Robert Weary

Change Agent, Environmentalist, Finance professional, Foodie, World traveler

In his twenty-first year with The Nature Conservancy, Rob leads an initiative to assist Small Island Developing States and coastal countries with debt-conversions to finance marine conservation and ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change. The first such debt-conversion was concluded in February 2016 with the Seychelles. Rob currently serves as the Treasurer on the Board of the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust, which manages the proceeds from the debt conversion. He is currently developing additional debt-conversions with several countries, including Argentina, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Kenya, and Gabon. Rob’s experiences include work on numerous debt-for-nature swaps in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Jamaica, Belize, Guatemala, and Costa Rica; the design and establishment of an eight country $100+ million regional endowment (Caribbean Biodiversity Fund) and the associated national-level trust funds, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in sustainable financing for conservation projects in those countries. Rob was also the primary architect of the “Caribbean Challenge,” a twelve-country/territory regional initiative to place 20% of these countries near shore marine area under protection by 2020 and develop sustainable finance mechanisms to finance the countries national systems of Protected Areas. Rob joined the Conservancy after working in the World Bank’s Investment Management Department in the Treasury. Prior to this, Rob served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala, working with indigenous subsistence level farmers on improved seed selection and post-harvest management. Rob holds a BA in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia and a Master’s in Public and International Affairs, with a focus on Social and Economic Development, with a Certificate in Latin American Studies, from the University of Pittsburgh.

Oceans

Conservation Trust Funds, Impact Financing for Marine Conservation

My project "Blue Bonds for Marine Conservation" was submitted to TED Audacious last year and we are a finalist this year. Find out this Tuesday at 5 pm if we are a winner!

cooking, construction, and dancing!