How can blockchain boost biodiversity on farmland?

Growers earn additional income from environmental assets that use regenerative farming methods

Spotted: The World Economic Forum (WEF) highlights biodiversity credits as “a crucial tool to channel investments for nature-positive outcomes.” The market is, however, in its infancy. One company seeking to develop it is Brazilian climate fintech Bluebell Index.

Bluebell Index issues blockchain-based tokens for certified environmental assets that use regenerative land-use practices to support biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and water health. The company uses a mix of data sets, including publicly available satellite imagery, drone camera imagery, and the Red List of Threatened Species, along with proprietary AI analysis to evaluate and certify the health of each plot of land. Bluebell’s patented technology searches for the “best methodology for the biome among the more than 1,000 carbon measurement methodologies,” Phelipe Spielmann, CEO and Founder of Bluebell, told Springwise.

Evaluations are free for landowners and measure species density, landscape connectivity, and agrobiodiversity. The calculations analyse the net carbon balance of the entire farm, soil health, and the movement and distribution of water – taking into account how that affects the overall health or stress of the area’s water resources.

Depending on the results of the review, the company then issues a number of Bluebells (BBLL) for each property. BBLLs are the environmental asset tokens, and Bluebell Index handles the sale of the tokens from landowners to businesses, further supporting farmers in earning extra income from their nature-positive land-use practices. Landowners who earn tokens can earn up to “eight per cent more than they already produce with their land,” Spielmann explained.

Bluebell Index’s methodology is certified by Bureau Veritas, and the company’s processes undergo external audits. Plus, the blockchain provides traceability and transparency, both of which assist organisations in certifying their ESG work.

Bluebell Index is working with landowners across Brazil and has already added thousands of hectares of native vegetation. The company plans to continue expanding its work across the country at a rate of around 60 new landowners each year, which equates to approximately one million additional hectares annually.

Restoring degraded land and buying up plots of forest are two of the innovations in Springwise’s library that highlight the variation of projects seeking to preserve and improve biodiversity.

Written By: Keely Khoury