Featured Projects
Impact Monitoring Platform (KUTUMA & uKWELI)
NATURAL STATE is helping build the foundation of the Nature-Based-Solutions sector in the tropics and subtropics by developing the technology and systems needed to rapidly set baselines and measure trends through time in biodiversity, carbon and human well-being.
This information is needed to assess the success or failure of restoration interventions and compensate those that are demonstrating genuine positive impact. This will support various financial mechanisms such as bonds or credits. KUTUMA rapidly ingests and sorts data from the field, primarily using remote sensors and AI, and then uKweli, our impact monitoring platform, is used to analyse and present the information on an intuitive dashboard, showing trends in biodiversity, carbon and benefits to local communities. The process is rapid, cost-effective and robust. It addresses the challenge of lack of baseline data in the Global South, putting countries in the tropics and subtropics on equal footing with those in North America or Europe. It also allows for a broader range of co-benefits to be measured and rewarded. Finally, it creates trust in this emerging sector as every data point has a digital fingerprint making it easy to audit by third parties. This system will be used in all the projects listed below.
Mt Kenya Landscape Restoration Project
NATURAL STATE is working with community and private conservancies in the Mt. Kenya Landscape to develop an integrated carbon and biodiversity credit that will sequester carbon, restore biodiversity and provide resources and benefits to the local communities. (learn more – this button will expand the article) The restoration will be achieved through grazing management, assisted natural regeneration, and where relevant, tree planting. In addition to carbon, our goal is to truly measure biodiversity and community impacts, set baselines and targets, and ensure projects are properly compensated for improvements in these areas. We want to move away from biodiversity and community benefits being an add-on or feel-good story. We believe projects that genuinely benefit the people and the planet should be properly incentivised.
Rewilding the Orange River-Karoo Landscape
NATURAL STATE is working with the Orange River-Karoo Conservation Area (ORKCA) to develop a Rewilding credit in Southern Namibia. (learn more – this button will expand the article) Together with local farmers and communities, ORKCA aims to restore this fragile semi-arid ecosystem by increasing connectivity (removing fences), decreasing livestock numbers and protecting the indigenous plants and wildlife. This will increase the resilience of the ecosystem and provide the foundation of a nature economy. The region is especially culturally and ecologically important, being the home of the Nama people and the intersection of critical ecosystem and biodiversity hotspot succulent Karoo, Nama Karoo and Desert biomes. This project has the potential to be the largest rewilding initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Supporting Custodians of Nature
NATURAL STATE is working with Oxford University, Lion Landscapes, the WildCAT Trust, and local communities to develop Custodian Credits that reward nature custodianship and productive wildlife coexistence. We are starting with a focus on communities who live with lions in Southern Tanzania; financially rewarding the maintenance of lion populations and their habitat using co-developed activities that promote co-existence.
The African Centre for Nature Restoration & Resilience
NATURAL STATE is creating a Centre of excellence for nature restoration and resilience in East Africa in collaboration with the Wildlife Research Training Institute of Kenya, AgWild, WildTeam, and the African Leadership University. (learn more – this button will expand the article) Together, we are developing accessible, onsite and online skills-based training courses and a restoration start-up incubator to help African leaders build and run large-scale nature restoration and regenerative agriculture projects, with a particular focus on indigenous peoples and local communities, women and youth. The courses will cover subjects including project impact monitoring, accessing carbon and nature finance, and planning and implementing restoration and regenerative agriculture projects.
Local and Indigenous Knowledge
The Centre for Local and Indigenous Knowledge provides resources and space enabling local community members to document and share traditional approaches, beliefs and knowledge relating to nature restoration and regenerative agriculture, and to develop and implement strategies to increase resilience in the face of climate change. The Centre is being built at the African Centre for Nature Restoration & Resilience and will be managed by community members from the surrounding region. NATURAL STATE will support the implementation of the identified climate resilience strategies. The Centre will also provide an opportunity for intergenerational sharing of knowledge. For example, learning the traditional plant names and their cultural and medicinal importance.
XPRIZE Finals
NATURAL STATE and its partners have qualified for the finals of the Rainforest XPRIZE, a global 5-year, $10 million competition that brings together cross-disciplinary teams to collaborate on the world's most urgent moonshots. Our team includes conservationists, Indigenous scientists, engineers, roboticists, and others - to use novel technologies to document and protect tropical biodiversity. NATURAL STATE is collaborating with Purdue University, Illinois Institute of Technology, and Morton Arboretum to develop state-of-the-art, automated systems to monitor rainforests. Our solution uses three data sources to identify key species in the rainforest landscape: 1) local and Indigenous knowledge experts, 2) remote sensing from automated drone flights and satellite data for tree canopy and landscape assessment, and 3) drone-deployed sensor packages deployed in the tree canopy to capture acoustic data, imagery, and eDNA for sequencing.
The NATURAL STATE Impact Portal consolidates these data to automate data analysis and species classification. Our goal is to streamline the analysis and reporting of diverse data types to ensure that local communities can directly participate in and benefit from emerging nature finance markets.
NATURAL STATE RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 CRISIS
The COVID-19 pandemic's impact on tourism exposed a critical vulnerability in conservation efforts – a heavy reliance on revenue generated by visitors. With travel restrictions, many protected areas faced financial struggles, jeopardizing the vital work of wildlife rangers.
NATURAL STATE, committed to sustainable conservation practices, recognised the immediate need to support these frontline heroes. We joined forces with Tusk Trust and the Scheinberg Relief Fund to launch the Wildlife Ranger Challenge. This global initiative showcases solidarity and raises crucial funds for ranger welfare, equipment, and training.
We're happy to support the Wildlife Ranger Challenge once again this year. Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 21st, the day participating ranger teams across Africa will compete in a coordinated 21-kilometer race across their protected areas. Stay tuned for ways to join the movement and support the brave rangers protecting Africa's wildlife.