What Funds Will Be Used For

Hypercert Ecological MRV Pilot During ReFi week, an incredible regenerative action took place - 700 trees were planted! This impactful initiative has created a buzz in the community, with a hypercert as reference of the action. Silvi, ReFi DAO, and Traditional Dream Factory have claimed a large percentage of the hypercert, playing vital roles in making the planting a reality.

Traditional Dream Factory is committed to nurturing and caring for these trees, ensuring their growth. ReFi DAO organized and orchestrated the entire initiative. Silvi purchased the trees and incorporated MRV tools to make this possible.

Hypercert image from the tree planting Silvi embarked on an exciting mission, combining human and drone sensing to capture vivid snapshots of newly planted trees. They collected images, attributes, and geolocations, going beyond the ordinary. Not stopping there, a breathtaking drone flyover revealed even more. All this invaluable data will be stored in a cutting-edge data claim resolution NFT, seamlessly linking to hypercert for undeniable impact verification.

Imagine a world where Hypercerts were not only minted but also carried rights like carbon credits. Exciting retroactive funders even more! They would eagerly seek information about carbon sequestered by planted trees over time and generously fund evaluators like Silvi. Best part: by purchasing fractions of Hypercerts, funders could directly benefit from carbon rights. The funding would flow to creators at Traditional Dream Factory, who could distribute it to deserving organizations like ReFiDAO and Silvi.

Carbon is missing out on the big picture when it comes to acknowledging the positive impact of tree planting. We must shift our perspective and appreciate the holistic benefits that result from these regenerative actions. Enter the Ecological Benefits Framework (EBF), a powerful structure that paves the way for compelling stories about the positive impacts. Picture this: the EBF encompasses six vital components - air, water, soil, biodiversity, equity, and carbon. The evaluators of each component (think organizations like dMeter) diligently gather data to showcase the tremendous benefits of the actions outlined in the Hypercert.

Six key areas of the framework

Once the data is collected, it's time to unveil its secrets through the art of interpretation. Regen Network has developed groundbreaking methodologies for ecological credits that can be applied. But that's not all! Sunflower Ecotech has just unleashed the first version of their adaptive agroforestry methodology, adding a touch of innovation to the mix. And there's more to come! In the coming months, EBF will gather other open source methodologies into a commons accessible to everyone.

Scaling Pilot Introducing local nodes - vibrant, value-aligned communities of founders, leaders, and change-makers dedicated to realizing a regenerative economy. These dedicated souls kickstart their journey with meet-ups and events, but their impact reverberates far beyond. Think: tree planting, stewardship, and acquiring real-world assets! Nigeria and Cape Town house remarkable local nodes. In Nigeria's largest city, the focus is urban solutions for sustainable food and energy farming, combating rising demand for nourishment. Meanwhile, ReFi Cape Town Local Node revolutionizes resource flows through a digital platform, opening doors to sustainable resources, biodiversity conservation, and empowering youth with valuable skills.

Green Pill Chapters have sprouted globally. These vibrant communities of visionaries, pioneers, and catalysts are united in pursuing a regenerative economy. Together with ReFi Local Nodes there are 90+ inspiring hotspots worldwide, where individuals fuelled by a shared passion for regeneration are coming together.

Areas with direct connections to web3 regeneration

In these areas, people are actively engaged in regenerative actions, striving to make a positive impact. However, a common challenge is describing and assessing the true influence of these actions. Enter Hypercerts, the game-changer that provides a unified framework for claiming the impact of these regenerative endeavors.

ReFiDAO, dMeter, EBF, and Hypercerts join forces to scale the pilot, amplifying its impact. But that's not all! Silvi is about to launch a local reforestation guide, ready to be embraced by local nodes.

This innovative guide inspires local reforestation, afforestation, and agroforestry efforts while providing an effortless way to evaluate impact with the mighty EBF. We aspire to have around 20 local nodes carry out a reforestation action. From this action, Hypercerts will be generated.

We'll apply a holistic EBF lens to assess these actions, ensuring comprehensive analysis. dMeter members will gather valuable data, secured in a data claim NFT and linked to the respective Hypercert. This adds credibility and validation to these impactful endeavors. Methodologies will further solidify the benefits gained from these remarkable actions.

