18th Jun 2024 Gemini 1.5 Pro
Atosa Soltani emphasizes the crucial role of the Amazon rainforest in the Earth's biosphere, highlighting its function as a vital component of the global hydrological cycle. The Amazon, she explains, acts as a "rain machine" by drawing in moisture from the atmosphere, recycling rainfall, and generating an "atmospheric river" that influences weather patterns far beyond the Amazon basin itself. Soltani underscores the interconnectedness of the Amazon with global climate patterns, stating that regions as far as California rely on the rainfall generated by the Amazon. However, this delicate balance is under threat.
"The Earth's systems, looking at the Amazon as literally the heart of the hydroclimatic system of the biosphere, the way the Amazon pulls in moisture from the atmosphere, the trees basically create a low-pressure zone that draws in the moisture… Our hydrological system in California depends on Amazon rain, as does 95% of the rain that falls on the continent of South America."
Deforestation and climate change, Soltani warns, have led to a devastating drought, the worst in over a century. This drought, in conjunction with ongoing deforestation, has resulted in the death of millions of fish, further destabilizing the Amazonian ecosystem. The situation, she warns, is reaching a tipping point that could have catastrophic consequences for global climate patterns. Urgent action, she urges, is needed to protect the Amazon and restore its ecological integrity.
Soltani emphasizes the importance of centering solutions to the climate crisis around Indigenous wisdom and the leadership of marginalized communities. Indigenous communities, she points out, possess invaluable knowledge and have been successful stewards of their lands for generations. Despite this, she laments that a minuscule percentage of funding for climate and biodiversity programs reaches these frontline communities.
"Literally less than 1% of all commitments to climate and biodiversity programs ends up reaching the communities on the ground and the territories. So, you know, Sacred Headwaters is creating this alliance that Indigenous peoples get to basically lead and govern and creating mechanisms to get the funding to the front lines."
Soltani advocates for a shift in perspective, urging the recognition and integration of Indigenous wisdom into solutions engineered by the tech world and beyond.
Gregory Landua introduces Regen Network, a platform designed to empower land stewards, particularly in indigenous communities, to participate in ecological accounting and receive financial benefits for their conservation efforts. Landua emphasizes the importance of community ownership and governance in this process. Regen Network aims to create a more equitable system where the financial benefits of ecological conservation directly support the communities actively stewarding their lands.
"And so we've been building an open infrastructure, a community governed system using blockchain technology and other adjacent technologies to sort of create what you could think of as a platform cooperative, right? Where the different communities who are stewarding these landscapes can engage in defining the terms of the a credit relationship or other financial remittance in exchange for their conservation, but also get to be owner operators of the marketplace and the platform itself."
The platform utilizes blockchain technology and other innovative approaches to ensure transparency, security, and equitable distribution of resources.
Landua discusses the need to move beyond traditional, often bureaucratic, approaches to ecological accounting. He proposes shifting the concept of a "registry" from a static noun, often representing rigid rules and standards imposed by external entities, to a dynamic verb. This shift, he explains, involves creating a more inclusive and responsive system that empowers local communities to define and express the value of their ecological stewardship in a way that aligns with their own cultural values and traditional knowledge.
"So instead flipping the script and saying, hey, we are trying to be a service for translation for people a deeper wisdom of what is valuable so that that wisdom can be translated and can have a symbolic representation that is legible and understandable to the modern world, but maintains its essence and its integrity."
This approach, Landua argues, is essential for ensuring that ecological accounting mechanisms truly reflect the values and priorities of the communities they are intended to benefit.
Landua and Soltani delve into the details of the Jaguar EcoCredits pilot program, an innovative approach to conservation finance. The program, operating in the Amazonian community of Chata Mentsa, aims to address the economic pressures that often drive deforestation by providing direct financial support to the community in exchange for their ongoing stewardship of their ancestral lands.
"The intention of the Jaguar EcoCredit pilot is to shift that. And I think I wanna just take a pause and mention Per Espen Stoknes, who’s a really important sort of leader in this whole story. He was traveling through Achuar territory when the illegal logging was happening and witnessed the tension."
The program centers around the concept of "biocultural credits," which represent the community's contribution to the global commons through their stewardship of biodiversity and cultural integrity. Unlike traditional carbon credits, these credits are not tradable commodities. Instead, they represent a direct, non-speculative financial contribution from donors to the community.
Airtable