Forest Invest

In this solo episode, I reflect on Posaidon's outlook for nature finance in 2025, highlighting why it's a pivotal moment for forest investment. With rising demand for nature-based climate solutions, global biodiversity concerns, and a shift toward renewable products, forests are uniquely positioned to help asset owners meet fiscal regulatory requirements—while delivering strong returns. Yet, new forest investment strategies are slow to close. Beyond the usual hurdles like track record and pipeline, what about sustainability challenges? I break down five key sustainability reasons your fund isn’t closing — and how to fix them. Plus, I offer a free advisory call for those looking to refine their sustainability approach.

Free advisory call: Click on the link to book a time

Posaidon Capital: Nature Finance Market Outlook 2025

Host and Forestry Investment Expert: Shauna Matkovich - The ForestLink

Producer and Editor: Magdalena Laas - Unscripted Creatives

01:34

Quote – Nature Finance Market Outlook 2025

03:03

Interesting time for forest investment (great opportunities) 

03:48

Questions to ask —  when investment strategy does not succeed in raising capital

04:19

Sustainability factors holding back forest investment strategy from landing investors

05:13

Reason # 1: weak sustainability ethos

07:04

Possible solutions

08:22

Reason #2: no point of difference in sustainability strategy objectives from peers

09:06

Possible solutions

09:48

Reason #3: SFDR Article 8, 9, or EU Taxonomy alignment

10:27

Overview – SFDR Article 8

10:38

Overview – SFDR Article 9

10:48

EU Taxonomy

11:19

Possible solutions

12:12

Reason #4: weak sustainability track record

13:06

Possible solutions

14:33

Reason #5: wrong investors

15:07

Possible solutions

Nature by MaxKoMusic/Soundcloud

Sopwell Woodlands and Scohaboy Bog SAC, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, IRELAND by wild_rumpus/Soundcloud

Ambient Documentary by Sound Guru/Pixabay

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Today, Maurice Ryan, Director of Business Development at Green Belt, joins me in conversation. We dig into the voluntary approach of biodiversity net gain that Green Belt applies to some of its forest assets. At this point, biodiversity net gain is not legislated in Ireland as in other jurisdictions. Still, Maurice is finding that some forest owners and capital providers are nonetheless interested in reshaping low-production areas into highly productive ones in nature. We discuss what is needed to scale this approach in Ireland and how encouraging or accelerating natural regeneration is a pragmatic way to restore biodiversity to a site. Maurice explains the breadth of biodiversity data they collect to demonstrate the improvements on the sites where they take this approach. We talk about how to bring this biodiversity net gain approach to other jurisdictions and the importance of stakeholder engagement when defining biodiversity objectives.

Greenbelt

Maurice email: [email protected]

Apple tree (Malus domestic)

Host/Expert: Shauna Matkovich - The ForestLink

Producer and editor: Magdalena Laas - Unscripted Creatives

01:50

Intro to Maurice and Greenbelt

04:20

Production forestry in Ireland &

08:33

Definition of biodiversity net gain

11:27

Approach in operations under regulations

14:12

Main challenges with approach

17:16

Corporate or institutional investors?

19:06

Irish governmental initiatives?

21:06

Best type of land for project

24:12

Assessments?

27:42

Costs and additionality?

31:48

Local land ownership & expansion of more biodiversity-enriching projects

36:52

Insights gained that can be used by other jurisdictions

39:14

Exciting time in forestry

40:23

Actionable advice

41:34

Contact details

Nature by MaxKoMusic/Soundcloud

Sopwell Woodlands and Scohaboy Bog SAC, Cloughjordan, Co

Tipperary, IRELAND by wild_rumpus/Soundcloud

Sign up now for the ForestLink’s newsletter, where you’ll receive technical advice, reflections, and best-practice guidance to support you with your forest-linked investment strategy or business straight to your inbox.

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Today, I’m joined by Dr. Elias Ayrey, co-founder and chief science officer, and Mary Ignatiadis, forest economics and policy expert at Renoster. In this conversation, we view forest carbon investing through the lens of change theory. We talk about the long-term opportunity cost of forest carbon projects, and what investors need to consider to ensure that these projects are truly a solution for integrated forest landscape improvement. We discuss the essential distinctions between objective setting in markets like the US versus the Global South, and considerations for large, institutionally owned land versus smallholder-owned land. We tackle the controversy around generating carbon credits from commercial plantation forestry head-on. And, of course, we learn about Renoster and its essential work in helping investors and carbon credit buyers do due diligence on the quality of forest carbon projects.

Renoster

LEAF Coalition

Symbiosis Coalition

Trees: American chestnut (Castanea dentata) & Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)

Host: Shauna Matkovich - The ForestLink

Producer and editor: Magdalena Laas - Unscripted Creatives

01:44

Elias’ professional background & Renoster

03:05

Mary’s professional background & Renoster

05:34

Long term impacts should investors consider? Understand complete theory of change

09:13

But, what is the reality?

