Mark Tercek

I've long believed that the private sector has an important role in addressing critical social and environmental challenges.

Like everyone else, most business leaders want their companies to be good neighbors and respected members of the community -- commitments long reflected in corporate social responsibility policies.

But today, the...

This Wednesday, May 9, will mark the anniversary of one of the worst man-made disasters ever to hit the United States.

On that date in 1934, massive clouds of dust and top soil blew from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and other Great Plains states all the way to cities as far...

How can we meet the world's increasing demands for food, water and energy without degrading the natural systems we depend on for survival?

Last week, I had the privilege of addressing this question at the Fortune Brainstorm Green conference, where hundreds of business, government and nonprofit leaders gathered...

In May 2010, I flew over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. As we made our way over the Gulf, we saw the slick spreading like fingers toward the coast. We also saw shrimp boats pressed into service as oil skimmers, and met people whose livelihoods depended on healthy...

I recently spoke at a Wall Street Journal ECO:nomics session titled "China: Friend or Foe of Green Capitalism"?

No doubt it's a complicated question.

Home to a staggering one-fifth of the world's population, China has been growing rapidly for the...

Given difficult challenges for the Federal budget and the economy, you might expect support of conservation and the environment to weaken in the U.S. But, when we Americans are at our best, hard times can actually result in creativity and innovation.

Such is the case in Central Florida. Secretary...

With a potential BP settlement for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill possible as early as this week, Gulf Coast communities are speaking up, urging Congress to quickly pass the RESTORE Act. Passage of this bill would ensure that fines for the spill are dedicated to restoring the...

What is the business case for conservation? Just a few years ago, I don't think many people in either the business or conservation communities would have thought to even pose that question, let alone try to answer it in a meaningful way. But times are changing. The challenge for both...

Resource scarcity has been a frequent topic at the World Economic Forum in recent years, and for good reason.

Between now and 2050, the world's population will grow by an additional 2 billion people. Over the same period, millions of people will be lifted out...

At this week's World Economic Forum, the food-energy-water nexus will be a common theme running through many conversations, and that is a good thing. Water, food and energy security are chronic impediments to economic growth and social stability. But now we need to take the next step, and...

As we watch the world debate how best to address climate change, and as carbon emissions continue to soar, at least one climate strategy strikes me as a "no-brainer." We should do everything we can to save the world's forests.

There are many good reasons for protecting forests, from...

In the recent past, sugarcane growers and conservationists may have seemed unlikely allies.

Today, however, some of Latin America's leading agricultural businesses -- from sugarcane growers to ranchers to soy producers -- understand that improving sustainability has a positive impact on their bottom line, local communities and the lands and...

What do The Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, the Civil War Trust, the National Marine Manufacturers Association and the Saucony shoe company have in common?

Of course, they all have a shared interest in getting people outdoors. But they are also part of America's Voice for Conservation, Recreation and Historic...

This week, according to UN estimates, the Earth welcomed its 7 billionth person. By 2050, we are likely to hit the 9 billion mark.

You don't have to be a conservationist to have some grasp of the demands on our planet these additional 2 billion people will represent. They...

Earlier this month, I spoke at the inaugural South by Southwest Eco. I began by mentioning my former career on Wall Street-a topic unlikely to win me many fans.

Then why bring it up?

The theme of my speech was broadening support for conservation by crossing boundaries...

I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of a good friend of conservation and a true champion of Africa, Wangari Maathai.

Through my work for The Nature Conservancy, I have had the good fortune to meet many heroes of the conservation world. Few have...

The Clinton Global Initiative's annual meeting has a reputation for producing simple, powerful and practical ideas and putting them into action: from calcium supplements that prevent maternal death in childbirth, to hand-crank emergency radios for isolated regions, to green reconstruction in Haiti.

I'm eager to see what ideas emerge from this year's meeting and am thrilled to be taking part in the Girls, Women and Water breakout session today. My group, which includes representatives from EcoDecision, Living Goods, The Paley Center and Unilever, will explore how girls and women can gain better quality of life while ensuring the long-term sustainability of water resources for entire communities.

Figuring out how to get this done is, quite simply, one of the best things we can do for the planet.

With the world population expected to double by 2050, we're going to need to get double the food and double the water from natural sources to the people who depend on them.

Improving access to clean water and keeping the whole range of nature's services intact will require everything from smart engineering and planning, to land conservation to education. If there's one thing we cannot do without in this situation it's the good ideas and innovation of half our population.

In many places across the world, women spend countless hours collecting and preparing water for their families, yet they are often excluded from decision making. There are real social, economic and environmental costs involved when communities miss out on women's input on water issues. Thursday's session is one ripple in an ongoing global movement to turn this situation around.

At The Nature Conservancy, we've been protecting clean water for six decades, often side by side with women scientists, farmers and landowners, and we see two areas where we are well-poised to help: by directly providing women and their communities with access to clean water and by empowering women to protect their natural water sources.

For example, in Kenya and Papua New Guinea, our work to provide low-impact, easy to maintain reservoirs and rainwater tanks gives small communities close access to clean water and frees women up to become more engaged in growing and leading their communities.

And in Ecuador, the microfinance support and training we are providing with our partners enables women to establish livelihoods that keep water sources clean for themselves and others downstream, including citizens of Quito.

I believe we should embrace all opportunities to put conservation to work helping people, and I see these examples as strong models we can scale up and replicate. Still, The Nature Conservancy's work is just one small piece of a rich, diverse and growing collection of organizations working for women and girls. That's where the CGI and our discussion today come in.

To make a real difference on this issue we need to connect the dots between freshwater conservation, water access, human health and sanitation, and collaborate more fluidly across civil society and private and public sectors to keep water safe and plentiful.

Water is the thread that runs through all of the world's biggest challenges: food security, health issues, fair access to energy, truly sustainable economic growth, education and of course, the welfare of women and children. We cannot meet these challenges without getting it right on water. And we cannot get water right without women.

Please explore this digital "quilt" to see the range of amazing work on water being led by women around the world.
...

Ignoring the science of climate change jeopardizes the safety of our families, just as we would be putting them in harm's way if we ignored the warnings of a coming storm.

When Hurricane Irene crossed the Bahamas and headed toward landfall along the U.S. East coast, tens of millions...

This week, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack traveled to Florida to announce the commitment of $100 million of U.S. funds to restore and protect wetlands in the Northern Everglades Watershed. Combined with a project of similar scale completed in the same area last year, the USDA initiative is an...

When most of us wake up in the morning, we don't usually question where the cotton for our shirts, the beans for our coffee or the wood for our kitchen tables came from.

But without healthy natural systems, we would not have any of...