Conservation International is an American nonprofit environmental organisation headquartered in Crystal City, Virginia, working on biodiversity conservation and the relationship between ecosystems and human well-being.
Founded in 1987 by Spencer Beebe and Peter Seligmann, the organisation helped negotiate the first debt-for-nature swap with Bolivia that same year. In 1989 it adopted biodiversity hotspots as a framework for setting conservation priorities, and in 1990 created the Rapid Assessment Program to conduct time-limited biodiversity surveys for informing conservation decisions. Conservation International has been involved in conservation finance and multilateral initiatives, including the 2000 launch of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund and the creation of the Global Conservation Fund. Its public communications have included Nature Is Speaking, a celebrity-narrated campaign launched in 2014. The organisation operates through country programmes and affiliated entities in multiple regions, with more than 1,600 employees reported in 2025. In fiscal year 2024, Conservation International Foundation reported US$271 million in revenue and US$298 million in expenses. The organisation has faced criticism over aspects of project implementation and its engagement with corporate partners.
