The Nature Conservancy

“The Form 990 is prepared, based on financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, and other internally generated information by the Conservancy's Director of Tax Services. The Form is further reviewed by the Conservancy's Internal Audit Department (which provides independent verification of certain information) and members of Senior Management. As outlined in its charter, the Audit Committee then reviews any significant issues or judgments relating to disclosures in the Conservancy's Form 990. Finally, copies are provided to the full Board of Directors for their comment prior to filing with the IRS.”

“The Nature Conservancy's monitoring and enforcement of its conflicts policy is governed by its Conflict of Interest Standard Operating Procedure ("SOP") which is excerpted as follows: Before engaging in any activity on behalf of the Conservancy, staff must determine (a) whether the activity could give rise to a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest, and, if so, (b) whether the conflict can or should be avoided to protect the best interests of the Conservancy. If it is not reasonably possible to avoid a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest, or it is not in the Conservancy's best interest to do so, staff must determine appropriate strategies to mitigate and manage the potential adverse consequences of the conflict and obtain approval, as described below, prior to engaging in the activity. A conflict of interest exists when an individual who is responsible for acting in the best interests of the Conservancy has another interest or loyalty that could influence or impair, or may appear to influence or impair, the individual's ability to act in the best interests of the Conservancy. As used throughout the SOP, the terms "conflict" and "conflict of interest" include: 1. actual conflicts of interest; 2. potential conflicts of interest (situations that could become actual conflicts in the future based upon foreseeable events or the passage of time); and 3. perceived conflicts of interest (situations that others could reasonably perceive to be, or have the appearance of, a conflict of interest). Generally, conflicts can arise from relationships between the Conservancy and staff, Board members, trustees and advisors, and the families of all those groups. There are very specific rules regarding who is a "covered person" that are governed, in great part, by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service requirements for public charities. If a conflict of interest is identified which cannot reasonably be avoided or it is not in the best interest of the Conservancy to do so, before proceeding with the proposed activity, review and approval to proceed must be obtained as described in this section. While a request for approval of a proposed course of action is pending or being considered, the transaction or activity cannot proceed. A. Board and Key Employee certifications. All Conservancy Board members and key employees shall annually certify that they have read the Conflicts of Interest Policy and have disclosed all conflicts. B. Supervisor Approval Required. In the case of staff, prior to submission for review and approval to the Conflicts Committee the conflict of interest must be raised to the individual's supervisor and the supervisor must make the determination that he or she (a) wishes to pursue the proposed activity and (b) approves the recommended course of action and proposed mitigation as sufficient. Signature on the Approval form indicates this approval. Regional level approval also is required. C. Conflicts Committee Review Required. The Conflicts Committee reviews and makes determinations about conflicts of interest involving the Conservancy, unless excepted by this SOP. See Conflicts of Interest for the Conflicts Committee charter, meeting schedule and list of Committee members. Staff must submit a Request for Conflicts Committee Approval form to the Conflicts Committee when seeking review and approval. The form should explain why the conflict cannot or should not be avoided and recommend a course of action designed to minimize the conflict's potential adverse consequences. By submitting the form, both the person submitting the form and his/her supervisor (a) are responsible for ensuring that the form makes a thorough disclosure of the relevant information, and (b) are deemed to support and be responsible for the recommended course of action. The appropriate Conservancy attorney may be consulted to assist in analyzing the conflict. Board Members and Trustees should contact the Conservanc”

“Review Process for Officer and Key Employee Compensation: The President and Chief Executive Officer's, as well as, members of the Executive Team's performances and compensation are reviewed annually by the Board of Directors. The performance and compensation of all other Key Employees is reviewed annually by their direct supervisor. All compensation amounts are based on information provided by an independent compensation consultant who utilizes comparable data from Form 990's from other organizations and compensation survey's and studies to ensure reasonableness.”

“The Nature Conservancy's governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements are available to the public via our website: nature.org.”

