Based on the payment for ecosystem scheme, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has developed sophisticated financial tools, collectively called Water Funds, to attract investments from water users and direct the funding toward conservation of key lands upstream that filter and regulate water supply. TNC’s first Water Fund was established in Quito, Ecuador in 2000. There are currently over 35 Water Funds in operation and the concept continues to evolve as it is adapted in new continents, including Africa and Asia.

Now TNC introduces Water Fund to the PRC to sustainably reduce agricultural diffuse pollution and protect watershed. Innovative water fund scheme has been developing on small-, medium-, and large-scale demonstrations, and innovative investors—primarily large businesses and government agencies—see the funds as a smart way to minimize treatment costs and reduce the nonpoint source pollution in the long term.