Innovating Habitat Banking and Biodiversity Credits: Terrasos joins Climate Collective

We are proud to welcome Terrasos into the Climate Collective community!

Mariana Sarmiento founded Terrasos in 2013, inspired by a vision for Colombia where responsible economic development goes hand-in-hand with ecosystem protection. Terrasos specializes in biodiversity compensation and environmental investments and collaboration is a key pillar of their exceptional work. As Mariana emphasizes, “We need to work as a team and share knowledge to solve problems and challenges. In order to overcome the challenges, it is necessary to democratize the management of biodiversity and direct it towards results.”

What makes Terrasos stand out:

🏞️ Pioneers of Habitat Banks: Inspired by successful models abroad, Terrasos spearheaded Colombia’s first habitat bank project. This innovative approach streamlines conservation efforts by allowing companies to collectively invest in long-term (30-year) projects to maximize impact.

💫 Shaping the future of conservation: Terrasos is a leader in developing a robust market for biodiversity credits. They’ve created a protocol to issue voluntary credits, making it easier for businesses to meet regulatory requirements and corporate social responsibility goals. Terrasos has sold over $1.8M in credits in Colombia, and actively contributes to setting standards with the Biodiversity Credit Alliance.

💯 Holistic approach: With over 10 years of experience in this space, Terrasos tackles environmental challenges through a holistic lens, measuring the economic, social, and environmental impacts of their work. IDB Lab, Partnership for Forests Program, Mulago Foundation, and Regen Network have all been key collaborators in Terrasos’ work on Habitat Banks and high-integrity biodiversity credits.

There is so much the world can learn from Terrasos work — in Colombia and beyond — and we’re looking forward to supporting them to further scale corporate nature action across Latin America.

Learn more about Terrasos’ projects here.

Terrasos is a member of the Working Group of the Biodiversity Credit Alliance and most recently contributed to the issue paper, Definition of a Biodiversity Credit.

Find out about Terrasos’ biodiversity credits launch on Regen Network.