Ecocredit Pilot & Incubator for Bioregional Regeneration

⚔️ THE CHALLENGES The power of Web3 has yet to be fully realised in climate action as many of these technologies remain disconnected from communities on-the-ground. Access to funding, expertise, and technology is a major challenge - particularly in the Global South’s rural and indigenous communities who have massive potential to expand biodiversity protection and commons stewardship, but lack management resources, market access and funding to grow initiatives and purchase their land (often back) for conservation, reforestation, regeneration and food security.

Establishing standards for monitoring and evaluating climate change mitigation efforts is expensive, with high barriers and up front costs for carbon accounting, biodiversity monitoring, oracles and dMRV to issue carbon and biodiversity credits for climate resilience. https://medium.com/kolektivo-co/monitoring-reporting-and-verification-methodologies-in-regenerative-finance-81d76cb9710

There is also a huge learning and technology curve to gain access to funding and eco credit markets, and many existing institutional programs that work with these communities are inefficient and corrupt, provide under market value, and lack transparency in funding flows and impact accounting. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257721886_Problematizing_REDD_as_an_experiment_in_payments_for_ecosystem_services

Most financing is also exogenous and does not maintain value and circulation within these communities, who remain dependent on external economic injections. https://blog.block.science/complex-systems-modeling-of-community-inclusion-currencies-a-blockscience-collaboration-with-grassroots-economics-the-danish-red-cross/

🌍 ACTIVATING BIOREGIONAL REGENERATION THROUGH ECOCREDITS The Global Green Finance Market Size is expected to reach USD 28.71 Trillion by 2033, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 21.25 percent during the forecast period 2023 to 2033 (Spherical Insights). One growing asset class, ecocredits, has emerged as a bioregional financing mechanism poised to support financing the transition to regenerative agriculture, biodiversity protection, and other environmental justice initiatives. Unlike carbon credits, ecocredits allow for an expanded and more holistic representation of ecological dimensions and ecosystem service value flows that can be stacked to create co-benefits and more systemic representations and nature-based solutions for environmental stewardship and conservation. https://shorturl.at/W1TF7 https://shorturl.at/n6vFX https://carboncopy.news/features/unlocking-blockchain-solutions-protect-latin-america-latam-biodiversity/ We aim to make these tools accessible to farmers, regenerative land projects, and indigenous communities that have been protecting our forests, the global heritage of medicinal plants, and traditional ways of farming, producing, and organising life, being critical to the success of nature-based solutions to climate change mitigation, such as improved forest management practices and ecosystem protection. https://www.facetsjournal.com/doi/10.1139/facets-2019-0058.

With scientifically rigorous work in ecocredit methodology development, experience in platform and technology analysis, and holding key partnerships, this group is uniquely positioned to catalyze process creation and onboarding for ecocredit issuance and sales relationships. Using this financing mechanism, we aim to support and horizontally scale regenerative land-based projects that increase biodiversity, restore soil health, uplift marginalized communities, and build reciprocal relationships with land and life, human and non-human.

🌊 VISION & GOALS Maintain and regenerate the conditions for life To bridge intersectional regeneration and Web3 to guard precious ecosystems and ancestral cultures Leveraging existing methodologies to financially incentivize transitioning to regenerative practices, holistic management, and bioregional regeneration Develop ecocredit pilots and the foundations to issue and sell ecocredits to finance bioregional regeneration To improve methodologies for measuring and reporting ecological systems health Capacity building and endogenous value creation for land stewardship, environmental justice, protection and regeneration of water, biodiversity, soil, food systems, and communities Attract investors and sponsors interested in partnering in education, financing, and scaling bioregional regeneration initiatives Our vision is to secure funding for this vital project that contributes to intersectional ecological restoration and climate action. By protecting natural (endangered) sites and co-developing ecocredits in allyship with land-based communities, we aim to foster regenerative practice and holistic management to protect and increase biodiversity. We also aim to support and continue to enable the integration of ancestral land practices and “Western” science methodologies, also known as “Two-Eyed Seeing” in Eskasoni and Acadia Nation traditions. Regeneration goes beyond agriculture and the environment. It has principles, not recipes. Regenerative solutions need to be contextually applied in different bioregions. This creates the conditions for emergent solutions that increase biodiversity, regenerate soils and landscapes, and improve community health and wellbeing.
🌳 THE MISSION Supporting the expansion of community-led biodiversity conservation by lowering the barriers to access and co-developing guides for Web3 tech, financing, eco credits, the creation of complementary currencies to build economic, cultural, and climate resilience. Project milestones include:

