The Landbanking Group is proud to introduce a groundbreaking approach to conservation finance. We recognize that maintaining intact ecosystems is just as crucial as restoration efforts. That's why we've developed, in close collaboration with our partner African Parks, an innovative method to measure, manage, and monetize the conservation performance by Land Stewards who protect nature. Our approach consists of issuing biodiversity units that represent the Ecological Integrity of a defined area. Land Stewards create them by uploading their land onto our platform. Investors from the philanthropic, public, private, or financial sectors can purchase biodiversity units as form of high-integrity contribution to nature conservation. This approach is a stepping stone towards an economy that values nature as critical infrastructure.
A New Era for Conservation
Each unit corresponds to 1 km² of earth that has maintained or improved its ecological integrity for one year. They are calculated based on state-of-the-art scientific methodology that was co-developed with African Parks. The calculation involves three key components:
- Habitat intactness: This is measured using satellite imagery to detect human-driven disturbances such as buildings, roads, and deforestation.
- Connectivity: This assesses how well a specific area is linked to nearby healthy habitats. Connectivity is crucial for species movement, gene flow, and overall ecosystem resilience.
- Flora and fauna: This involves observing the presence of an assemblage of indicator species specific to the ecoregion. Data comes from ground monitoring techniques such as bioacoustics or camera traps.
These three measures are combined to produce an ecological integrity score ranging from 0 (not intact) to 1 (fully intact) for each unit.
This approach combines satellite data with ground observations, balancing scalability with accuracy.
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The first of its kind: the VNU
African Parks’ Verifiable Nature Unit (VNU) is the first successful example of such an outcome-based biodiversity unit. Recently, African Parks has announced the first-ever Verifiable Nature Unit transactions for the Majete Wildlife Reserve, issuing 144 VNUs to the AWE Foundation and 58 VNUs to SUN Institute Environment & Sustainability (Deutsche Post Foundation).
The AMES Foundation has also pioneered this new approach by generating 14 biodiversity units in their Dabchick Wildlife Reserve. Learn more about AMES’ conservation work and achievements on this page.
These pioneering cases demonstrate the practical application of measuring and valuing biodiversity in diverse ecosystems, from expansive landscapes to rewilded habitats, and show the versatility and effectiveness of this innovative approach to conservation finance.
Scalable and inclusive
Our monitoring method balances scientific rigor with scalability and accessibility.
Scalability:
- Because units are uniquely traceable to any 1 km² area on earth, the approach provides a scalable solution to monitor against global conservation goals, such as protecting 30% of each country or ecoregion.
- Landler provides a platform for investors to channel funding into high-integrity areas for a type of ecoregion, from Colombia's old-growth forests to Malawi's savannas.
Inclusivity:
- Our monitoring method is designed to be simple and inclusive of all Land Stewards: to generate Biodiversity Units, all we need is the area’s polygon and field data on indicator species, either collected using techniques such as camera traps or bioacoustics, or simply provided through citizen science platforms.
- The approach focuses on providing a new level of transparency and ensuring just benefit sharing to all stakeholders.
Dynamic, high-resolution data is the game changer
The real advantage of biodiversity units generated on Landler lies in their dynamic data foundation, offering unparalleled transparency to investors and conservationists alike. Unlike static financing instruments, we provide:
- Continuous monitoring: Investors and conservationists can track the health and progress of conservation projects as they evolve.
- Accountability: Dynamic data ensures that conservation claims are backed by verifiable, up-to-date information.
- Adaptive management: Conservationists can more easily identify and respond to changes in ecosystem health.
- Trust-building: The transparency offered by dynamic data builds confidence among stakeholders and investors.
This level of transparency and near real-time insight is unique, setting these units apart from other conservation financing instruments and providing a more reliable and responsive approach to valuing and protecting natural ecosystems.
Empowering Conservationists and Investors
With this release, Land Stewards can now upload their conservation areas to Landler and generate biodiversity units. These units are stored in the project's Natural Capital Account. They can be sold, enabling conservationists to access new financing sources beyond traditional, donation-based funding schemes.
Investors from the philanthropic, public, private, or financial sectors can purchase units from any originator, enabling investments based on measured, verified, and positive nature outcomes. Learn more about investing in Nature Contribution.
Our vision
As we advance our methodology and product, we're pioneering a new paradigm in conservation finance. Our vision is to transform nature conservation into a quantifiable, tradable asset class. This innovative approach aims to:
- Create a universal "nature currency" based on measurable ecological outcomes.
- Establish a liquid and fair marketplace for investments into high-integrity ecosystems.
- Unlock new funding sources for nature conservation and restoration alike.
- Reward all stewards of biodiversity in a fair way.
By bridging the gap between finance and nature, we're empowering conservationists and Land Stewards to access the capital they need to safeguard our planet's biodiversity for generations to come.
Take action
If you are a conservationist, private or institutional, contact us to upload your land to Landler, generate biodiversity units and use them to attract investment.
If you are interested in investing in high-integrity proof of nature conservation, contact us for more information.
