The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is working to boldly address the biodiversity and climate crises of this decade. TNC has a long history of protecting lands, rivers, lakes, and oceans through projects on the ground. It also collaborates with partner organizations in the field and with governments and other influencers to inform policy decisions and direct public funding to further our mission. Building on nearly six decades of experience, TNC has protected more than 119 million acres of land and 5,000 river miles—and operates more than 100 marine conservation projects globally. Currently, TNC is building a Global Aquaculture Feeds strategy. Aquaculture is expected to play a critical role in food security, but aquafeed’s reliance on overfished forage fish poses a risk for growth and sustainability. There are novel alternative feed sources such as insect meal and microalgae that have VC funding. But there are challenges to scale, including high capital expenditures and customer expectations that these ingredients are available at scale, nutritionally consistent, and fit into traditional supply chain processes. TNC’s question: How can The Nature Conservancy help reduce risk for early and growth-stage startups to more quickly scale-up the use of novel aquaculture feed ingredients as a replacement for fishmeal and fish oil, using market mechanisms such as innovative financing, long-term offtake deals, and insurance tools?

Date and Time for this Session: Tuesday, April 23 from 11am-1pm Pacific