Seed Change and Bring Hope to the Land
Carolinian Canada and the Conservation Impact Bond (CIB) Leadership Team are pleased to announce the launch the Zone Impact Bond III (ZIB III): the third phase of Canada’s award-winning Conservation Impact Bond. Building on the success of earlier phases, IB III will accelerate the enhancement of 1000 hectares (2471 acres) of climate-resilient, healthy landscapes across the Carolinian Zone, stretching from Toronto to Windsor.
The CIB offers a unique model to be a nation-building leader in climate adaptation creating green jobs, resilient communities, and supporting Indigenous leadership. The Zone is an ideal place to test the model, offering a microcosm of global challenges as Canada’s hotspot for wildlife, freshwater, industry, and agriculture. It is a diverse ecoregion, it drives the country’s economy, and it is home to ten First Nations, one third of Canada’s wild species, one quarter of Canada’s population, and Carolinian Canada, the country’s largest ecosystem recovery network.
The land is sending us clear signals. Forests, wetlands, and prairies are under strain, shaped by centuries of colonization that have fragmented and pressured ecosystems. At the same time, the systems we rely on to fund conservation are not keeping pace with the urgency of the moment. While nature remains our most cost-effective path to a climate-resilient future, we have an opportunity now to grow climate-resilient healthy landscapes.
The path forward is clear. The CIB creates green jobs for communities large and small, to act immediately to heal the land and accelerate climate resilience. Ethical natural infrastructure solutions that regenerate native plants to save ecosystems, wetlands to buffer floods, grasslands to store carbon, trees to cool our communities, and resilient coasts to protect valuable freshwater are among the most effective and cost-efficient responses to climate change. The ZIB III approach centers Indigenous leadership and Two-Eyed Seeing for nature-based finance.
What is needed now is the ability to scale these solutions faster, more flexibly, and in partnership with those who know the land best.
We must finally reverse the trend of habitat loss. But we can’t do it alone. It requires an all-of-society coordinated effort. Carolinian Canada has focused on building cross-sector partnerships and capacity. This network is poised to accelerate action across the ecoregion in the spirit and practice of reconciliation.
The Conservation Impact Bond is designed to do exactly that. It brings together Indigenous leaders, habitat stewards, investors, outcome funders, and researchers to Save, Seed, Steward, and Lead the enhancement of climate-resilient healthy landscapes. Grounded in Ethical Space and the principle of Two-Eyed Seeing, the model integrates Indigenous knowledge systems with colonial science to guide both action and outcomes.
The results are already clear. Through earlier phases, the Deshkan Ziibi Conservation Impact Bond (DZCIB) and the Long Point Conservation Impact Bond (LCIB II) partners have enhanced hundreds of hectares of habitat and supported native plant restoration across the region. As of 2025, more than 284 hectares (702 acres) have been restored, alongside 150+ learning spaces, 96 opportunities for green jobs and collaboration, and engagement across 35 communities.
It's time to give back to the land that we all call home in southern Ontario. Wildlife, plants, and the wonder of nature depend on what we do now.
With ZIB III now underway, there is a critical opportunity to accelerate this work. Will you join us for the next phase of the ZIB III and enhance 1000ha?
Commitments from charitable foundations, governments, and corporate partners act as “Accelerators,” triggering upfront investment that enables restoration to begin immediately by planting native species, restoring wetlands and forests, strengthening ecological corridors, and supporting green jobs across communities.
A commitment today can unlock the enhancement of 1000 hectares this spring. By aligning funding with the CIB’s pay-for-success model, partners help deliver results that are bigger, faster, and more coordinated than traditional approaches.
The opportunity before us is clear. Together, we can scale nature-based solutions, mobilize new investment, and restore the landscapes that sustain us.
Together, we can seed change and bring hope to the land for climate-resilient solutions to safeguard our communities today and for generations to come.
To get involved and discuss ways you can participate, connect with the team at cib@carolinian.org.
Gratitude to the Indigenous stewards, Habitat Partners, CIB Leadership Team, Outcome Payers / Accelerators, Investors, and Research and Evaluation teams who collaborate as participants in the ZIB III.