“NORTH AMERICA. The lands and waters of North America do not just provide us with food, clothing and shelter, they also define us as a people. From the purple mountain majesties that inspired American patriotism to the crystal waters of the Caribbean that unite island nations to the coastal rainforests of Canada where people have lived for more than 10,000 years, the natural systems of North America have shaped cultures and built countries. But as our communities and economies grow, so does the pressure on these systems. The future of life depends on how we grow our food, develop our energy, use our water and build our cities. Science tells us that the only way to save nature is to also address the challenges facing people. The Nature Conservancy began in North America 65 years ago, and our long history with the people, businesses and governments across the region make us well suited to take on these challenges. As climate change increases the risk of floods and damaging storms, we are working with engineering firms and government agencies to use natural solutions, such as restoring tidal marshes and oyster reefs, to shield people and support wildlife. With energy development having the potential to impact 50 million acres across the United States, we are working with businesses to protect our most fragile and important natural areas while also supporting innovation to create affordable clean energy. As the demand for food increases, the Conservancy is partnering with farmers and agriculture businesses to improve practices that protect the fertile lands and waters of North America while feeding an ever growing population. And with more than 80 percent of Americans living in urban areas we are partnering with local communities to demonstrate how nature can help cities thrive and urban populations can play an essential role in sustaining the lands and waters on which all life depends. An Energized Future, United States. From prolonged droughts to flooded coastlines, no two U.S. states face exactly the same challenges from climate change. The Nature Conservancy's 50 state climate strategy targets these differences by helping each state take its best next step forward toward large scale, meaningful emissions reduction. The strategy found success this year in New Hampshire, where the Conservancy worked with the New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Association and partners to defeat a proposal that would have depleted the states Renewable Energy Fund. The effort restored tens of millions of dollars to clean energy investment. We also completed extensive public opinion research in many other states. The results were encouraging, including, New York displayed unprecedented support for increased renewable energy, West Virginia showed interest in reshaping its economy to include clean energy, Washington revealed a path to a statewide price on carbon. This valuable research will guide our climate policy in each state and help us reach key stakeholders. A Filter for River and Gulf, Atchafalaya River Basin. the Atchafalaya River Basin of Louisiana works like a set of kidneys for the Mississippi River, filtering millions of gallons of water from the Mississippi before reaching the Gulf of Mexico. The deep woods, fertile marshes and meandering waters of this million acre floodplain are home to more than 300 species of wildlife, including the Louisiana black bear, American alligator and more than 100 different aquatic species, as well as numerous native plants. The Nature Conservancy acquired 5,359 acres in this fertile basin, a hallmark first step of a long term initiative to conserve and restore Americas great swamp forest. In addition to its native plants and wildlife, the basin also is essential to local Cajun communities who still live off the land and whose cultural identity is firmly grounded in a sense of place. Winning In Overtime, United States. After months of uncertainty, the U.S. Congress handed nature a win in overtime by reauthorizi”

“ASIA PACIFIC. With 60 percent of the worlds population and seven of the 10 largest cities, Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region in the world. Stretching from Mongolia to New Zealand, Myanmar to Micronesia, this geographically diverse region is home to a unique variety of cultures, traditions, natural systems and species. But Asia Pacific is at a crossroads, one that is emblematic of the challenges our world now faces as populations grow and become more urban. Increasing demands for food, water, housing and energy are placing enormous pressures on the region's many natural resources, including its tropical forests and fisheries, putting species, traditional communities and quality of life at risk. We feel these pressures more than any other region on the planet. The demand for timber, fish, and agricultural products, once coming primarily from the US and Europe, is now coming increasingly from the region itself as hundreds of millions of people move from poverty into the middle class. In many ways, as goes Asia Pacific, so goes the world. This combination of human development, economic growth and natural diversity is what makes the Asia Pacific a critical region for The Nature Conservancy. To address these challenges, we are working with communities, governments and industry across Mongolia, China, Indonesia, Australia, Myanmar and the Pacific Islands to build a more sustainable future for both nature and people. Living here and traveling in the region has been an eye opening experience. What I appreciate most about Asia Pacific are the voices from the field, Mongolian herders using the our maps to preserve traditional lands and livelihoods, Indonesian rangers who protect critical habitat for the last remaining wild orangutan populations in the world, fishers in Palau who are testing data capture techniques that could transform tuna fishing across the Pacific. Together, the Conservancy and our many partners are making a positive impact on the management of diverse natural systems and the resources they supply. For more than 25 years, the Conservancy has successfully worked with partners across the Asia Pacific to implement science based, innovative conservation solutions that address the conservation challenges we face. Success in the next 25 years will take the combined efforts of all of us to make this work possible. Balancing Water Use Down Under, Murray Darling Basin, Australia. The Murray Darling Basin is one of the worlds largest river basins, draining water from one seventh of Australias landmass into the Murray and Darling rivers. The basin grows a third of Australias food and creates habitat for more than 50 endangered species. It is also at risk of drying up. Decades of rerouting too much water to farms, combined with climate change fueled droughts, have significantly reduced the supply. The Nature Conservancy is helping lead the way to a new future for the basin with the creation of the Australian Balanced Water Fund. Balanced is the key. The fund aims to provide water security for farming families during droughts while renourishing critical wetlands during wetter periods. The Conservancy has used the fund to purchase 1,300 mega liters of water rights and recently watered its first wetland, a 177 acre test plot. Climate Proofing Sea Turtle Nests, Solomon Islands. Six out of seven sea turtle species live or nest in the Asia Pacific. Many will migrate thousands of miles in their lifetime, but they can not outswim sea level rise. The remote island beaches where turtles lay their eggs are at high risk of erosion. The Nature Conservancy is working to climate-proof critical nesting sites through a combination of new technology and old fashioned land protection. Conservancy scientists and community rangers in the Solomon Islands recently installed satellite trackers on 10 turtles backs using a gentle adhesive. Analysis of the turtles GPS coordinates will tell us where they are feeding and nesting. Conservancy staff th”

