NATURAL STRATEGIES CURRENTLY WORKS IN THESE COUNTRIES

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

We are guided by our conviction that we need to drastically & rapidly reduce the degradation of ecosystems & biodiversity and mitigate climate change.

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And we believe that this can only happen if we take into account the needs & priorities of governments, communities & the private sector. So we aim to find solutions where environmental conservation simultaneously leads to improved human well-being & economic opportunities.

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We achieve this by analyzing environmental problems, identifying solutions & helping put these into practice.

This includes providing support to the public & private sectors at various stages of planning & implementation:

This way, we engage agents of land use change & conservation, work with them to systematically address the drivers of environmental degradation & contribute to green economic alternatives.

This creates viable pathways for sustainable development that benefit from intact ecosystems.

Alexander Koch

Founder & Director

Alexander is the Founder & Director of Natural Strategies. He has supported ecosystem conservation & sustainable land use in more than 20 countries in Africa, Latin America & Asia with the UN & the private sector.

Working with the Finance Unit of UN Environment for nine years, including as its REDD+ focal point person, he designed the largest global programme for UN Environment to help developing countries prepare to access the Green Climate Fund.

He also co-managed a pilot programme in seven African countries to launch forest & agroforestry projects through the carbon markets, including one of the first registered African REDD+ projects, and provided a broad range of technical assistance on

climate change & biodiversity, in support of governments, private sector & NGOs.

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Alexander holds a University Master's Degree in Environmental Management & Restoration, a German University Law Degree & a University Diploma in Wildlife & Natural Areas Management.

Jillian Dyszynski

Senior Consultant

Jillian is a global climate finance professional with 12+ years of experience supporting access to climate finance in the Asia-Pacific, Africa and Middle East regions for governments and international organizations.

For over four years, Jillian supported the largest global climate fund, the Green Climate Fund (GCF), helping operationalize its Readiness programme to access the Fund. 

For over 10 years she supported the Government of Rwanda in establishing its environment and climate fund, with over USD 55 million in seed financing.

She holds a Masters in Environmental Change and Management from Oxford University, and Bachelors Degree from Georgetown University in Science, Technology and International Affairs.  She is also pursuing her Masters in Finance from Georgetown University.

Jesica Andrews

Senior Associate Consultant

Jesica is a global  climate finance & governance expert. She has worked with project developers, governments, development banks and the UN across 35 countries to support climate-friendly finance flows and institutional governance and develop institutional capacities, climate-related projects & strategies and risk/opportunity frameworks.

Her recent tasks include developing Green Climate Fund Proposals, structuring blended finance opportunities, supporting national development banks to build Environmental and Social Safeguards, supporting countries in Green Climate Fund readiness and supporting strategy development for TCFD inclusion in ESG products.

Jesica holds a Master’s in Finance from University of Cambridge and a BA in International Politics from University of New Mexico.

Oliver Canosa

Finance and Markets Analyst

Oliver is Finance and Markets Analyst at Natural Strategies. He analyzes investment opportunities through public-private partnerships for sustainable land use, conducts research on greening commodity supply chains in Latin America, Asia and Africa and helps mobilize sustainable finance for landscape conservation in central Africa.

Oliver has a strong background in the environmental economics field, with an academic profile focused on the link between economics, finance and biodiversity conservation. Among others, he has conducted research in the Input-Output framework at the Spanish national level and its environmental implications (emissions and energy consumption patterns).

Oliver has also been part of the sustainable finance ecosystem, working to accelerate sustainable finance engagement of the public and the private sectors.

Monika Bertzky

Associate Consultant

Monika Bertzky has worked in international nature conservation for 15 years, using her academic background in natural & social sciences to generate knowledge products for environmental policy & decision-making. She has a record of accomplishment at developing and contributing to projects with UN bodies, governments, NGOs, academia & civil society in Africa, Asia & Latin America, as an employee & independent consultant.

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Her main areas of expertise include social & environmental safeguards & standards (Cancun, UNDP, UNEP, GCF/IFC), risk assessment, SESA, ESMF, the role of biodiversity & ecosystems in climate change mitigation & adaptation, and protected area mgmt & governance, among others in the context of the GCF.

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Monika holds a PhD in Human Geography, a University Diploma in Biology & has completed additional trainings, e.g. in Environmental Security & Sustaining Peace, Climate Change Mitigation in Developing Countries & Protected Area Management in Africa.