First conservation bond is traded on Joburg stock market

May 10, 2026

Dear subscriber,

Large outcome-linked conservation financing models are taking shape in Africa. Will they attract larger pools of capital? 

Treezer Michelle Atieno - Editor

Africa has entered a new phase of conservation finance, with the listing of its first nature-linked, performance-based bond that ties investor returns directly to verified ecological outcomes. The $132 million water catchment protection bond, issued by FirstRand Bank, is now listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

  • This is the first conservation bond in Africa to be listed on a regulated capital market with performance-based terms, differing from earlier conservation bonds that largely relied on donor-backed financing structures.  

  • The bond pays standard coupons, but a portion of returns is triggered only if independent verification confirms ecological targets, mainly invasive species removal and improved water yield in key catchments. 

  • Our take: Linking financial returns to verified ecosystem performance operationalises the idea of conservation as an investable asset…Read more (2 min)

Vast areas of Africa’s most important ecosystems lie outside national parks, on lands managed and inhabited by local communities. These landscapes are critical to biodiversity, but remain under-integrated into formal conservation and economic systems. Andrew Parker argues that community–private partnerships offer a pathway to unlock their value.

  • Andrew Parker is co-founder and director at Conserve Global. He writes: “The future of conservation will depend on how effectively we support communities to manage and benefit from the landscapes they live in.”

  • He adds that combining community stewardship with external technical and financial support can turn these areas into productive, nature-based economies while strengthening long-term conservation outcomes.

  • Read the full opinion…Read more (2 min)

Publicly announced conservation funding in Africa added approximately $1.43 billion In the first quarter of 2026, driven largely by long-term, system-level investments. The largest commitment is a $1 billion woodland restoration initiative in Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania and Malawi, targeting 675,000 hectares over 40 years.

  • A further $200 million was committed to conservation in Gabon under a Project Finance for Permanence long-term funding model for rainforest protection and nature-based economic development in the Congo Basin. 

  • Additional funding include $122 million for South Africa’s water restoration bond, $73.4 million in biodiversity grants, $17.6 million for conservation payments, $16.5 million for re-greening in Ghana and $1.94 million for Tanzania’s basin restoration. 

  • Our take: Outcome-linked conservation financing models are likely to attract larger, more disciplined pools of capital…Read more (2 min)

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Kenya strengthens mountain bongo population with arrival of four rare males 

 

Events

🗓️ Be at the Annual Congress on Soil and Water Conservation in Sao Tome (May 13)

🗓️ Attend the Conference on Forest Carbon Sequestration in Kenya (May 29)

🗓️ Join Conference on Climate Change Effects on Species Diversity in Kenya (June 5)

Jobs

👷 Be Wildlife Conservation Scientist at Alignerr (SA)

👷 Become the Head of Country Programme at IUCN (Cameroon)

👷 Join Peace Parks Foundation as a Conservation Manager (Mozambique)

Various 

🌳 Zimbabwe intensifies leopard conservation drive

🌳 Scientists attempt to bring African antelope back from extinction

🌳 Africa pushes to include fungi in conservation

 

Seen on LinkedIn 

Chantal Migongo-Bake, Chief Conservation Officer at Tusk, says, “Africa's conservation story is too often told from the outside. The scientists flying in, the funders signing off from London or New York, the reports written about communities rather than with them. What gets lost in that framing are the people actually doing the work: the rangers out before dawn, the conservationists who have spent decades rebuilding what was lost, the mid-career leaders quietly transforming how we think about what conservation can be.”________________