Ecocredit pilot initialization for two land nodes Assess feasibility and gather data for holistic ecosystem services financing to support cattle ranchers in transitioning to regenerative cattle grazing Assess feasibility and gather data for Voluntary Biodiversity credit issuance with land partners and farmers Documentation of the pilot process for iteration, refinement, and replication to produce the foundations for rapid scaling Pilot corporate partnerships for the development of commercial transactions and investments in ecocredit sales to support long-term financial sustainability for the incubator, transition financing for land partners, and funding for ongoing R&D and allied institutions apprenticeship training Replicable process for ecocredit development Pre-structure, simplified mechanisms to channel from investor/channel Training reporting/verification - capacity builiding Organizational development e.g. rancher ecocredit cooperatives and market building in Costa Rica and in global markets Support the expansion of land preservation with the issuance of high-quality ecocredits via dMRV and oracle partnerships where the investment stays within the communities and helps reduce GHG emissions and preserve biodiversity. Support the repurchase, preservation, and regeneration of degraded land, especially on the edges of indigenous territories to expand the “buffer” amidst increasing development pressure. 💚 WHO WE SERVE Land stewards and conservationists including indigenous and rural communities The land and all non-human kin 🎥 THE GRANT WORK WILL RESULT IN: In order to support the scale needed, Landia and partners will pilot ecocredit development in Costa Rica, laying the foundation to onboard regenerative land projects and train UCI graduates as apprentices in the process to replicate, iterate, and scale ecocredit research and development in different bioregions around the planet. The team will undertake two pilots using existing Digital Methodology Reporting and Verification (dMRV) methodologies with future plans in innovating on methodologies to better represent ecological health. Within this scope, UCI and partners will document the learnings and refine processes for onboarding, ecocredit development, and sales with a future aim to develop courses and education to train bioregional regenerators on how to navigate and participate in these emerging markets.
Deliverables Ecocredit methodology analysis and feasibility assessment for initial proposed methodologies Regen Network Carbon Plus Grasslands Methodology Terrasos The Protocol for the Issuance of Voluntary Biodiversity Credits Partnership for Forests (V3) Ecocredit pilot initialization for two land nodes Assess feasibility and gather data for holistic ecosystem services financing to support cattle ranchers in transitioning to regenerative cattle grazing Assess feasibility and gather data for Voluntary Biodiversity credit issuance with land partners and farmers Documentation of the pilot process for iteration, refinement, and replication to produce the foundations for rapid scaling Applied dMRV labs: Host two participatory online workshops with experts in modeling, data science, and natural assets focusing on improving and innovating on Holistic dMRV processes and frameworks Ecological state data and meta ontologies Assessment of blockchain marketplace integration and on-chain mechanisms for transparency, traceability, accountability, scalability, and cost-effectiveness Pilot corporate partnerships for the development of commercial transactions and investments in ecocredit sales to support long-term financial sustainability for the incubator, transition financing for land partners, and funding for ongoing R&D and UCI apprenticeship training Replicable process for ecocredit development Pre-structure, simplified mechanisms to channel from investor/channel Training reporting/verification - capacity implementation program Organizational development e.g. rancher ecocredit cooperatives and market building in Costa Rica and in global markets

Depending on the size of grants, we will work on the above as well as further research, development, and education.: The expansion of dMRV methodologies e.g. Regen Network, Terrasos co-development of regenerative cattle grazing methodologies for pilots in Costa Rica in Coperation with University for International Cooperation UCI. Onboarding framework for rural & indigenous communities to raise funds including Web3 fundraising e.g. Giveth.io & micro-lending e.g. EthicHub.com White Labelling products to solve the needs of the demand such as community education guide to carbon assets & biodiversity credits, community asset vouchers, Web3 & crypto in English & Español. 💱 WHAT WE CAN DO WITH MORE FUNDING & LONG-TERM PROJECT GOALS With additional funding, Landia can amplify the quality and impact of our initiatives. This includes: Expanding our operations team to tackle larger-scale projects. Covering additional restoration projects to broaden our impact. Translating community guides and educational materials into more languages. Increasing partnership and distribution efforts to share knowledge and increase action towards ecological restoration and climate action. Funding for land purchases for conservation to protect community sites using community land trusts to protect land in perpetuity. Covering tax and legal fees associated with the project. Production of documentary type videos and media in collaboration with our partners
👥 AUDIENCE Our audience includes supporters of environmental conservation, farmers, cultural preservation, and sustainable development. We aim to engage a diverse community of donors, activists, and organisations passionate about making a positive impact on our planet using Web3 tooling and recognized standards and methodologies to reduce GHG emissions and protect biodiversity. 🤝 TEAM The project team of bioregional regenerators consists of dedicated land stewards and conservations including indigenous and rural communities, scientists, systems engineers, and ecologists committed to environmental stewardship and community empowerment. Eduard Muller: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eduard-m%C3%BCller-a618229/ Marty Bhatia: https://cr.linkedin.com/in/martybhatia Abby Karparis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigail-karparis-57b940107?trk=people-guest_people_search-card Arturo Montanaro: https://cr.linkedin.com/in/arturo-g-montanaro-75873218b Jessica Zartler:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicazartler/ Jefta Bade: https://jeftabade.com/ Daniela Gomez: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielagomezc/

PARTNERS Universidad para la Cooperación Internacional(UCI) The University for International Cooperation (UCI) was born in Costa Rica in 1994, as a response to the need of the Latin American and Caribbean region to have professionals with inter- and multidisciplinary training, to effectively face multifaceted challenges and dilemmas. of the complexity of the modern world, under the concepts of sustainability, regeneration, conservation, and globalization.

