Keeling Curve

Primary Project Category:

Secondary Project Category:

Name of Project:

Year Project Originated:

Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

The Digital Nlometers  provide a new means by which stewards of the land, such as indigenous peoples farming rice on Bali or protecting the forests on Borneo, can be rewarded for good stewardship.  It creates a transparent, low-cost means by which the actions of the stewards can be monitored, reported, and verified, so that patrons can confidently provide the resources needed to encourage good stewardship. The pilot project directly  benefits vulnerable rice farmers in Bali by increasing rice yields, reducing irrigation needs, minimizing nitrogen use and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  Our research team responded to the request of an endangered tribe in  Kalimantan, the Punan Batu, to help them secure recognition of their historic relationship to their forests and, by doing so, qualify for stewardship rights. With the assistance of the Indonesian affiliate of the Nature Conservancy (ykan.or.id), we enabled recognition in 2023. by the Indonesian government. The impetus for this system was at the urgent request of representatives of the Punan Batu, who foresee the imminent loss of the remaining forests they depend on unless their rights to the land are recognized. Using digital Nilometers the Punan Batu can receive payments for protecting their ancestral lands from outside encroachment.

Website:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Stephen_Lansing

Mission Statement:

Over the past four years we have developed a system to enable local communities to verifiably monitor and quantify their contributions to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using remote sensing integrated with digital technologies that will allow payments from carbon trading markets to flow directly to the indigenous land stewards.