Could Impact Investing Catalyse An Ecosystem Wide Recovery For Native Oysters And Native Oyster Beds? Lessons Learned From The Zoological Society Of London'S Rhino Impact Investment Bond That Could Shape The Future Of Oyster Restoration

Ostrea edulis populations have declined by more than 95% since the mid-1800s due to historical over-harvesting, disease, competition from invasive species, and predators. Once the basis of a thriving fishery, it is now one of the most threatened habitats in Europe and restoration is high on the conservation agenda.Impact investing is a novel financing model that attracts investors who put creating positive, measurable social outcomes at the heart of their decision-making process, while also seeking a financial return. Impact bonds, more specifically, are instruments designed to link these investors with beneficial projects and financial returns. Payoff is derived from the success or failure of a service provider in delivering pre-agreed outcomes. The Rhino Impact Investment is such a project, which aims to increase black rhino numbers by using an impact bond structure, where capital is directed to fund evidence-based management interventions, and financial gain or loss to the investors depends on the scale to which rhino numbers increase or decrease across a portfolio of project sites.The authors present a hypothetical impact bond model that could be used to address the decline in O. edulis. Investors provide capital that is dispersed among a portfolio of restoration sites to implement interventions designed to increase oyster habitat and numbers. At maturity, outcome payers reimburse investors with their capital plus or minus a rate of return based on independent verification of the outcomes achieved or not achieved.The Rhino Impact Investment project is the only current impact bond model aimed at species recovery and, as such, there is very little evidence to go on with regards to the legal and regulatory framework surrounding such instruments and the restoration of ecological systems and biodiversity. More work is needed on a regulatory and project level to take feasibility testing to the next stage.