1: local node 2: regenerative action 3: Hypercerts 4: dMeter and data collection orgs 5: methodologies in alignment with EBF

Every action plays a vital role in identifying, coordinating, and ensuring stakeholders' continued success. Individuals involved with the actions decide on their own to assign rights like ecological credits to the Hypercerts, influencing initial and retrospective funders.

From scaling the MVP we aim to further how we implement dMRV in localized contexts to support regenerative actions and value the benefits from them.

Potential funders and benefits from regenerative action

About Our Organization

dMeter’s dMRV System dMeter is unique in the dMRV space in that we are facilitating the development of a robust, diverse, distributed, decentralized MRV ecosystem that offers options to land users, project developers & community/citizen scientists. It's about public accountability. Public accountability that is necessary to accomplish any kind of effective, comprehensive payment for ecosystem services marketplace,or for natural capital accounting purposes, or to hold polluters to account.

We are creating a core building block of the regenerative finance movement: a decentralized monitoring, reporting and verification (dMRV) system. We are in the beginning of this dMRV process and countless building blocks are still missing. There will be problems and limitations that we encounter, but as these gradually get addressed it will become possible to use this new set of lego building blocks to build things that we can hardly imagine today.

Why We Are Building It

There are a few centralized methodologies that exist for creating credits, however few regenerative projects have the financial resources to implement or comply with them. If they do, the third parties that provide these MRV methods utilize them infrequently with little or no personal connection to the area they are monitoring. With the MRV methods currently utilized there are gaps in information, and the data backing these projects can vary significantly in precision, magnitude, and quality. Through centralization, projects are siloed and left to stand on their own. Meanwhile, overly high transaction costs to utilize existing MRV methodologies limits participation from the many decentralized projects doing regenerative action (ie. soil carbon). Without proof that they have been able to complete accreditation through the methodologies, these projects find it difficult for funders to provide them with capital. This especially impacts marginalized communities. Without coordination and cooperation with MRV, it will be difficult for regenerative projects to scale.

MRV (monitoring, reporting, and verification) overview

MRV consists of three distinct features, all of which are vital to conveying legitimacy of regenerative projects (such as tree planting) or environmental actions (ESG commitments) to stakeholders. Monitoring is the process of measuring the total ecosystem and social services provided by the project. Measurements may be collected through satellite, IOT, georeferenced imagery from boots on the ground, as well as surveys that empower experts & citizen scientists. Reporting involves describing i) measured data, ii) the methodologies that were used to collect and analyze the data, and iii) potential biases as well as assumptions that went into the data collection/analysis. Verification refers to the review process involving a third party that is utilized to ensure the confidence in the validity of the uploaded data and methodologies.

Decentralized measurement, reporting and verification (dMRV) means that no single entity will own, manage or regulate how MRV is done. Instead a collective of people from many different organizations can build upon and improve this dMRV system. For current accreditation standards a combination of on the ground data collection, satellite sensing and IOT devices are used to back the credits. Utilizing web3 mentality, trust minimized data collection methods can be created. An example of this is to write open codes for actions that used to be performed by humans, like detecting a tree and the species of tree it is. Other data collection technologies can become integrated into this system as they become standard in the future.

Once the data is collected, open source reporting and verification methodologies can be utilized to analyze the data. Entities that collect the data and create the analysis methodologies are paid each time data is used and an analysis done. This inspires entrepreneurs to build specialized dMRV services which can benefit further regenerative projects. The entire dMRV allows for standardization, trustlessness, immutability, transparency, and open accessibility.

This paves the way for decentralized data backed credits. These credits are tied to a specific regenerative action and entity who carried out the action continuously updated over time as more data is gathered. This data and the methodologies used to analyze it is stored permanently and immutably. The collectors of this data are the owners of it, allowing for sensitive data to be fully controlled by its owner. The dMRV would assist regenerative projects across blockchains and be interoperable with any new blockchain that came into existence. Every entity that is involved with this dMRV helps to iteratively improve upon it.

With this, local communities can become more deeply involved with how the regenerative projects they carry out go through the dMRV process as well as tap into funding that was not previously available to carry out these projects. Along with that the diversity and veracity of Natural Capital assets being valued can exponentially increase.

This paves the way for decentralized data backed credits. These credits are tied to a specific regenerative action and entity who carried out the action continuously updated over time as more data is gathered. This data and the methodologies used to analyze it is stored permanently and immutably.

