Representatives of Fundación Futuro and Universidad San Francisco de Quito
In a formal event, the Fundación Futuro and the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) strengthened their commitment to the conservation of high-value ecological ecosystems in Ecuador through the signing of a macro cooperation agreement. This agreement will advance research on forest dynamics, impact monitoring, and facilitate the integration of the university's scientific station forests in the Tandayapa Reserve into the NFTree platform. This alliance aims to fund the protection of new areas within the Chocó Andino Biosphere Reserve through blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), enabling individuals and companies to support conservation efforts and offset their carbon footprint.
From the origins of the Future Foundation in the year 2000, allied with the USFQ and have worked together on projects that have made a significant impact on applied research, integral human development and environmental conservation. These include initiatives such as the dynamics of montane forests, forest monitoring coupling models of artificial intelligence, with remote sensors and decentralized governance with Data hubthe bases on which the two institutions have built a relationship of cooperation. These initiatives of applied science driving the conservation, promote the sustainable management of the land and benefiting the communities.
Through this collaboration, we have studied the biological diversity, dynamics of forest, forest monitoring, and decentralised governance with Data Hub, decision-making, participatory and equitable. .
For its part, NFtree plataform it is a pioneer project of Future Foundation, uses technology blockchain to record digitally forest fragments in the Biosphere Reserve of the Chocó Andean, assigning each token to a real space of the reservation. With this methodology, the 80% of the revenues generated are intended to strengthen biological corridors, restore ecosystems, and run programs for the conservation and sustainable management community. To date, 20 companies have already opted for this innovative solution, allowing preservation of more than 4000 hectares of forest in the Reserve Mashpi-Tayra. With the integration of the Booking Tandayapa and previously the Reserve Yanacocha, will contribute to the financial sustainability of private reserves that are home to ecosystems of high ecological value highly threatened by the pressures of land use change.
At the end of the month of April it is expected to activate this new area of Chocó Andino for the university to be able to use the platform NFTree in their efforts to mitigate CO2 emissions, combining technology and environmental management.
The Scientific Station of the USFQ in Tandayapa, located in the highest part of the valley of the same name, has 55 hectares and is dedicated to the education, research and conservation of the montane forest humid. The station has been key to generate relevant information about the biodiversity of the Chocó Andino, where it has been recorded species iconic as the andean bear and more than 500 species of birds. The collaboration with NFTree will allow us to extend these efforts, ensuring financial resources for the sustainable long-term protection of the ecosystem.
"For us, the long-term alliances are key, and we would love to keep looking for solutions to problems that affect us all. We design NFTree as an innovative mechanism for financing for conservation, and this partnership reinforces our commitment to protect the Chocó-Andean", said Carolina Proaño-Castro, executive director of the Future Foundation.
With this agreement, the USFQ will continue to provide its expertise in research and measurement of impact indicators of the forests that NFTree seeks to protect, while Future Foundation will continue to innovate in funding mechanisms for the conservation of the biodiversity of the ecuadorian people. This partnership reaffirms the commitment of both institutions to the sustainability and the development of effective solutions for the preservation of the environment.
