Stan Alcorn

They added up all these projected costs. Then they looked at the price of things of sort of similar offerings, like an adopt-a-jaguar program. But there was a big range, so they kind of arbitrarily picked a nice round number, $25 a credit. With a total pool of more than 300,000 credits, that would cover their costs and maybe even make them a profit.

For Mauricio, that meant doing a kind of wildlife census to get a baseline. A lot of El Globo is sort of barren from its cattle ranching past, but there was one super dense, biodiverse patch of forest that was never cut down. And that is where the lion's share of El Globo's biodiversity lives.

For Mauricio, that meant doing a kind of wildlife census to get a baseline. A lot of El Globo is sort of barren from its cattle ranching past, but there was one super dense, biodiverse patch of forest that was never cut down. And that is where the lion's share of El Globo's biodiversity lives.

For Mauricio, that meant doing a kind of wildlife census to get a baseline. A lot of El Globo is sort of barren from its cattle ranching past, but there was one super dense, biodiverse patch of forest that was never cut down. And that is where the lion's share of El Globo's biodiversity lives.

This is the biodiversity that the Biodiversity Credit is supposed to protect. And it's the kernel that they're building on as they restore the rest of the land here to its former tropical Andean glory.

This is the biodiversity that the Biodiversity Credit is supposed to protect. And it's the kernel that they're building on as they restore the rest of the land here to its former tropical Andean glory.

This is the biodiversity that the Biodiversity Credit is supposed to protect. And it's the kernel that they're building on as they restore the rest of the land here to its former tropical Andean glory.

People. Real ones, no, it's actually marmalade sandwiches. No, so they eat mostly bromeliads.

People. Real ones, no, it's actually marmalade sandwiches. No, so they eat mostly bromeliads.

People. Real ones, no, it's actually marmalade sandwiches. No, so they eat mostly bromeliads.

Which brings us to the existential question hanging over this whole project. Mauricio has sold one credit to Planet Money, but can he sell thousands or tens of thousands of credits to actual companies?

Which brings us to the existential question hanging over this whole project. Mauricio has sold one credit to Planet Money, but can he sell thousands or tens of thousands of credits to actual companies?

Which brings us to the existential question hanging over this whole project. Mauricio has sold one credit to Planet Money, but can he sell thousands or tens of thousands of credits to actual companies?

Every two years, diplomats from around the world descend on one city for a week or two in order to try to save the planet's plants and animals and fungus from mass extinction. This year's summit, the COP16, took place in Cali, Colombia.

Every two years, diplomats from around the world descend on one city for a week or two in order to try to save the planet's plants and animals and fungus from mass extinction. This year's summit, the COP16, took place in Cali, Colombia.

Every two years, diplomats from around the world descend on one city for a week or two in order to try to save the planet's plants and animals and fungus from mass extinction. This year's summit, the COP16, took place in Cali, Colombia.

And like every summit, there was also this sort of shadow conference filled with thousands of people who at least claimed to be trying to tackle the same problem from the private sector.

And like every summit, there was also this sort of shadow conference filled with thousands of people who at least claimed to be trying to tackle the same problem from the private sector.

And like every summit, there was also this sort of shadow conference filled with thousands of people who at least claimed to be trying to tackle the same problem from the private sector.

I think they care because they're here and they're willing to listen. Over the course of the last few years, Mauricio has gone from a biology student to a sort of evangelist for this new kind of financial instrument. One that he hopes might turn his family cattle ranch into a permanent refuge for threatened species like the spectacled bear.