New cryptocurrency designed to save the Amazon rainforest.

[JudyM]

Last edited Sun Mar 27, 2022, 10:48 AM - Edit history (2)

A Brazilian company that owns 410 square kilometers (158 square miles) of Amazon rainforest is offering a new way to fund conservation: selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that allow buyers to sponsor the preservation of specific areas of jungle.

NFTs are a kind of crypto asset that exploded in popularity last year, with a unique digital signature guaranteeing they are one of a kind. Other efforts to fund conservation via NFTs include plans for a South African wildlife reserve.

In Brazil, a company called Nemus on Friday began selling NFTs granting buyers unique sponsorship of different sized tracts of forest, with the proceeds going to preserve the trees, regenerate clear-cut areas and foster sustainable development. Token holders will not own the land itself, but will have access to key information about its preservation, from satellite imagery to licensing and other documentation, said Nemus founder Flavio de Meira Penna.

Plots vary in size from a quarter of a hectare to 81 hectares (0.6 to 200 acres), which buyers will be able to locate with online maps. NFTs for the smallest plots sell for $150 and the largest fetch $51,000, said Penna, who is hoping to raise $4 million to $5 million to buy an additional 2 million hectares of land already under negotiations in the municipality of Pauini in Amazonas state.

https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/how-save-amazon-brazil-company-says-nfts-are-answer-2022-03-26/

[JCMach1]

2. Most NFTs are on Ethereum chain which is going Proof of Stake

https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/03/04/1046636/ethereum-blockchain-proof-of-stake/

[JCMach1]

4. In simple terms, Proof of Stake doesn't burn much electricity

To do the encryption/decryption part of the Blockchain database

[JudyM]

8. Thanks for this information, JCMach1.

Good to know about, even though it’s slow going.

[DFW]

6. Great concept

But can’t I just write a check?

[JudyM]

7. To donate?

This is giving some value, at least theoretically, to the purchaser. The concept of gaining some type of quasi-property right makes this unique.

[DFW]

9. Yes, to donate

I have no interest in purchasing any property rights down there. If I could make sure no one else (except some passing Xingu, or whoever) did anything there for the next 100 years, it would be great. Not that I expect Bolsonaro or his pals to respect the rights or wishes of any absentee owner's land in the first place.

[JudyM]

11. Here are some established groups that are highly rated, to get you going in that direction

when you have a bit of time to check it out:

https://impactful.ninja/best-charities-for-the-amazon-rainforest/

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/organizations-donate-amazon-rainforest/

https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=7477

Thanks for asking about it! I should have posted this in my OP.

[Tennessee Hillbilly]

10. If you're wary of bitcoin, you might consider...

donating to a rainforest preservation non-profit like Rainforest Trust. For 30 years, it's been saving real acres of rainforest through land purchases and designations. For determining what to buy, it tries to identify areas that are the most crucial for preserving critical habitats of endangered species.

[JudyM]

12. Thank you for adding this, Tennessee Hillbilly

I’m going to look into them to donate, too.

[Tennessee Hillbilly]

14. Thanks JudyM - I see that your 3 links above...

relate to the Amazon region, which makes sense because that's what you've focused on throughout this thread.

So I would just like to clarify that Rainforest Trust also has projects In other parts of the earth, such as Africa and Asia, not just in the Amazon region.