11:28

Investor coalitions

13:44

How would KPIs differ depending on the context, including small hold participants? (US market)

16:48

And any differences between the Global North and South?

19:43

Different KPIs in these regions?

22:36

Need both productive active timber management and forest carbon management

25:30

Balance between raising the value and bringing down costs

30:10

Percentage of these are avoided deforestation projects versus afforestation reforestation projects?

34:47

Questions of additionality and leakage are inherently financial

36:08

Carbon credits today

37:32

Applications of tools in Renoster’s work?

39:04

Project developers or buyers?

39:28 

Future of carbon markets

43:05 

Future of Renoster

44:09

Actionable advice

Nature by MaxKoMusic/Soundcloud

Sopwell Woodlands and Scohaboy Bog SAC, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, IRELAND by wild_rumpus/Soundcloud

Sign up now for the ForestLink’s newsletter, where you’ll receive technical advice, reflections, and best-practice guidance to support you with your forest-linked investment strategy or business straight to your inbox.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, I’m joined by Craig MacKenzie, Senior Lecturer in Nature Finance at the University of Edinburgh Business School. Over Craig’s career, he has worked in asset management and transitioned to academia. He also advises several public bodies on land use change. From this vantage point, Craig shares his insights on the opportunities and challenges for scaling UK Carbon Forestry, where a significant roadblock is attracting institutional investors. We talk about the massive reduction in forest cover that has taken place in the UK over the centuries, and how the UK’s commitment to net zero is starting to reverse this trend. Despite the primarily well-received Woodland Carbon Code (WCC) and other favourable policies, the economics still don’t stack up to meet investors’ return requirements when compared to the risks associated with carbon credit price volatility and the long horizons for generating credits in the UK. But things are changing. Tune in to find out what’s in the pipeline for the sector that may make UK carbon forestry much more attractive to institutional investors, and support turning the UK’s net-zero ambitions into reality.

Craig Mackenzie on LinkedIn

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)

UK Woodland Carbon Code

Scottish Land Commission

University of Edinburgh Business School

Peatland

Beach tree (Fagus sylvatica)

01:26

Craig’s background

03:13

What encompasses UK carbon forestry 

06:38

Woodland carbon code

07:43

UK forest cover

10:57

Opportunities to diversify/overlap land use (mostly segregated)

14:33

Invest in UK carbon forestry

18:34

Benefits/subsidies

21:01

Capital providers

26:08

Changes needed to attract more institutional private funding/investment

32:51

Carbon credits insurance products

34:23

Woodland Code UK – insurance

35:56

Biodiversity net gain legislation

41:17

Actionable advise

42:57

Contact details

Nature by MaxKoMusic/Soundcloud

Sopwell Woodlands and Scohaboy Bog SAC, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, IRELAND by wild_rumpus/Soundcloud

Sign up now for the ForestLink’s newsletter, where you’ll receive technical advice, reflections, and best-practice guidance to support you with your forest-linked investment strategy or business straight to your inbox.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, I speak with Jessica Smith, Head of Nature at UNEP Finance Initiative, about the growing private sector interest in nature finance. She highlights the need for a common taxonomy to reduce investment hesitancy and notes that timberland remains a key nature-positive option for institutional investors. We explore the investment gap between the Global North and South, strategies for stakeholder engagement in areas with unclear tenure rights, and how to phase capital across a project’s life cycle. Jessica concludes with a strong call to eliminate deforestation from investment portfolios.

Finance for Nature Positive paper

PRB Sector guidance for forestry, agriculture, and mining

Short article on this guidance

Finance roadmap

Cali Card Report

Managing biodiversity risk exposure? 

Do investors care about biodiversity? 

UNEP Finance Initiative

Jessica Smith on LinkedIn

Favorite tree: Eucalyptus

Host: Shauna Matkovich - The ForestLink

Producer and editor: Magdalena Laas - Unscripted Creatives

01:04

Jessica’s background and work

03:04

Key lessons for nature from global events

05:18

Finance for nature positive

09:04

Principles for responsible banking specter action guidance for agricultural, forestry, mining sectors

11:12

How to  get private investment in nature-based assets

15:31

Strategies to be nature positive in timber-focus investment

21:54

What should asset managers look out for? Red flags

27:44

Importance of data collection

32:34

Blended finance

36:12

Attract impact capital & investors as ecosystems in themselves

38:53

Nature on climate COP agenda 2025 – eliminate deforestation, invest in nature positive solution

40:20

Actionable advice

Nature by MaxKoMusic/Soundcloud

Sopwell Woodlands and Scohaboy Bog SAC, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, IRELAND by wild_rumpus/Soundcloud

