Working with all stewards of the environment to accelerate conservation and community prosperity.
In 2024, sustainable finance reached new heights with the launch of three new PFPs, driven by the leadership of Indigenous peoples, local communities, governments, and global partners. The success of these initiatives is a testament to the impact of partnership. By combining financial resources, technical expertise, and local leadership, we are conserving critical ecosystems while engaging resilient, thriving communities.
BREAKING NEWS: On November 14, 2024, the Northwest Territories (NWT) Our Land for the Future Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) was signed by 22 Indigenous governments, the Government of Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories, and supporting donors. This groundbreaking Indigenous-led initiative was signed at a cermony in Behchokǫ̀, NWT. The PFP will ensure the lasting conservation of 38 million hectares of lands and waters in the NWT—an area larger than Japan—and secure CAD $375 million for Indigenous-led conservation, stewardship, and sustainable economic development across the region.
NWT: Our Land for the Future is one of the world’s largest PFPs by area and stands as one of the most significant Indigenous-led conservation initiatives globally. The project was co-developed through a three-year process grounded in consensus-building, local leadership, and collaboration. It will support Indigenous Guardians programs that create local jobs and enhance stewardship, climate research, and emergency response in a region warming at twice the global average and affected by severe wildfires in 2023
On behalf of the Tłı̨chǫ Government Chief’s Executive Council, we are proud to be hosting the celebration of this new Indigenous-led land stewardship fund in the Tłı̨chǫ community of Behchokǫ̀. As Tłı̨chǫ, we will continue to approach conservation and development in a way that balances economic benefits with cultural and environmental values, to support Tłı̨chǫ self-sufficiency and honor our responsibility to serve for all time as custodians of our lands, waters, and resources.
What does it mean when a PFP Agreement is ‘signed’ or ‘closed’?
When a PFP agreement is finalized, it marks a significant milestone: all partners and stewards have collaboratively designed, negotiated, and agreed on nine essential components to ensure the initiative’s long-term success. What makes the PFP model unique is the single closing agreement, uniting all partners under a shared vision, ambition, and innovative funding approach.
Photo: Sunset over a northern lake in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
Nature underpins every aspect of life on Earth, but the planet’s biodiversity is declining rapidly. A 2019 report by the U.N. found up to 1 million plant and animal species are facing the threat of extinction, and at the same time, climate change is devastating lives, communities, and economies.
The Enduring Earth initiative has emerged as a beacon of hope in response to these challenges. Central to our approach is a model known as project finance for permanence (PFP) – also referred to as a PFP, which secures long-term investment in conservation initiatives by tying sustained funding to tangible, measurable goals encompassing both social and environmental benefits. Projects are collaboratively designed, locally-led, nationally supported, sustainably funded, and highly accountable, with the goal to inhibit nature’s decline and produce robust conservation outcomes at a global scale.
Looking ahead, by 2030 Enduring Earth aims to work in partnership to conserve and protect 600 million hectares of lands and waters in PFPs worldwide. This kind of durable and large-scale conservation, with a commitment to uphold the rights of communities and create sustainable economic growth, will benefit lives and livelihoods, reduce and offset carbon emissions, and secure biodiversity.
Our Commitment
Nature
Durably protect and conserve lands, freshwater, and ocean
Community
Work in partnership with all stewards of the environment
Climate
Build resilience to a changing climate
Our Goal
Enduring Earth seeks to work with all stewards of the environment to protect over half a billion hectares of lands, ocean, and freshwater by 2030. By conserving these critical ecosystems, we will support nations in their efforts to secure durable conservation, boost community prosperity, and achieve global agreements such as the 2030 Biodiversity Framework, the Paris Agreement, and the fulfillment of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
Prior to the launch of Enduring Earth, the founding partners had worked with five countries to conserve 87 million hectares of lands, ocean, and freshwater using the PFP model. And in just two years we have doubled our reach, helping to facilitate the agreement of four new PFPs (Herencia Colombia, Eternal Mongolia, Great Bear Sea, and NWT: Our Land for the Future) supporting efforts to secure an additional 127 million hectares in durable funding for long-term conservation and community development.
Today, Enduring Earth is working with more than 100 partners on the design and implementation of 14 PFP projects in 12 countries. These initiatives will support governments, Indigenous peoples, and local communities to durably protect and conserve more than 390 million hectares of ocean, lands, and freshwater – an area greater than the size of India. In these places, the PFPs have become a driving force of positive change benefiting nature and human well-being.
Enduring Earth is an ambitious collaboration that works with all stewards of the environment to accelerate conservation worldwide. We seek to protect and conserve our planet’s ocean, lands, and freshwater, and secure long-term financing for conservation, economic diversification, and community prosperity. This is built on a commitment to uphold the rights of people and create opportunities for sustainable growth.
This decade offers our greatest opportunity to address the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. As we find ourselves at this global tipping point for people and nature, together we can accelerate and sustain durable conservation at a pace and scale never seen before.
Enduring Earth represents one of the biggest opportunities to catalyze large-scale conservation rapidly and efficiently to meet the challenges facing the planet today and in the future.
A PFP is a financial model that brings together governments, Indigenous peoples and local communities, funders, and other partners to secure long-term conservation, full and sustained funding, and community benefits. Through this approach, protected places stay protected because they are collaboratively designed, locally-led, nationally supported, sustainably funded, and highly accountable. The strong structure of a PFP agreement provides confidence that each project will be fully funded, well-managed, and positioned for long-term success.
The PFP model fully funds large-scale conservation projects upfront and secures major commitments to conservation. Our approach recognizes that economic development and resilient communities are instrumental for conservation permanence. Enduring Earth is committed to uphold the rights of people and create opportunities for sustainable growth; working together, we have what it takes to create a better and more prosperous future.
For Durable Conservation
Project Finance for Permanence is a tool to enable governments and local communities, in partnership with funders and NGOs, to secure long-term management and financing for networks of conservation areas in the form of a deal with a single closing agreement.
Enduring Earth is a collaboration of The Nature Conservancy, The Pew Charitable Trusts, World Wildlife Fund and ZOMALAB, the family office of Ben and Lucy Ana Walton.