Dealflow | September 14, 2021

The Nature Conservancy and Timberland Investment Group team up to scale forest conservation

Roodgally Senatus
ImpactAlpha Editor

Roodgally Senatus

ImpactAlpha, September 14 — The Nature Conservancy and Timberland Investment Group are seeking to bridge the gap between demand from institutional investors for climate-smart forestry investments and the supply of institutional-scale opportunities.

TIG’s Gerrity Lansing said the partnership aims to unlock conservation and climate action on $850 million of TIG’s $4 billion global timberland portfolio. The goal: to help TIG improve the sustainability of its forests by attracting institutional capital.

TIG, a unit of BTG Pactual Asset Management, manages around three million acres of timberland. TNC will serve as conservation advisor on nearly 530,000 acres in 11 states in the South and Pacific Northwest, its U.S. core timberland portfolio valued at $864 million.

The agreement will also apply to additional land TIG expects to acquire over time under this strategy.

Low-carbon transition

Forests and forest-based products, such as timber and wood, capture and store nearly 15% of the U.S.’ carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels, according to American forests. Planting more trees and using climate-smart strategies to manage forests could capture nearly twice as much carbon.