Conservation finance
$270K in EU exports.
the biggest bottleneck to scaling this across the Amazon isn’t capital. It’s traceability.
Writing
Operator notes on conservation finance and AI.
Most of what I write goes to LinkedIn first. The canonical text and the archive live here. Reading time is honest, not inflated.
Conservation finance
Day rates are a trap for independent consultants
USAID's CST base ceiling: around $698-748 per day. UN Level B max: $420 per day.
Most conservation projects that fail to get funded have solid science.
Most conservation projects that fail to get funded have solid science. They have terrible financial architecture.
Governance
"AI for conservation" without indigenous data governance isn't innovation.
"AI for conservation" without indigenous data governance isn't innovation. It's extraction with better branding.
What I'm doing now and why
After ten years building cooperation infrastructure for the Ecuadorian Amazon, I'm opening Q3 capacity as an independent consultant. The work: AI-assisted reporting systems, governance architecture, and multi-stakeholder coordination tooling for INGO country offices and DFI-funded programs.
Most multi-stakeholder platforms die within two years
Most multi-stakeholder platforms die within two years. I've designed and run three Cooperation Tables across the Ecuadorian Amazon (Morona Santiago, Orellana, Sucumbíos).
What I won't help with
A few things I won't take on as a consultant. Greenwashing or carbon-credit projects without robust governance architecture.
DFIs keep saying they want to fund Indigenous organizations directly.
DFIs keep saying they want to fund Indigenous organizations directly. Then they hand them a fiduciary assessment designed for a Geneva-based NGO.
15 questions.
15 questions. That's what separates an Indigenous territorial fund that receives direct DFI funding from one that stays a sub-awardee forever.
I've built 3 multi-stakeholder platforms across the Ecuadorian Amazon.
I've built 3 multi-stakeholder platforms across the Ecuadorian Amazon. Each one failed in a different way before it worked.
AI automation
137 auxiliary documents.
137 auxiliary documents. That's what one conservation project generated for a single funding cycle.
What a 45-minute working session actually looks like
I run free 45-minute working sessions for INGO and DFI program leads scoping AI-assisted M&E or governance work. A few people have asked: "what actually happens in the session?
Every conservation organization I've worked with has the same vulnerability.
Every conservation organization I've worked with has the same vulnerability. One person leaves, and 18 months of institutional memory walks out the door.
10 tools. Zero paywalls.
10 tools. Zero paywalls.
Field
22 organizations in one room.
22 organizations in one room. Three provinces.
90 days.
90 days. That's how long you have before 22 organizations decide you're another consultant who'll leave after the project cycle.
Most multi-stakeholder platforms treat all stakeholders as equals.
Most multi-stakeholder platforms treat all stakeholders as equals. That's why most of them fail within 18 months.
If any of this resonated and you want to talk through it:
Fixed-fee engagements, each with a written guarantee. Currently taking one retainer client for Q3 2026.