Empowering Communities Through Sustainable Livelihoods and Equitable Access to Economic and Environmental Justice
Corruption in the forestry sector continues to undermine the rights & livelihoods of local & Indigenous communities. By institutionalising the use of ForestLink, we empower local communities beyond enforcement - the system has proven critical in tackling this corruption, enabling communities to document land rights violations & illegal activities, defend their territories & secure access to justice, whilst securing sustainable economic opportunities linked to forest resources.
Crucially, ForestLink supports sustainable economic activities & lays the groundwork for payment for environmental services by reinforcing community autonomy & stewardship of natural resources. Through partnerships with local organisations skilled in legal advocacy & sustainable enterprise, communities are supported to develop livelihoods aligned with forest protection. Key enabling factors include understanding current economic practices, ensuring financial support for legal actions & engaging in parallel advocacy to secure land rights.
By actively managing and defending their lands, communities reinforce their autonomy & contribute to long-term, locally driven development. The data collected through the tool also plays a crucial role in supporting access to justice - providing evidence for legal & non-legal actions when communities face human rights abuses or environmental crimes.
Understanding the communities’ current economic activities is essential
Financial means are necessary to support legal and administrative processes
Partnering with local organisations specialised in legal advocacy & sustainable business enhances impact
Parallel advocacy work to secure individual & collective land rights is critical
Awareness-raising on sustainable economic activities must involve all community groups, with targeted efforts for women & girls.
Trained staff in justice, law & sustainable economy fields are vital for success
Flexible, Community-Centered Reporting & Monitoring System for Real-Time Accountability & Impact Tracking
This digital tool's efficiency relies on the fact that it is accessible from remote areas & easy to use for local & Indigenous communities.
It allows grassroots data to be gathered to feed national and global advocacy. Its adaptability also lies in the fact that it can be used to monitor a variety of issues (illegal logging - artisanal or industrial, mining, carbon market projects' impact, GBV, etc.), in a variety of contexts.
Sufficient financial resources for the tool to keep running & to continue supporting the observers
Reliable development & IT support for smooth tool operation
Regular capacity building workshops for partners & community monitors strengthens local ownership
Adaptative tool to answer to partners’ evolving needs
Coordination staff within our team & partner organisations improves implementation & communication
Regular check-ins ensure the tool & hardware function properly & meet partner expectations
Ongoing, hands-on support, mentorship & in-person training allow partners to fully understand & use the tool effectively
Political, social or environmental factors might disrupt data collection, planning must account for this.
While technical training is important, it must be embedded within comprehensive training on environmental law & human rights to empower communities to advocate effectively, pursue legal enforcement, & claim justice & reparations.
Women & girls are key drivers of change & should be fully integrated into all project activities
Co-Designing Solutions with Grassroots & Indigenous Partners: Strengthening Community-Led Action for Inclusive & Sustainable Development
The evidence is building that granting Indigenous peoples & other local communities' control over their territories improves forest protection, as they are directly invested in the survival of forests & want to ensure that future generations can continue to live & thrive in them. Yet a lot of development, environmental & climate-related programs are not created in collaboration with the people who will be impacted by them. Therefore, our solution arose from the challenges that grassroots organisations & Indigenous & local communities brought to our attention. Those communities are the ones living all the forests illegalities & land tenure violations. By directly tackling their challenge it ensures the solution to be genuine & efficient. Working with them directly helps us to better understand the contexts they are facing & adapt the tool in consequence.
Long-term, respectful partnerships with tool users & communities.
Adaptability to react to changing contexts & local needs
Adequate financial resources for operations & engagement’s sustainability
Prior research into local traditions, culture & socio-economic conditions improve tool relevance, acceptance & impact.
Trust & impact grows through deep listening, cultural sensitivity & respectful engagement.
Real impact comes from working with, not just for, Indigenous & locally led organisations. Additionally, it grows when working with local grassroots organisations & not only with national level NGOs.
Contour Enviro Group further coordinate and create job opportunities for the MSMEs that have gone through the training programme so that they may practice their acquired skills. All of our MSMEs have acquired work since the inception of the programme and this has brought some sustainability on the model.
The MSMEs work opportunities to date through Contour Enviro Group who coordinates work opportunities in the sector.
The organisations that made this building block possible include but not limited to the following:
City of Cape Town
Cape Winelands Fire Protection Association
Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve
Conservancies
Once again, it was realised that their work is inundated with administrative work which they do mostly on books in field which often get lost. Thus the Grasshopper Project Management tool was developed in order to support them while they are working in field.
As mentioned in the previous sections, this programme is meant to achieve the following: “to develop, empower, support and professionalize Conservation MSMEs in the conservation sector in South Africa”.
The programme has trained over 20 MSMEs and created over 400 jobs annually since 2022 based on this programme. This programme is the main building block for the Grasshopper Project Management Tool as it was realised that the MSMEs need some support and a consolidation of their project management efforts, access to basic financial tools such as quoting and invoicing. Furthermore, to manage their assets etc.
