CSF's International Flagship Course
Join a global network of environmental leaders
Our life-changing annual course gives participants a foundation in economic theory along with the practical tools to innovate and solve for conservation challenges around the world.
Our course is for professionals at the forefront of global sustainability issues, and participants come from government, NGOs/CSOs, academia, the private sector, and multilateral institutions.
By taking this course, you will be connected with peers from around the world learning how applied economics and finance can help address today’s most urgent environmental challenges. Course graduates will join a network of more than 5,000 CSF alumni in 131 countries representing more than 3,000 organizations.
The 2024 course will run for 10 weeks from July 8 to September 13, in a virtual format to make it easier to participate while still managing other responsibilities. Registration is currently closed for our 2024 cohort.
If you are interested in taking a Spanish version of this course , click here for more information.
Benefits of the Course
After this course, you will have:
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An essential foundation in basic economic concepts and language.
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Insight into the institutional and market drivers of environmental problems.
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Tools to evaluate the costs and benefits of both development and conservation decisions, including values of ecosystem services.
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Skills to incorporate economic incentives in more effective strategies and policies for conservation, including sustainable finance solutions.
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The ability to articulate environmental values in a language that communities, businesses, and governments can understand.
Testimonials
Melissa Carmody
"The course showed me the power of economics to help understand the complexity of managing our natural resources. I now see why many of the strategies that conservationists put in place don't have the impact we expect.”
Joyce Wang
"The CSF course far exceeded my expectations. The depth of the material and quality of instruction, combined with the breadth of knowledge and experience brought to the table by the rest of the participants made for a really effective, inspiring, and practical learning experience. The cross-cultural and interdisciplinary exposure made every topic so interesting. I wish everyone in the conservation space had the chance to take this course."
Mohamed Bakarr
"The course is definitely the most cost effective way of making environmentalists literate in economics.”
Isabel Felandro Llanos
“I not only learned about economic concepts that will help me in my career, facing environmental issues, but also this course gave me the opportunity to meet wonderful people from around the world. These people have inspired me to believe and to have hope for the challenges we are facing."
Charles Karangwa
“I’ve already had six countries request support with the implementation of forest landscape restoration initiatives. One of the key deliverables is financial and economic analysis. Because of this course, I will be able to help perform this task better.”
Gbolagade Lameed
"Good program and the best experience in learning that I have ever had. I therefore recommend this CSF Training Program in Conservation to all Environmentalists. Kudus to Kim Bonine and her Team members for organizing the successful session in 2013."
Alumni Referral Opportunity
Refer a colleague and you could get FREE access to the Conservation Finance self-paced course.
Any CSF alumni can refer up to 5 people for this course. Anyone referred will receive 20% off their enrollment fee, and if they register, you will get free access to our Conservation Finance self-paced course.
Our Instructors
Our instructors are drawn from CSF staff, as well as leading academic and international institutions such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Conservation Finance Alliance.
Kim Bonine
Kim is currently the Head of Capacity Development at the Stanford Natural Capital Project. She is the Founder and former Director of CSF’s Numbers for Nature Training Institute and has build training programs in over 40 countries and across five continents. Over the past 25 years, she has led the design and implementation of environmental economics courses and analysis projects in Africa, Asia, the Pacific and North and South America on themes such as wildlife conservation, infrastructure development, fisheries management, tourism economics, and sustainable livelihoods. Kim holds a MS in Earth Systems and a BA in Human Biology, both from Stanford University.
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David Meyers
David is an environmental finance expert and entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience in the field. He is currently the Executive Director of the Conservation Finance Alliance. From 2012-2018, David was a Senior Technical Advisor for the BIOFIN/UNDP project. David spent well over a decade in Madagascar and helped the country plan and execute a doubling of the area under conservation. He holds a PhD in Biological Anthropology and Anatomy from Duke University, and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.
