

In July 2005 I found myself barreling down a dirt road with Francis Sabuni, Executive Director of the Eastern Arc Mountains Conservation Endowment Fund in Morogoro, Tanzania1<\/sup>. He was talking with animation while I asked him routine questions from an investment suitability questionnaire. \u201cWhat time horizon should we consider for investment \u2014 3-5 years, 5-7 years, 7-10 years?\u201d, I enquired.<\/p>\n

Mr. Sabuni answered with conviction: \u201c500,000 years!\u201d<\/em> Then he expounded, \u201cThis national park endowment is not for us, it is for our grandchildren, and their grandchildren\u2019s grandchildren.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

I protested that 500,000 years was not an option on the form. He said, \u201cPut it in because that is the truth.\u201d<\/em> So, I filled in 500,000 years as the investment period, and I have heard no objection from my firm\u2019s institutional consulting department.<\/p>\n

It is rare for a national park to have an endowment, but they do exist. We like to think of our clients as jaguars in the forests of Suriname, dolphins in Caribbean, red pandas in Bhutan and mountain gorillas in the forests of Uganda. However, it is the human executives of these organization with whom we do our investment work.<\/p>\n

\"Lions
Lions in Morogoro, Tanzania; photo by John S. Adams<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What are Conservation Trust Funds?<\/h2>\n

In the most remote areas of many less developed countries there are rare endemic species that populate national parks and protected areas. Unlike in wealthy countries that can afford to pay to maintain parks from general revenues, these national parks need to be funded by tourism and some are too unstable or remote to attract tourists.<\/p>\n

So, years ago, leaders from organizations including Wildlife Conservation Society, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy<\/em>, and World Wildlife Fund<\/em> asked how we fund protection of nature for national parks with no revenues. The answer has been to place money into permanent endowments for nature. The governments of the Netherlands, Germany, France, the United States and Japan have joined conservation organizations and contributed tens of millions of dollars for endangered species and their habitats.<\/p>\n

These endowments are held by Conservation Trusts, formed as non-profit organizations independent of local governments. They assist country governments and help pay for conservation activities, including community education, park guide training, ranger hiring, anti-poaching efforts and scientific research. There are more than 60 such organizations around the world.<\/p>\n

Meeting Investment Needs<\/h2>\n

From an investment perspective there are three key drivers:<\/p>\n