Valuing the Forests’ Guardians: Climate Collective Welcomes Savimbo
We are pleased to announce that Savimbo has joined the Climate Collective!
Indigenous communities and smallholder farmers have been protecting nature and sustainably managing lands for decades. These stewards of vast forest landscapes are integral to halting deforestation, but they have historically struggled to access climate and nature markets that fund regenerative practices.
Recognizing this critical gap, in 2022 Drea Burbank, Jhony Lopez, and Fernando Lezama founded Savimbo. By directly connecting Indigenous and local smallholder farmers in #Colombia to climate markets, Savimbo enables these communities to receive rewards for their conservation efforts. Savimbo offers a range of credits to fund nature positive programs: from carbon and biodiversity impacts, to specific tree and water benefits, as well as eco-tourism and agrobiodiversity crops. Their crediting methodologies are developed by Indigenous People for Indigenous People, and their advocacy efforts amplify the voices of those most impacted by deforestation.
“The value of a living tree is incalculable because it keeps in its body the whole universe,” says Fernando Lezama, “galaxies of living beings run through it, from the roots to the last leaf of its crown.”
What sets Savimbo apart?
🌍 Indigenous Leadership: Savimbo is led by two Indigenous founders and has an independent panel of Indigenous friends, leaders from over 53 Indigenous nations across four continents that offer direction, support, and fair-trade partnerships.
🌟Masters of their craft: Drea is an MD-technologist and serial entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience in high-tech and hard-science. Jhony is a grassroots conservationist, Indigenous activist, and ex-WWF tracker with 20+ years protecting, studying, and advocating for the Tropical Andean biodiversity hotspot. Fernando is a third-generation Colombian shaman with 20+ years in international Indigenous rights and conservation.
🤝Accessibility & Interoperability: Savimbo offers many of their tools open-source and works with institutions and standard setting groups including Google for Startups Sustainable Development, United Nations, World Economic Forum, International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits, and Ecological Benefits Framework to make sure their tech and frameworks are interoperable.
Welcome Savimbo, we are so excited to have you join the Climate Collective and can’t wait to support your team and learn from you!
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Learn more about Savimbo:
-Savimbo has been featured by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) as one of eleven biocredit developers. https://www.iied.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/2023-12/22201iied.pdf
- Their Indigenous-led biodiversity methodology is in open public review with Cercarbono/EcoRegistry https://carbon-pulse.com/248361/,
-Savimbo is live on Senken https://twitter.com/savimbos/status/1727358844043436061
- They will have the world’s first certified biodiversity credit to list on international exchanges https://carbon-pulse.com/227576/ ~ Jun/July 2024 with an Indigenous-led indicator species biodiversity methodology. → isbm.savimbo.com
