Lorenzo de Rosenzweig, an engineer and marine biologist, has dedicated over three decades to nature conservation in Latin America. Eric Smith, CEO of Edacious, focuses on the intersection of economics and nature. They explore whether financial tools can support ecosystems rather than harm them. The conversation dives into biodiversity markets, innovative investment strategies in regenerative agriculture, and the importance of protecting natural systems. They highlight the transformative power of mycelium and advocate for funding models that empower communities in the food system.
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volunteer_activism ADVICE
Learn to See
Learn to see the world around you with all your senses.
Look at plants from the ground, lie down, and gain different perspectives.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Whale Saves a Bay
A planned salt mine expansion in Laguna San Ignacio, a gray whale breeding ground, faced opposition.
Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, after a whale encounter orchestrated by Julia Carabias, canceled the project.
insights INSIGHT
Interspecies Connection
A shared moment of interspecies connection occurred when sardines sought refuge within a circle formed by humans.
This highlighted the interconnectedness of life and the human obligation to protect nature.
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How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures
Merlin Sheldrake
In 'Entangled Life,' Merlin Sheldrake delves into the fascinating world of fungi, discussing their roles in decomposition, fermentation, nutrient distribution, and the production of psilocybin. The book examines how fungi interact with plants and animals, including their ability to manipulate insect behavior and form vast underground networks known as the 'Wood Wide Web.' Sheldrake also explores the historical and modern uses of fungi, from food and medicine to their potential in environmental remediation. The book is both a scientific exploration and a personal account, challenging traditional concepts of intelligence and individuality and offering a new perspective on the interconnectedness of life.
With Lorenzo de Rosensweig & Eric Smith.
This week we’re asking whether it’s possible to support the lifeworlds of nature with the very same tools that have caused them harm. We’ll be joined by Lorenzo de Rosenzweig, who has headed Latin America’s largest nature conservation trusts for over three decades. And Eric Smith, from the Grantham Neglected Climate Opportunities Fund and Edacious, will talk about venture capital investing in nature based solutions.
I’m interested in this topic because I invest capital in projects that regenerate nature through my vehicle Ground Effect. In that work I constantly encounter philosophical and practical tensions – namely that complex natural systems and the trillions of processes that enable life to exist can never be fully translated and priced by markets. Numbers and metrics can’t tell us about the touch of rough bark or the flutter of a beetle’s wing against our skin. And because money is fungible, it can often efface all distinctions and trigger the further commodification and abstraction of a living ecology.
And yet finance can be used beneficially on behalf of nature. We can look at the maturing industry of biodiversity markets which attempt to move beyond single metrics like carbon, or debt for nature swaps, blue bonds, true cost accounting, payments for ecosystem services, and even more radical ideas like DAOs where nature owns itself. I’ve uploaded resources on the Lifeworlds library for those who want to go deeper on these innovations. Perhaps then, the conversation of “finance for nature” is about finding the right balance of not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good, and acknowledging where the role of markets begins and ends in the wider spectrum of systems change.
Lifeworlds 