Sign up now for the ForestLink’s newsletter, where you’ll receive technical advice, reflections, and best-practice guidance to support you with your forest-linked investment strategy or business straight to your inbox.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I’m joined by Paul Brannen, Director of Public Affairs at the European Confederation of Woodworking Industries & The European Organisation of Sawmill Industry AND author of a recent book, Timber! How wood can save the world from climate breakdown. In our conversation, Paul digs into the details surrounding the climate benefit of building with wood. We compare the carbon footprints of wood, concrete and steel (did you know that concrete is responsible for 8% of global emissions)! We talk about the cost savings of using wood in the built environment. We explain that despite the financial and climate merits, and supportive regulatory environment – the building sector still suffers from convention and doing things the way they’ve always been done. We discuss the importance of circularity in using wood in construction, and finally – how investors can support the whole value chain for enhanced climate and financial benefit.

Paul Brannen on LinkedIn

Book: Timber! How wood can save the world from climate breakdown

The European Confederation of Woodworking Industries (CEI-BOIS)

Favorite tree: Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis)

Host: Shauna Matkovich - The ForestLink

Producer and editor: Magdalena Laas - Unscripted Creatives

02:06

Paul’s background

05:38

The reason behind writing the book 

09:39

Development of using wood/timber in building homes and construction of bigger buildings

16:12

Roadblocks to progress

21:11

Comparison between wood/timber, concrete, and steel re. durability

23:44

Evidence about carbon footprint between wood vs concrete vs steel

30:42

Is there a case when wood is not the most sustainable option?

37:34

Case for sustainable forest management

43:53

How can we communicate the importance of investing in sustainable forest production

 50:56

A possibly circular process

56:46

Actionable advice

57:06

Contact details

Nature by MaxKoMusic/Soundcloud

Sopwell Woodlands and Scohaboy Bog SAC, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, IRELAND by wild_rumpus/Soundcloud

Sign up now for the ForestLink’s newsletter, where you’ll receive technical advice, reflections, and best-practice guidance to support you with your forest-linked investment strategy or business straight to your inbox.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I’m joined by Eugene Kraamwinkel, CEO of two agribusinesses in Cambodia – Phu Rieng Kratie Ampivath and Dau Tu Saigon Binh Phuoc. In our conversation, Eugene highlights the importance of having a strong Code of Conduct to ensure a long-term sustainable forest business, especially in emerging markets and industries such as forestry and agriculture. We discuss how investors can evaluate business integrity risks and red flags to watch for. Eugene shares a roadmap on how forest business owners can make stepwise improvements toward changing the culture around moral conduct. Eugene also emphasizes that ethical business is not just about committing to transparency and anti-corruption but also about environmental and social ethics.

LinkedIn: Eugene Kraamwinkel

Favorite tree: South African yellowwood (Podocarpus latifolius)

Host: Shauna Matkovich - The ForestLink

Producer and editor: Magdalena Laas - Unscripted Creatives

02:32

Eugene’s background & drive for ethical business practices

4:59

Why is business integrity important in forestry and agribusiness?

07:57

Make investors more confident in emerging markets with ethical business conduct risk

11:44 

Examples of government initiatives to bring about change

15:11

Starting point for ethical business conduct

20:14

How can investors be confident that code of conduct will ensure ethical operations in practice

25:47

Example of shift in from unethical to ethical

27:25

Red flags for investors

Link between ethics and climate change and sustainability impact

33:44

Actionable advice

Nature by MaxKoMusic/Soundcloud

Sopwell Woodlands and Scohaboy Bog SAC, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, IRELAND by wild_rumpus/Soundcloud

Sign up now for the ForestLink’s newsletter, where you’ll receive technical advice, reflections, and best-practice guidance to support you with your forest-linked investment strategy or business straight to your inbox.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, I’m joined by Jamie Lawrence, Co-Founder of Xilva. In this conversation, Jamie describes the project evaluation process taken by Xilva, which evaluates nature-based solutions projects for numerous capital providers, from investors to corporates and donors. Jamie describes the six categories of Xilva’s Due Diligence Framework and explains the reasoning for interconnecting these in an assessment. After evaluating more than 300 projects, he explains the three common mistakes project developers make when preparing for funding. He also stresses the merits of the promising projects that cross the Xilva desk. We talk more about the importance of a good strategy on the side of the capital provider to prevent a project from stalling due to misalignment in internal processes.

Xilva

Xilva on LinkedIn

Jamie Lawrence in LinkedIn

Favourite tree: Cork tree (Quercus suber)

Host: Shauna Matkovich - The ForestLink

Producer and editor: Magdalena Laas - Unscripted Creatives

01:13

Background of Xilva & Jamie

03:19

Silva;s services in nature-based solutions space

05:09

Profiles of clients - capital providers

06:49

How do you find projects?

