Description:
TL;DR: At SNI, we mobilize innovative digital solutions to support impactful biodiversity restoration projects. Our initiatives directly enhance carbon sequestration and improve ecosystem resilience, contributing effectively to global climate change mitigation efforts.
Proposal:
Introduction:
The Sovereign Nature Initiative (SNI) uniquely addresses the urgent need for sustainable funding in biodiversity conservation, deploying innovative financial instruments and digital platforms to scale nature-positive projects. Our focus extends to nature-based and ocean-based solutions that directly counteract climate change, enhancing carbon sinks and bolstering ecosystem services globally.
Purpose of the Project:
This initiative leverages SNI's Decentralised Ecological Economics Protocol (DEEP) and the Registry for Ecological Asset Linking (REAL) to foster biodiversity projects that offer substantial climate benefits. By protecting crucial species and their habitats, our work underpins natural processes that are fundamental to carbon cycling and climate regulation.
Use of Funds:
The allocated funds will be utilised to:
- Expand the capability of our digital platforms to integrate and manage more extensive ecological data and projects.
- Directly support on-the-ground restoration activities focused on strategic afforestation and marine conservation efforts, particularly targeting ecosystems with high carbon sequestration potential.
- Enhance the development and dissemination of digital eco-badges that link tangible conservation impacts with global stakeholders, making ecological contributions more accessible and transparent.
Project Update:
Our recent endeavours include collaboration with marine biologists to enhance habitats for dolphins and whales, integral to marine ecosystems and their carbon sequestration capacities, with our partners Aquasearch and AIMM. We're also in advanced planning for an engagement in forest restoration projects that not only increase tree cover but also strengthen the resilience of terrestrial ecosystems, through our partner MRN.
Project Team:
- Dr. Andrea Leiter, our Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), specialises in sustainable global economic law, providing a strong foundation for governance frameworks that enhance ecological conservation.
- Ewald Hesse, a member of our supervisory board, brings extensive experience in blockchain technology, ensuring robust, transparent, and secure digital transactions.
- Catherine Bischoff, CEO, leverages her global business development and marketing expertise to lead initiatives within startups and large corporations, focusing on technology-driven, community-centric strategies.
- Vadim Smakhtin, Head of Product, specialises in landscape architecture and uses big data to innovate on how ecological data can be visualised and utilised, improving the interaction between digital platforms and ecological impacts.
- Alessandro Mazzi, Head of Partnerships and Field Research, a PhD candidate in political ecology, applies his deep understanding of environmental law and blockchain technology to bridge the gap between ecological stewardship and technological innovation.
- Rica Amaral, Marketing Manager, brings his experience as a creative strategist at the intersection of Web3 and regenerative finance, further enhancing our project’s outreach and impact through innovative marketing strategies.
- Beth McCarthy, our Web3 Researcher, focuses on designing digital public goods and regenerative systems, enhancing the project’s approach to sustainable digital solutions.
Detailed Description:
At the Sovereign Nature Initiative, our goal is to reconfigure the economics of ecology by finding ways to fund and expand projects that sustain life on our planet. Currently, most ecological stewarding projects are severely underfunded. Biodiversity restoration primarily relies on donations, and funding from philanthropists, public institutions, and other donors. Private voluntary contributions toward nature-positive efforts, also known as “private investments in nature”, play a key role in addressing this funding gap.
We developed the Decentralised Ecological Economics Protocol (DEEP) together with the Registry for Ecological Asset Linking (REAL) to ensure that private commitments are valuable, and eventually become a key mode for contributing to the restoration of biodiversity worldwide. Our protocol and interface allow us to effectively integrate data about ecological impact with the digital realm. This approach generates new funding streams while imbuing digital assets with tangible and real-life significance. Critically, our approach allows ecological stewards to market their work without impeding their on-site efforts, ensuring a harmonious balance between financial viability and biodiversity restoration.
Our projects are designed to restore and protect biodiversity while directly enhancing ecosystems' capacity to store carbon. For example, our marine initiatives increase plankton populations through cetacean activity, which significantly contributes to oceanic carbon capture. Similarly, our terrestrial projects facilitate bird-mediated seed dispersal in rainforests, promoting forest regeneration and carbon storage.
Getting Involved:
We invite you to support these transformative projects by funding, sharing expertise, or joining our vibrant community on platforms like Discord. Your involvement will help expand the reach and impact of these crucial initiatives, fostering a nature-positive future:
- Engage with us on Discord
- Learn more and support our ongoing efforts at Sovereign Nature Initiative
- Connect Eco-data to your project!
Sovereign Nature Initiative — Triggering Nature-Positive Funding One Asset at a Time History
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accepted into Climate Round 6 months ago.
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