BioCultural Units (BCUs)

Growing Your Nature Portfolio

A BioCultural Unit (BCU) represents proof of a biocultural connection to one of the nature realms on GuardiansofEarth.io. There are three ways to acquire BCUs. 1. Harvesting BCUs: You can harvest BCUs by visiting an existing Nature Realm and raising its BioScore using any of these apps - or by contributing biocultural knowledge to the Realms's webpage. Harvested BCUs can be sold on the nature market. 2. Staking BCUs: A pool of 1000 BCUs has been allocated for staking rewards. Purchased BCUs can be staked on any of the Nature Realms on GuardiansofEarth.io. If the BioScore of the realm goes up, your earn BCUs. If it goes down, you lose BCUs (noting that the market is going up overall). 3. Buying BCUs: Anyone can purchase BCUs through GuardiansofEarth.io and affiliated trading platforms. Money is distributed to harvesters, with 10% going to verifiers on the Oracle of Life. Buyers can purchase BCUs either from harvesters directly, or through specific realms. If purchasing through specific realms, the funds go toward the harvesters of that realm, and to any restoration project the realm supports. Reasons to purchase BCUs 1. As an investment in the BCU as a currency. There will only ever be one million BCUs. As more time passes, and as more BCUs are claimed, harvesting becomes increasingly more difficult, with a higher BioScore required per BCU. For this reason, we expect the price of the BCU to increase over time. The formula for the BioScore requirement per BCU is: 1000 × [1 + (harvested/1 000 000)² × e^(–weeks/26)] 2. As an impact investment (e.g. for corporate reports, marketing collateral, etc). While the exact impact varies by location, on average, one BCU contributes to the following restoration:

  • The monitoring of 158 species

  • 166 hours of nature regeneration engagement

  • Engaging 63 people in nature stewardship

  • Generating 1.8 new knowledge articles

Apart from supporting harvesters, buyers can also select specific realms with specific restoration projects (such as rewilding initiatives, species protection, educational programs, etc). For impact buyers, the BioCultural Ecosystem integrates both biodiversity and human cultural practices within a specific geographic area. It emphasizes the dynamic relationship between nature and people, blending the ecological components (species, habitats, ecosystems) with cultural, traditional, and local knowledge tied to land use, resource management, and conservation practices. Specifically, impact buyers are supporting: - Biodiversity: Mapping data on flora and fauna, including endangered or keystone species essential to ecosystem function. - Cultural Practices: Traditional and local knowledge systems, cultural traditions, and sustainable land stewardship practices, shared through Stories and verified by the community. - Human-Nature Interaction: A dashboard providing statistics on community engagement in biodiversity monitoring, land use, knowledge sharing, and conservation efforts. - Ecosystem Conservation: On-the-ground conservation and regeneration activities, shaped by cultural heritage and verified by on-ground NGOs.

HOW DO BCUs ALIGN WITH EXISTING FRAMEWORKS OF NATURE REPAIR FOR CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) AND GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVES (GRI)? BCUs align with the UN’s SDGs and demonstrate a verified commitment to cultural preservation, community empowerment, and biodiversity enhancement, while meeting CSR and GRI requirements. Specifically, these Units are aligned with:

  • UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3, 4, 8, 13, 14, 15, and 17.

  • Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework.

  • CSR commitments to

    • Cultural Preservation: “Preserve and transmit Local and Indigenous Knowledge on biodiversity and land stewardship.”

    • Community Empowerment: “Empower communities by recognizing and compensating their contributions to environmental and cultural knowledge.”

    • Biodiversity Enhancement: “Promote sustainable practices and protect ecosystems.”

    • Education and Awareness: “Raise awareness about the importance of traditional ecological knowledge.”

APPLICATIONS A measure of the BioCultural Ecosystem serves several important purposes and can provide valuable insights:

1. Environmental Stewardship and Conservation

  • Purpose: Measuring connectedness to nature helps to understand the depth of human engagement with local ecosystems, which is vital for environmental stewardship and conservation efforts. Higher connectedness often correlates with stronger conservation behaviors, as people who are more engaged with nature are more likely to protect it.

  • Indication: A high score could indicate active guardianship over the environment, suggesting that local communities are invested in protecting biodiversity and maintaining ecosystem health.

  • Supports: It can be used to guide conservation programs, indicating where local support and knowledge can be leveraged to bolster ecosystem protection.

2. Cultural and traditional Knowledge Preservation

  • Purpose: By including indicators of biocultural knowledge shared, this measurement reflects the preservation and transmission of traditional and local knowledge. It recognizes the importance of cultural heritage in managing and understanding environmental assets.

  • Indication: A high score in biocultural knowledge suggests that traditional ecological practices are thriving, which can be critical for biodiversity conservation and sustainable resource management.

  • Supports: This can be used to support initiatives aimed at preserving traditional cultures, traditional knowledge systems, and sustainable practices, highlighting the role of local communities in environmental governance.

3. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Monitoring

  • Purpose: The method incorporates ecological indicators like habitat quality and species richness, giving a snapshot of biodiversity and ecosystem health. It helps assess how well ecosystems are functioning in regions with varying degrees of human interaction.

  • Indication: A low score on ecological indicators might reveal areas of environmental degradation, habitat loss, or biodiversity threats. Conversely, a high score suggests a resilient, biodiverse ecosystem.

  • Supports: This measurement can inform environmental management policies, helping prioritize areas for habitat restoration, conservation action, or monitoring efforts. It also supports biodiversity assessments and compliance with environmental protection regulations.

4. Sustainable Development and Land Use Planning

  • Purpose: Understanding human-nature connections can inform land use decisions, particularly in balancing development with environmental sustainability. A high connectedness score could indicate regions where sustainable practices are already in place or where further development could threaten biodiversity.

  • Indication: The score helps identify regions where development may be more or less sustainable based on the level of human interaction with the environment and its ecological health.

  • Supports: It can be used by governments, planners, and developers to design sustainable development strategies, ensuring that land use decisions respect local ecosystems and community practices.

5. Community Health and Wellbeing

  • Purpose: Connectedness to nature is increasingly recognized as a factor in human health and wellbeing. Communities that engage with nature often have better physical and mental health outcomes.

  • Indication: A high connectedness score may reflect a strong relationship between community wellbeing and access to natural environments, while a low score might point to potential social or health disparities related to environmental access.

  • Supports: This data can be used by public health organizations and local governments to improve community health programs that promote outdoor activities, nature-based recreation, and environmental education.

6. Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience

  • Purpose: Communities with a strong connection to their environment are often more resilient to climate change impacts, as they may possess local knowledge for managing environmental changes and natural resources.

  • Indication: A high score could indicate a community's capacity to adapt to climate change through traditional ecological knowledge, sustainable practices, and strong social ties to the land.

  • Supports: It can support climate resilience programs by identifying regions where local knowledge and engagement can enhance adaptation strategies, and where ecological degradation might increase vulnerability to climate risks.

7. Educational and Engagement Programs

  • Purpose: The score provides a metric for educational institutions, NGOs, and governments to measure the effectiveness of environmental education and citizen science initiatives. By tracking engagement over time, the score can show how connected people are becoming to their environment.

  • Indication: It reveals the success of programs aimed at increasing public awareness of biodiversity, conservation, and cultural heritage.

  • Supports: This can be used to support funding requests for educational programs, citizen science projects, or initiatives that aim to reconnect people to their local ecosystems.

Last updated