08:06

Screening strategy for projects

10:27

Due diligence to support clients  - six categories of framework

16:24

Clients bring own criteria

17:50

External collaborations or expertise, leverage global assets

20:44

Types of projects

21:52

What makes a strong project - and which issues exist in practice/ignored factors

24:50

Communication on the ground, challenges, & risk management

30:11

Strengths in projects, makes projects shine

32:27

Reasons for projects getting stuck

37:14

Effect of voluntary and carbon markets on supply and demand of nature-based  solutions. Difference in perceptions in different markets (Global North/Global South)

41:59

Next for Silva

44:43

Actionable advice

47:08

Contact details

Nature by MaxKoMusic/Soundcloud

Sopwell Woodlands and Scohaboy Bog SAC, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, IRELAND by wild_rumpus/Soundcloud

Sign up now for the ForestLink’s newsletter, where you’ll receive technical advice, reflections, and best-practice guidance to support you with your forest-linked investment strategy or business straight to your inbox.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I’m joined by Jasper Renk, Senior Investment Manager for Illiquid Assets in Natural Capital at MEAG. In this advice-packed episode, Jasper shares MEAG’s 15-year experience in investing in Timberland. He explains the most critical determining factors in deciding MEAG’s forest investment jurisdictions and describes how the organisation is well equipped to address climate risks, sitting on 140 years of climate data. Jasper shares his thoughts on how to house your forest investment and sheds light on why forest investment isn’t the most suitable for debt instruments. We talk about sustainability and how it is a core tenant of how they invest, emphasising that prioritising sustainability reduces risk and secures return expectations.

MEAG

MEAG on LinkedIn

Jasper Renk on LinkedIn

Favourite trees: Spruce

Host: Shauna Matkovich - The ForestLink

Producer and editor: Magdalena Laas - Unscripted Creatives

01:02

Background to MEAG & Jasper

04:06

Decision to move into timberland investments

05:11

MEAG's perception of timberland allocation performance

07:58

Shift in how assets are housed in portfolio

10:51

Learning curve for institutional investor

12:52

Risk-reduced way to gain exposure

13:44

Best instrument to get started (and trajectory)

16:33

Risk return profile of MEAG

19:22

Operational side of owned forest assets

22:57

Functioning transactional market

24:38

Investment vehicles, e,g. debt instruments

27:45

Sustainability

32:00

Sustainability objectives

34:28

Beneficiaries stand on sustainability

39:08

Actionable advice

39:50

Contact details

Nature by MaxKoMusic/Soundcloud

Sopwell Woodlands and Scohaboy Bog SAC, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, IRELAND by wild_rumpus/Soundcloud

Sign up now for the ForestLink’s newsletter, where you’ll receive technical advice, reflections, and best-practice guidance to support you with your forest-linked investment strategy or business straight to your inbox.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, I speak with Bettina Von Hagen, CEO, Co-Founder and Board Chair of EFM. In this conversation we talk about the unique characteristics of Pacific Northwest forests that make this region rich in opportunity for both commercial timber and an array of impact benefits. Bettina goes deep explaining some of the complex ecosystem functions at play in these forests, from migrating salmon to mycorrhizal fungi and the commercial attractiveness of most Pacific Northwest tree species. She describes the 5 R's that EFM applies to their forest management: Rotations, Retention, Reserves, Restoration and Relationships, discusses the carbon market opportunity, provides tips and tricks for making impact forestry operational, and how important active wildfire management strategies are in some of the regions EFM operates.

Ecotrust Forest Management (EFM)

Bettina von Hagen on LinkedIn

Favourite trees: Western redcedar (Thuja plicata), Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis)

Host: Shauna Matkovich - The ForestLink

Producer and editor: Magdalena Laas - Unscripted Creatives

02:27

Introduction to EFM

07:32

EMF and impact investing

09:26

5 R's of forest management: rotation, retention, reserves, restoration, relationships

14:23

Relationships with communities

16:41

Uptake of this change in silviculture approach

19:19

Others following in EMF's footsteps

22:30

How EMF monetise benefits other than carbon credits

25:33

Carry in funds structure

27:45

Investor sentiments towards forest impact strategies, and impact metrics (besides carbon)

31:43

Fire as part of natural ecosystem

33:22

Gender diversity and equality in the forestry industry, and difference in approaches

40:05

Next for EMF

41:43

Markets for ecosystem services is still very small

44:47

Actionable advice

Nature by MaxKoMusic/Soundcloud

Sopwell Woodlands and Scohaboy Bog SAC, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, IRELAND by wild_rumpus/Soundcloud

Sign up now for the ForestLink’s newsletter, where you’ll receive technical advice, reflections, and best-practice guidance to support you with your forest-linked investment strategy or business straight to your inbox.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.