Deforestation which is the indiscriminate felling of economic trees from forests for human activities has raised serious environmental concerns. This heinous activity dates back to time and has since been a cause of the loss of biodiversity, damage to natural habitats, disruption in the water cycle, soil erosion and a contribution to climate change.
According to the World Economic Forum, half of the global GDP is strongly or moderately reliant on nature, hence the destruction of the forest could cause severe economic damage.
According to a 2008 report concluded at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting in Bonn, it projects that damage to forests and other aspects of nature could shrink living standards and reduce global GDP by about 7% by 2050.
To meet the challenges and keep track of forests and protect their resources,
Open Forest Protocol, a Swiss-based provider of open forest measurement, reporting and verification came to be.
Open Forest Protocol
Founded in 2021 by Swiss scientist Frederic Fournier and American web3 specialist Michael Kelly,
Open Forest Protocol (OFP) is a scalable open platform that allows forest projects of any size, from around the world, to Measure, Report, and Verify (MRV) their forestation data.
Through OFP, governments, entrepreneurs, NGOs, communities and individuals will be able to create transparent, immutable data that is comprehensive for nature-based climate solutions.
Open Forest Protocol Seed Funding
Open Forest Protocol recently announced the close of a seed funding round that raised USD 4.1m.
The funding round saw VC tech specialists such as Shima Capital, Übermorgen Ventures, Not Boring Capital, Byzantine Marine, Mercy Corps Ventures, Big Brain Holdings and Valor Capital joining with several angel investors in supporting the platform.
The company says it will use the funds to expand operations and its business reach.
“There are many ways to address climate change, but one of the most effective and immediate ways is using what is on our doorstep… nature.”
– Inger Andersen
Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)