The organisations that made the Programme successful have already been mentioned however they are listed below once again:
The Nature Conservancy- South Africa
The Table Mountain Fund
WWF-South Africa
Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Environment
Department of Small Business Development
Tourism and Conservation Sector Education and Training Authority
The focus of the programme is as follow:
Mentorship and coaching
Business support and development
Business, finance, and Human Resources training
MSMEs need to manage their projects efficiently.
The government partners already mentioned above need support to manage their alien vegetation teams and this solution will be a great tool to do so.
NFTree seeks to make conservation economically competitive by increasing the opportunity cost of forest conversion. The model redirects resources toward conservation by integrating blockchain, MRV systems, and community incentives, channeling funds into a fiduciary trust. These funds are allocated based on territorial prioritization and community governance mechanisms that value the ecological function of native forests. Through this, NFTree offers an ecosystem-based alternative to traditional productive models such as extensive cattle ranching or extractive activities.
NFTree provides economic alternatives that make conservation viable and attractive. By assigning a financial value to conservation through tokenization and connecting it to real ecosystem services (e.g., carbon sequestration, biodiversity), the model enables a shift in local economic logic. Funds from NFT sales are funneled into a fiduciary trust and redistributed through community-designed conservation agreements. These agreements consider the ecological integrity of each territory and are managed collectively. As a result, economic activities shift away from degradation and toward ecosystem service provision, strengthening long-term sustainability and local resilience.
Integration of ecological, social, and governance dimensions in conservation finance
Territorial prioritization based on conservation value and risk of deforestation
Financial trust structures to ensure transparency and equitable fund use
Local validation of conservation agreements tailored to each territory’s dynamics
Financial incentives are most effective when aligned with local priorities and governance
Community involvement from early stages increases legitimacy and impact
Economic models must be flexible to adapt to the heterogeneity of territories and stakeholders
Continuous MRV is essential to maintain confidence and ensure long-term viability
NFTree’s conservation incentives model is built around community-led agreements that recognize and reward local ecosystem services. The conservation agreements define the restoration or conservation activities to be carried out and the criteria for incentive disbursement. By channeling resources directly to land stewards—especially in high-biodiversity zones—this mechanism ensures both the economic viability and ecological integrity of restoration efforts. The model also considers informal tenure arrangements and provides flexibility to include diverse property types, addressing one of the key implementation barriers in fragmented landscapes. Incentives are distributed periodically based on verified ecological performance through the MRV system, fostering continuous engagement and accountability.
Transparent fiduciary trust and incentive governance mechanisms
Contextualized conservation agreements with smallholders
Flexibility to include informal or collective land tenure arrangements
Ongoing community support and monitoring mechanisms
Robust MRV system validating compliance
Early community involvement in agreement design strengthens ownership and compliance
Addressing tenure informality is essential for inclusive participation
Periodic and performance-based payments increase motivation and continuity
Trust and clarity in payment distribution processes are critical to avoid conflicts
Digital Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) System
NFTree deploys a robust Digital MRV system that combines satellite imagery, drone-based observation, artificial intelligence (AI), and community-sourced data to measure carbon stocks, forest productivity, and biodiversity. The system processes spatial and biophysical data using tools like Google Earth Engine and machine learning models to detect forest changes at high resolution. Community-based monitoring complements technological inputs to validate and enrich ecological datasets. This multi-source approach ensures transparent reporting, boosts credibility with buyers and donors, and enhances local engagement in conservation efforts .
High-resolution satellite and drone imagery, accessible through platforms like Google Earth Engine.
AI models co-developed with academic and technical partners.
Consistent local ground-truthing efforts.
Digital infrastructure for data storage, visualization, and public access via platforms like nftree.com.ec.
Combining remote sensing with local monitoring increases accuracy and community trust.
AI models require region-specific calibration and ongoing validation.
Transparency and access to MRV data empower communities and improve funder confidence.
Training for local actors is key to sustaining long-term monitoring efforts.
NFTree tokenizes plots of 10x10 meters within conservation areas, using blockchain technology to create unique digital assets that represent ecological value, including carbon and biodiversity indicators. These NFTs are embedded with monitoring data generated by the dMRV system and are linked to geo-referenced locations. Each NFT is assigned a traceable identifier and linked to the DAO governance model, which regulates the reinvestment of funds. The proceeds from the purchase of NFTrees are allocated through a fiduciary fund to support the management and restoration of priority areas defined by the DAO statutes.
Availability of high-resolution geospatial data and MRV systems
Smart contract infrastructure on blockchain (Polygon, Cosmos)
Established governance structure (DAO statutes)
Legal and fiduciary framework for fund administration
Transparency in how tokens are defined and sold is key to user trust
Combining scientific modeling with blockchain improves integrity
Co-design with local actors ensures acceptance of tokenized units
A legal trust ensures transparent fund allocation aligned with conservation goals
