About the Lab

The Landscape Finance Lab was founded within the conservation organisation WWF in 2016 to test the best approaches for regenerating and attracting finance for landscapes at scale. 

Since then, we have:

• experimented with programme development in over 20 landscapes 
• used those experiences to refine our methodology 
• designed landscape-scale finance instruments and global funds for investing in landscapes 
• partnered with leading organisations across conservation, finance, corporates, academia and civil society 
• created a growing suite of training materials and resources 
• and built a vibrant, collaborative community of landscape practitioners and green investors, working to make sustainable landscapes a reality 

In 2021 the Lab established itself as an independent not-for-profit with a global remit, and a vision to create the conditions for nature, culture, communities and fair economies to thrive in landscapes. 

We are grateful for the support we received from WWF in our inception, and from the core funders we have had since spinning off - the Laudes Foundation, RELEX Foundation for a Better Future and alv Foundation.

What we do

We unlock the untapped potential of landscapes: unique settings where climate, biodiversity and sustainable development challenges can be tackled together, creating synergies for maximum impact.

What do we mean by the ‘untapped potential of landscapes’?

Ask most people to think of a ‘landscape’ and they might describe a tropical beach, rolling hills, a snaking river, or snow-capped peaks. But landscapes are more than just a pretty view. 

Landscapes are large, complex, living systems where people and nature interact. They have distinct histories, cultures, environmental conditions, political structures and economic realities. 

Landscapes become degraded when the needs of its different human and non-human inhabitants become imbalanced. Ecosystems cease to function, biodiversity declines, economies become increasingly extractive and exploitative, and inequality in communities becomes exacerbated. 

Working at landscape-scale requires holistic thinking to tackle all of these problems, as interventions in a landscape must be coordinated across sectors. It also requires patience and trust for impact to last over generations. This presents challenges, but also huge opportunities for far-reaching, deep impacts that reinforce one another and create virtuous cycles.