CSF's International Flagship Course

Join a global network of environmental leaders.

Each year, course graduates join a network of 5,000 CSF alumni from over 3,000 organizations in 131 countries. Our course is for professionals at the forefront of global conservation issues, and our past alumni come from government, NGOs/CSOs, academia, the private sector, and multilateral institutions. By taking this course, participants will be connected with peers from all over the world in learning how applied economics and finance can help them to address some of today’s most pressing issues and urgent environmental challenges. 

Melissa Carmody

Wildlife Conservation Society, Chile

"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

Wildlife Conservation Network, USA

"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

Global Environmental Facility, USA/Sierra Leone

"The course is definitely the most cost effective way of making environmentalists literate in economics.”

Isabel Felandro Llanos

Lawyer, Peru

“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

International Union for Conservation of Nature, Rwanda

“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.”

Milagros Estrada

National Center for Strategic Planning (CEPLAN), Peru

“I learned a lot in such a short time! I am clearer about the methodologies for valuing natural resources and financing. Now, I feel I am more prepared to do environmental impact studies and assess the value of all the ecosystem services that nature gives us. I am looking forward to developing environmental impact projects in the future.”

Benefits

In this course, participants gain:

  • An essential foundation in basic economic concepts and language.

  • Insight into the drivers of environmental problems, including market and institutional failures.

  • Tools to evaluate the costs and benefits of natural resource management approaches and development decisions, including values of ecosystem services.

  • Skills to incorporate economic incentives in order to formulate more effective strategies and policies for conservation, including sustainable finance solutions.

  • The ability to articulate environmental values in a language that communities, businesses, and governments can understand.

2024 Course Highlights

Watch a video celebrating our 2024 iteration of the course, and sign up for our mailing list below if you would like to be notified when the 2025 course dates are announced.

  • World-Class Teaching

    Our talented instructors include university professors, CSF staff and experts from the Conservation Finance Alliance, all with a deep understanding of real-world conservation challenges.

  • Time Commitment

    Our 2025 course will be transitioning to an in-person format after 5 years of virtual courses. We have tentatively planned to hold this course for two-weeks in August. Please subscribe to our newsletter to hear the latest updates.

  • Inclusive & Diverse

    Conservation and sustainable development practitioners from every country and background are invited to enroll. Previous training in economics is not required. Participants must be comfortable reading and speaking in English.

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