With this, local communities can become more deeply involved with how the regenerative projects they carry out go through the dMRV process as well as tap into funding that was not previously available to carry out these projects. Along with that the diversity and veracity of Natural Capital assets being valued can exponentially increase.

Cross Organizational Support

Behind all of this are people. These people have formed their own decentralized organizations specializing in different aspects of the dMRV system. There are organizations specializing in data collection, analysis and domain experts. The organizations participating in the dMRV will continue to expand as the system builds continued support.

Past Work

Operations dMeter has formed an unincorporated nonprofit association in the USA with an employer identification number and is in the process of exploring creating a 501c3 nonprofit.

Our member base can be seen here https://sobol.io/d/public/refidao/circles

IRL Implementation Ogallala Life IRL Pilot Projects located in Central and Southern High Plains, initially near Amarillo TX.Jon Ray Creek / upper camp pasture, a few hundred acres with stretch of (ex)intermittent watershed suitable for leaky weirs and/or subsurface and sand dams. Livestock to be excluded for few year initial establishment, install check dam cascade and revegetate riparian, then reintroduce rotational grazing along shoulders.

Tecovas springs and creek, a half-mile or so stretch of more or less intact string of wetland pools but suffering incision, sedimented reservoir, gullying and decreasing extent and connectivity of watershed. Focus to control erosion and encourage recharge higher in landscape, for improved spring flows here and along parallel watercourses. Landowner's project with our advisement and consultation, and ability to document and record. Livestock to be excluded from certain pasture and buffers constructed or implemented further downstream, and grazier has committed to more intensive management.

Bushland playa, or segments thereof. Early pilot here to focus on strips of playa, exclude livestock and document plant species and recovery - what native seed stock exists in soils, and what interventions if any need be directed towards sedimentation and facilitating connectivity between subsurface and surface waters.

This pilot project has been getting monitored for around a year. The actions have been monitored through IOT devices from Athena Network and recently powered by Althea’s network connection technology. The IOT devices have been able to continuously collect data about the wind, humidity levels, temperature and other variables.

Methodology Creation Member organizations of dMeter created the Open Trees methodology during Sustainable Blockchain Hackathon of Protocol Labs and won first place. This methodology combines remote-sensing (IoT & Satellite), reputation-sensing (DIDs & VCs / Passports), and human sensing. It is an 'Adaptive Agroforestry & Smallholder Stewardship' methodology based on these different types of sensing techniques. Instead of creating the entirety of the methodology, what was created was the data storage framework that this methodology could utilize. Now the methodology is getting further developed through a month long study in Sicily.

Data Claim Resolution NFT- Filecoin Green This project allowed for standardization of data collection among projects that implement it. The data is stored on IPFS until it is ready to be utilized. Member organizations that have implemented it so far include Regen Network, Eco Labs, Silvi and Athena Protocol.

The standardization of data through this system created data schemas for different types of ecological claims. For instance, create distinct schemas for trees, geolocation, and regenerative project types. Once adopted these standardized schemas to ensure compatibility and ease of data aggregation. It also ensures that all data collected by dMRV tools include essential metadata, such as timestamps, geolocation, and device information to enhance the claim verification process.

The design of the NFT with IPFS leveraged IPFS content-addressing and distributed nature. Assign each data item a unique CID to ensure data integrity and tamper resistance, leveraging existing frameworks such as co2.storage. It also created a directory structure or a decentralized database to index and organize the data efficiently, making it easier to locate and cross-reference claims.

Code Connect Code Connect has created a framework with which to incentivize open source contributions. Examples of such contributors are people that create open source methodologies for ecosystem service valuation, the creators of the data claim resolution NFT system, decentralized infrastructure providers, etc. By incentivizing such contributions these open source contributors are more likely to become involved as a stakeholder with dMeter.

Ecological Benefits Framework Activator A number of our member organizations recently went through a 6 month activator. An unprecedented activator and collaboration of climate experts, web3 and blockchain technologists, carbon registries, standards organizations, environmentalists, academics, impact investors, and the ReFi Community in support of an accelerated response to our planet’s greatest challenges. This was facilitated by the organization called the Lexicon. The Lexicon has created the Ecological Benefits Framework (EBF). This framework is getting massively adopted. Newday is an example of one organization that has already adopted EBF into their investment thesis.