“AFRICA. Several years ago we began working to establish a new project for the Africa Region in western Tanzania. Known as Tuungane, Swahili for Let's Unite!, this project focuses on protecting the extraordinary resources of Lake Tanganyika, which holds 17 percent of the world's fresh water, as well as forest systems that support the most intact populations of eastern chimpanzees. This part of Tanzania is very remote and underserved. There are no roads, Internet, cell phone coverage, or basic human services. In the primary schools, there can be one teacher for as many as 200 students. While this area is high in biodiversity, the population is growing rapidly at almost 4.4 percent per year in survey project villages, and the medical system is inadequate to support this. People feel forgotten. A core tenet of our work here, as it is across Africa, is to spend time with the local communities socializing our approach and trying to better understand what their goals and dreams are for the places where they live. At one of our early community meetings, we started out talking about protecting forests for chimps and the freshwater systems for fish. A tired looking midwife then shared her stories of inadequate health facilities and supplies. Another young woman stood up and spoke of her sister, who had to take a 22 hour boat ride to the nearest hospital during a difficult childbirth. Both the mother and the child died along the way. After hearing of the suffering here, we quickly stopped talking about chimpanzees. What we learned from this community is that we needed to expand the way we think about conservation in Africa. We needed to be willing to address other community needs while still remaining focused on our mission. There, that meant bringing in Pathfinder International, an international health care partner that provides child and maternal health services, and that has already helped TNC provide more than 10,000 women with access to modern contraception. Meeting these needs allows us to intensify our work protecting important habitats for endemic fish and those chimpanzees. This kind of innovation is changing the way we work around the region. We are bringing the right people together, governments, NGOs, and communities, to address the complex and unique challenges facing the people and places of Africa. Instead of feeling forgotten, the women of Tuungane are now showing us the way. Small Islands, Big Conservation, Republic of Seychelles. In the closing days of the 2015 Paris climate change conference, a small island nation made a big announcement: The Republic of Seychelles in the Indian Ocean had agreed to the first ever debt for climate adaptation swap. Negotiated by The our impact investing unit, NatureVest, and the Africa Region in partnership with the Seychelles government and the Paris Club, an international debt relief group, the transaction converts a portion of the nations foreign debt into a 22 million dollar investment in expanded marine conservation that will help blunt the impacts of climate change. The Conservancy is also lending its scientific acumen to help create a marine spatial plan that identifies best locations for off limits fish replenishment areas, limited fishing, wind energy siting and habitat restoration to buffer storms and sea level rise. The full range of stakeholders, local communities, commercial fishers, tourism and energy industries, is being engaged in the process. For a nation economically dependent on healthy fisheries and tourism, protection of marine resources will expand from less than one percent to 30 percent. This pioneering effort is being seen as a potential model for other island nations around the world. Shocking"Discovery In Gabon, Gabon. When scientist John Sullivan dipped his net into Central Africas Ogooue River, he had no idea of the magnitude of what he was about to find. Sullivan, an expert on electric fish, was part of a team on a three week research expedition in Gabon, co”

