The Business of the Wild: Evidence That Conservation Can Pay ! Special ORC 2025 Episode 4

Special Episode — Recorded live at the Oppenheimer Research Conference 2025. What does it really take to make wildlife land use financially sustainable? Veterinarian and impact-investing specialist Dr. Susan De Witt explores the economics behind conservation, from private conservancies to community lands. She explains how revenue models (photographic tourism, hunting, live sales, and wildlife meat) interact with property rights, wildlife user rights, and access to finance. We unpack the successes of Namibia’s community conservancies, lessons from South Africa’s private sector, and what it will take to channel capital toward conservation that pays people fairly and protects ecosystems.