Stabilising forest land use

Pressure is mounting from governments and the general public to rapidly roll out a global programme of well-executed nature-based solutions (NbS), including preventing deforestation and peatland rewetting, to sequester several giga-tons of carbon each year and protect biodiversity. Nonetheless, current NbS projects are hampered by chronic underfunding, despite an increased focus on Environmental, Social, and Corporate-Governance (ESG)-oriented investment funds and expansion of net-zero commitments to 68% of the global economy. This is due to existing accreditation systems, which measure and report the value of carbon and co-benefits such as biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction, being costly, slow, and inaccurate.

To tackle these issues, this project will implement a new framework that integrates trusted primary observations with peer-reviewed algorithms for precise measurement of NbS interventions. The framework assigns a value to each project in the form of carbon credits that are tied back to the quantitative algorithms and enable trading in a global marketplace. Additionally, it incorporates both quantitative and qualitative outcomes to adjust future pricing, ensuring that projects remain on track with initial financing. Its initial “minimal viable product” is applying this framework to the pressing problem of stabilising forest land use, something that world leaders have promised will end by 2030.