UCI is clear about its responsibility to contribute to training leaders who promote an intelligent global society, capable of addressing reality with a holistic vision, and more integrative of different knowledge: academic and scientific rigor on which the paradigms of scientific development are based. UCI embraces current technology, but with values ​​and attitudes that build social responsibility, balance with nature and formation of a more supportive and more inclusive society. Website: https://uci.ac.cr/en/home_en

UCI has been implementing regenerative grazing for three years through its Savory Hub. Adding to the known benefits of the Savory method, UCI added the increase of biodiversity by giving back between 15 to 30 percent of pasture areas to nature through the establishment of biological corridors. This has increased revenue for farmers, allowed for water harvest and early indicators show an important potential to increase biodiversity. Now, these efforts have been extended to 30,000 hectares with support from rePLANET.org. The current focus of this project is carbon with “additional” benefits for biodiversity. The intention of developing ecocredits is to be able to finance biodiversity regeneration directly, transitioning from carbon-tunnel vision. https://www.suelosvivos.org/?lang=en

The Clean Wave Foundation USA & CR The Clean Wave(TCW) is a community-based nonprofit organization based in Tamarindo Costa Rica. It focuses on 8 initiatives: Underwater, Beach, Mangrove, Forest, and Urban Restoration, Community Revitalization, Education, and Zero Waste, seeking to build healthy thriving communities connected with the environment. TCW has hosted hundreds of events with growth and momentum building every year. TCW has a strong brand reputation, is growing and scaling projects, and is becoming internationally renowned, represented at UN events and conferences. TCW is a powerful partner in activating local communities, especially in Costa Rica, utilizing modern event systems, operating with world-class branding and design, harnessing powerful communication, and bringing an activated international team. Website: https://www.thecleanwave.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecleanwave/
LinkedIn: https://cr.linkedin.com/company/the-clean-wave-cr Impact assessment 2023 https://www.thecleanwave.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/reporte_TCW_2023_INGLES.pdf

KiBrand Daní Gómez is a brand strategist that develops the visual narrative of organizations, projects, products, services and events. She’s an award winning professor of Branding in Chile’s prestigious Diego Portales university. Her work develops the depth of the identity, personality, and character of the organizations she works with. Through her mentorship she teaches teams how to be ambassadors of their brands, creating more practical success and aligned partnerships. The brand identity developed with NGO’s helps position them with more authority and credibility, allowing them to scale up their positive impact. Website: https://kibrand.cl/

PROGRESS ON WORK SINCE LAST GITCOIN ROUND ✅In person gathering at Kosmos Ranch (Santa Cruz, Costa Rica) with the teams from Landia, the Clean Wave, Digital Ninja, KiBrand and the UCI to catalyse biocredit downstream end to end mechanisms to massively regenerate soil, biodiversity, communities with a bioregional approach.
Created a comprehensive proposal for a collaboration pilot and development of an Ecocredit Incubator for Bioregional Regeneration Identified aligned methodologies and partners for kickoff ✅ Development of an ecocredit pilot schema in Costa Rica with farmers using regenerative cattle grazing and biodiversity enhancement with vocational pathways of learning ✅Major advances in the legal structures needed to create Community Land Trusts in Costa Rica ✅Organising a volunteering visit to the Boruca Project and created video documentation of the visit ✅ Funding materials for local cultural & environmental infrastructure: Raised $1111 for: Repairing the sacred malocas of Boruca community members to host eco/cultural interactions and engagement Purchase of trees and materials for initial reforestation and syntropic agroforestry planning ✅Co-ran a workshop on Giveth onboarding for NGOs May 12-15, 2024 ✅ Donated $300 ($100 per month) from our GG 20 funding to initiate legal action to protect nature’s rights, support legal frameworks for environmental justice, and empower environmentalists on the ground whose efforts have already helped prevent harmful activities: https://delfino.cr/2024/06/fiscalia-paraliza-construccion-de-torre-de-apartamentos-que-se-levantaba-en-manuel-antonio ✅ Allocated 5% of the grant to support GrowNations for next GG21, fostering the growth of regenerative projects ✅ Providing ongoing fundraising support for regenerative projects to ensure sustained impact and growth ✅ Webinar for the Commons / Taller de Economías Regenerativas: An onboarding framework for rural & indigenous communities to raise funds using Web3 technologies ✅ Initiating a Regenerative Finance Program for commons stewards (Web2/Web3 Fundraising -> more complex initiatives e.g. eco credits and community currencies)

(LONG-TERM & ONGOING) Research, documentation & expansion of dMRV methodologies, regenerative and collaborative finance mechanisms, emerging technologies and biodiversity credits (LONG-TERM & ONGOING) Research and relationship building to support land purchases for conservation and biodiversity protection (LONG-TERM & ONGOING) Support existing initiatives for land repurchase and the development of syntropic agroforestry and regeneration of degraded former monoculture banana plantation land