Blockchain: A Powerful Ally in Environmental Stewardship and Sustainable Development
Summary:
The article explores the impact of blockchain technology on environmental stewardship. It highlights examples of projects employing blockchain for sustainable development, such as GainForest, which uses blockchain to autonomously fund conservation projects with biodiversity data. Another, ecoToken, allows users to retire environmental credits on the blockchain, making the process more accessible than the traditional top-down carbon credit system. Sunrise Stake enables users to donate staking yield towards climate impact programmes. The article discusses the importance of blockchain's transparency in creating regenerative economies.
In today's world, blockchain technology is proving to be a valuable tool for supporting environmental protection through innovative projects that monetise carbon credits, use staking gains to bolster ecological efforts, and encourage communities to watch over and safeguard their natural environments. Cointelegraph recently explored the realm of restorative economies and finance at the Solana Breakpoint in Amsterdam, conducting a discussion featuring three individuals deeply involved in projects that use blockchain technology to pursue sustainable development goals (SDGs) worldwide. The Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment describes a regenerative economy as a shift "from exploitative business models", with a focus on potential benefits for nature and society.
One innovative example of a blockchain-driven initiative is GainForest, which seeks to encourage local communities to care for their natural environments. Co-founder Simge Sandal detailed how GainForest utilises blockchain to autonomously distribute funds to different projects in the Global South, using "measure-to-earn" technology focused on measuring biodiversity data. Sandal highlights the project's core mission as making environmental protection attractive and economically beneficial for local communities.
Private parties can contribute funds to indigenous communities and forest conservation projects through GainForest's smart contracts. Once established milestones tracking ecosystem health are reached, funds get unlocked automatically. Comprehensive transparency on ecological projects is achieved through satellite imagery and field data collected by community members in Uganda. The monitoring happens locally using devices like smartphones and drones to provide images and rich environment data.
Transparency is viewed as a crucial aspect of the regenerative economy by Sandal, and blockchain technology plays a key role in providing this, whether tracking side effects or net effects growth. Overcoming initial scepticism when introducing communities to the tech is also a part of the process, as trust is integral to these initiatives.
An exploration of the GainForest project in more detail is forthcoming from Cointelegraph. James Bettauer, ecoToken’s co-founder and CEO, discusses their Solana-based platform which allows users to retire environmental credits on the blockchain. The current system is top-down and cost-prohibitive for many smaller-scale projects. However, Bettauer believes that blockchain facilitates a bottom-up approach that empowers smaller projects to add revenue streams and create credits.
Daniel Kelleher, Sunrise Stake founder, is pioneering a decentralised finance protocol on Solana, enabling users to stake SOL for green SOL (gSOL). These can be donated towards climate impact programmes to offset carbon emissions passively. Kelleher also sees blockchain as a powerful tool for developing regenerative economies due to the capabilities of programmable money and smart contracts.
Published At
11/8/2023 10:44:59 AM
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