“EUROPE. Europe is central to sustainable development and climate policy, and is the largest contributor of climate finance to developing countries and the world's biggest aid donor. European businesses lead on progressive environmental issues. Europe is where some of our most transformational actions can take place. Since 2008 we have already raised 147 million dollars in European public funding for conservation, mostly from Germany and Norway. And in just a couple years we have raised 3 million dollars in private philanthropy. Now we are also beginning to do project work in Europe, but with a different business model. For example, the Balkans, home to much of Europes remaining wilderness and biodiversity, is a region targeted for a boom in hydropower development. We have an opportunity to engage with decision makers who will determine how and where future dams are built and to make an enormous positive impact on the health of rivers. Using science as a guide, joining forces with financial institutions and local NGOs, we can move the hydropower industry toward more sustainable dam planning, siting and design. The Balkans is a perfect demonstration site. We have also been asked by partners in Germany, the Netherlands and the U.K. to lend our 15 years of oyster reef restoration expertise. We think over the next five years we will see more such projects in Europe, always done with others and serving local and our global goals at the same time. Securing the Blue Heart of Europe, Western Balkan Region. Having emerged from decades of political oppression and strife, the Western Balkan region, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, harbors some of the worlds most ecologically intact river systems. Known as the Blue Heart of Europe, the region is now experiencing a hydropower development boom of global proportions, with more than 2,000 projects already proposed or under construction. The regions future will depend on societies ability to reconcile its growing demand for renewable energy with conservation of its outstanding natural heritage. To meet these dual demands, The Nature Conservancy is working in collaboration with conservation and finance partners to develop science based solutions for integrating nature conservation upfront into renewable energy build out, including solar, wind, and hydropower. By helping build a brighter future for the Balkans, our goal is to establish a global model for how to repower a region in the smartest way possible for people and nature. Directing Aid to the Developing World, Norway and Germany. At The Nature Conservancy we know how dependent people are on healthy natural environments. We also recognize that it is often the worlds poorest who suffer the most when natural resources such as forests and coral reefs are damaged or lost. Many of the worlds governments also realize this. That is why over the last eight years we have been working with governments in Europe to achieve shared conservation goals around the world, including the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and KfW, a German government owned development bank. Since 2008 European governments have generously contributed nearly 150 million dollars to help the Conservancy address some of the worlds most pressing conservation threats in places like the Caribbean, South America, Africa and Asia Pacific. For instance, in 2015, thanks to a grant from the government of Norway, the Conservancy and other partners contributed to reducing deforestation by 73 percent in the Sao Felix do Xingu municipality, in the Amazon basin of Brazil, compared to the average forest clearing of the ten years prior to the grant. Informing the Climate Agreement, Paris, France. For months, and years, leading up to the United Nations COP21 climate talks in Paris in December 2015, The Nature Conservancy played a key role in providing crucial support that resulted in a landmark agreement by 195 nations to reduce greenho”

“LATIN AMERICA. From the vast Amazon Basin to frozen glaciers high in the Andes, Latin America holds a third of the world's freshwater resources. While it is the largest net food exporting region in the world, most of its agricultural potential has not been tapped. But, the stakes are high. Latin Americas deforestation rate is already triple that of the rest of the world. Our purpose is clear. It is not only about protecting biodiversity and wild places, but just as much about safeguarding the future of humanity, our water, food security, economic and social stability, our own survival. Our work in Latin America spans across 16 countries from Mexicos Baja California to Patagonia. True to our legacy, we draw on a wide range of partnerships with governments, rural communities, indigenous leaders, businesses, research institutions and NGOs. Together, we are developing the tools and strategies the region needs to protect its spectacular natural heritage while providing the food, water and energy that people need to live and prosper. Over the past 40 years our work has evolved in tandem with the our institutional mission. The scale of our work has expanded from site based projects to a whole system approach that integrates protected areas, indigenous territories, productive lands, fresh water, oceans and infrastructure development. Our funding has transitioned from a high dependency on US based sources to a variety of funders, in region volunteer leaders, businesses, local government agencies, as well as bilateral and multilateral institutions. Cutting edge science and innovation guide everything we do, from helping decision makers find the least damaging ways to connect cities in the Amazon, to determining how nature can best help protect water sources for at risk cities. From Chilean and Peruvian fishing grounds, to Colombian and Mexican cattle ranches, Patagonian sheep ranches and Brazilian soy fields, we are working with individuals and industries to devise ways to boost production while increasing conservation. I am proud of our accomplishments and enthusiastic about the work ahead. We have a unique opportunity to contribute our scientific expertise, leverage our investments and galvanize our partnerships to transform Latin America into a global model of sustainable prosperity. Together we are creating a new conservation paradigm. Sustainable Amazon Beef Hits Stores, Brazil. Consumers got their first taste of deforestation free beef produced by our sustainable ranching initiative, Field to Table. A partnership between the Conservancy, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Walmart and food processor and distributor Marfrig Global Foods brought the certified sustainable beef, sourced from a demonstration project in Sao Felix do Xingo, Brazil, to stores throughout Brazil. Farms and ranches in this region typically expand by clear cutting land. By contrast, the our project sites in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico are growing by restoring degraded lands and conserving ecologically sensitive lands while increasing productivity. Additionally, the Conservancy is working with large suppliers and industries to scale up sustainable food security efforts. Walmart has committed to monitor deforestation through its entire Brazilian supply chain by 2017, and, with strong backing from the Latin America Conservation Council, the Conservancy has begun to leverage corporate commitments via industry roundtables. We are a founding member of the Brazilian Roundtable on Sustainable Livestock and have helped launch similar organizations in Colombia and Mexico. Toward Achieving Continental Water Security, Colombia. More than 200 participants exchanged innovative ideas on water security at the third Biennial Water Funds meeting, hosted by the Latin American Water Funds Partnership in Bogota, Colombia. Water funds enable water users to invest in conservation of critical headwaters to protect water supplies downstream. During the event, Colombian President J”

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