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Jennifer Raynor
Jennifer Raynor is an Assistant Professor of Natural Resource Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she has been on the faculty since 2022. Before moving to Wisconsin, she was an Assistant Professor at Wesleyan University and a Research Economist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Raynor’s research focuses on the economics of fisheries and wildlife management, with an emphasis on measuring the feedback between human and natural systems. She strives to inform on-the-ground decision-making and works closely with state and federal resource managers to design and evaluate conservation policies. Her main topical interests include human-carnivore coexistence, marine spatial planning, and non-market valuation.
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David Johnson
David is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Economics Department at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Prior to moving to UWM, he taught Microeconomics and Macroeconomic analysis at Wellesley College, Harvard University and Stanford University. He has received wide recognition for his teaching talent and animated style, and strives to make his courses interesting, important and relevant. David has been teaching in CSF courses since 2004.
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Marcello Hernández-Blanco
Marcello Hernández-Blanco has a PhD in Ecological Economics from the Australian National University, a Master of Science in Biodiversity, Wildlife and Ecosystem Health from the University of Edinburgh, a master’s degree in Environmental Management from the Interamerican University of Costa Rica, and a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the Latin University of Costa Rica.
He has been an international consultant and speaker for over a decade in topics related to natural capital valuation, green and blue economy, financial mechanisms for conservation, environmental policy design, climate change, and environmental management, among others. Marcello also collaborates with various global initiatives, such as the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) where he is lead author for the Americas' assessment, and author of the assessment on the multiple values of nature; he is the chair for Costa Rica of the Ecosystem Services Partnership as well as a member of its Steering Committee, and he is a member of the IUCN thematic group on ecosystem services from the Commission of Ecosystem Management
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Corbett Grainger
Corbett Grainger is an Associate Professor at University of Wisconsin - Madison, where he has been a faculty member since 2010. He is also a faculty affiliate ("Professor II") at University of Bergen (Centre for Climate and Energy Transformation (CET)), a Fellow at CESifo (Munich), and a Co-Editor of Land Economics. He has consulted with a variety of organizations, including development banks, private companies and environmental NGOs.
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Laura Fuerte
Laura is the Head of the Economics department at Universidad de La Sabana. She is an economist with emphasis on international finance and holds a master's degree in Behavioural and Economic Science from the University of Warwick. With 5 years of experience in the financial sector and more than five years of experience as a professor, she is passionate about advancing the field of economics and contributing to the academic community and society by extending the use of behavioural science for solving pressing economic issues at any scale.
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Training Program Director, Conservation Strategy Fund Natalia Sanin-Acevedo
A native of Colombia, Natalia studied biology in her homeland, Medellin, and holds a master's in Conservation Leadership from the University of Cambridge in the UK. Natalia has been part of CSF since 2011, supporting various training and research programs worldwide, including creating CSF's Numbers for Nature Training Institute.
Natalia is a dynamic and seasoned conservation leader with over a decade of experience driving impactful capacity-building initiatives worldwide. She brings a wealth of expertise in participatory research, knowledge exchange, and training program development. Natalia has proven experience designing and implementing in-person and virtual learning programs and strong project management skills, including setting goals, developing work plans, and monitoring progress toward objectives. She has excellent communication and facilitation skills, and the ability to engage diverse audiences and foster collaboration among participants.
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Desta Pratama
Desta joined CSF in 2016 as the Program Coordinator for our office in Indonesia. Prior to working with CSF, Desta worked with the University of Indonesia, Conservation International, the World Bank, and CIFOR. His main area of interest is how economics relates to marine and forest ecosystems and climate change. Desta has a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Indonesia, and a master’s degree in Environmental and Resource Economics from the Australian National University.
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Is your organization a CSF partner? If so, here's a discount!
Not sure if your organization is a partner? Visit the link below to find out.
Email [email protected] for your discount code.
The 2024 Cohort is in progress. Check back here for more information about our 2025 course!
Use #NumbersForNature to protect people and the environment we depend on.
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