Provide infrastructure to enable biodiversity getting economic value

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Matthias Eschbach

[GENERAL] Email address of main applicant

m.a.eschbach@gmail.com

Additional applicants

none

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

6

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.

No

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

No dependencies.

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] If NO, please describe which outputs are not going to be open source. If YES, please write “Project will be fully open source.”

Project will be fully open source.

[METADATA] Category of proposal

Other

[METADATA] SDG rating

15 Life on Land: if we, as a community, manage to get one or more economic value models for biodiversity, then this will (indirectly) result in stimulation of biodiversity.

13 Climate Action: any stimulation of plant growth is good for our climate. Plants store a lot of CO2. Often more below the surface than above it. Their effect on organic content of the soil is big, especially for plants, shrubs and trees that (partly) die or loose their leafs in winter.

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

Biodiversity can obtain an economic value if real estate properties with lots of biodiversity raise more interest (i.e. are sold for higher prices) than the same properties without much biodiversity. For this purpose we need to be able to register our level of biodiversity. This requires tokenization of species.

There are too many species (appr. 8.7 million) for this to work with current blockchain capacities. Luckily, a very good indicator for biodiversity is the amount of (native) plant species. Time and again it has been shown that if you have the plants, you also get the insects. If you have the insects and the seeds, you also get the birds, the rodents, the amphibians and the rest of the food chain above. Plants are at the bottom of the food chain.

There are appr. 375.000 plant species. Unfortunately, this is still much for current blockchain capacity. However, most western countries have only a fraction of these plants. E.g. the US has appr. 20.000 native plant species. The country I live in has about 2.100. Such numbers of tokens can be handled by the Cardano blockchain with ease.

The proposed solution is, as a pilot (that will be extended later), to add the 2.100 Dutch native plant species to the blockchain. Via a platform these tokens will be provided to anyone who is interested in them. These tokens can be requested much like the ADA testnet funds from the faucet, except that this is on mainnet and the requester will have to pay for the transaction (and the ADA getting locked in). Via a website the tokens can be requested in a simple way and collectively, in order to limit the amount of ADA that gets locked in.

The tokens themselves are not intended to have an intrinsic value. The purpose is to give the represented biodiversity an economic value. There probably are multiple ways to establish this and users may find their own ways to do this. The app I ultimately envision is about increase in property value, caused by the presence of a (small) paradise. Most people love nature, gardens and anything of the sort. I certainly am willing to pay more for a real estate property with a buzzing biodiversity around it, than for the same property without it. In the Netherlands this is true for many people. This indirectly gives the biodiversity itself an economic value. If only we could document this...

Fortunately, we can build biodiversity. Whoever establishes hundreds of different (native) plant species on a single plot of land, soon gets more biodiversity then found in the average western nature reserve. Since plants don't move around (much), they have a 'fixed' location, and the amount of plant species is a very good indicator of biodiversity, this enables us to document the state of biodiversity of land plots (i.e. of real estate). In countries with collapsing biodiversity, like the country where I live, this has added value for many people.

Why would anybody document the level of biodiversity on the blockchain? A platform would help making the level of biodiversity of a piece of real estate visible. This is for people who like biodiversity, are proud of their estate, want to make it public, perhaps because they want to sell the property.

The housing market is a high-margin market, so the costs of transacting are justified. The Netherlands is uniquely suited for a pilot of this piece of infrastructure, because the state of biodiversity is so abysmal. When I drive for hours through our countryside my front window of the car only catches 1 or 2 bugs, because most are gone. This is much different when I cross the borders with Germany. A couple of hours driving through the German countryside messes up a front window, like 30 years ago in the Netherlands. The Dutch farmers are tremendously efficient. Past years the Netherlands has been worldwide the second agricultural exporter in dollar value with a land mass that is only 1/300 of the US. Our farmers realized this by selling high value products, but also by having a tremendous efficiency. The Dutch farmers are known for it. Such efficiency is basically realized by killing everything else. On most Dutch grass fields there aren't flowers anymore. These fields look like green pool tables. The one species of grass that grows, doesn't support much insect life. And all messy corners are gone. It's all very organized. Everything is very tidy. I'm sure the future of many countries will look the same (if not already). In such an environment biodiversity is sorely missed. People are willing to pay extra for it. In the Netherlands this trend is clearly visible.

The typical user is expected to use a separate wallet (perhaps an enterprise address without staking component) for their collection of plant tokens (representing the collection of plants on their real estate property). Most people are not expected to put more than a hundred plant species in their wallets. Diehards may get up do a thousand. If the native tokens and the transaction to the user are setup efficiently (and that is the proposal), then costs are expected to be reasonable. If built efficiently, then for a hundred plant species appr. 7 ADA is expected to get locked in (this ADA is not gone, it can be regained later) and the transaction fee is expected to be less. 

Off course, users should be able to regain their locked ADA. For this purpose a scheme needs to be developed, so users can either burn the tokens themselves, or transact them back to the platform, while the platform burns (or re-orders) the eUtXOs and provide back the locked ADA.

Hopefully, there will be a few examples in the future of significant increase in property value. Combined with the right marketing this may cause traction. It would be great to get to the point where people start linking to their plant collection on big real estate websites. Perhaps they might share their their wallet-address (or some kind of user-id of the platform), so potential buyers can view their plant collection. We might initiate a race to the top. The properties with most plant species are much wanted. People start planting more native species. Such a progression would greatly benefit biodiversity. And society as a whole. If, on the long term, we are able to deduct economic value for different levels of biodiversity, then that would be an incredible positive effect that really could change future decision making for the better, taking the interests of (insignificant) species into account.

[IMPACT] How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?

Tokenization of species is next level.

Cardano is uniquely positioned for such tokenization, because it has the native assets and the distribution of many assets in a single transaction.

Tokenization of plant species takes blockchain capacity. It wouldn't make sense if multiple parties established the same. It has to be done once, and preferably only once, because of responsible use of the network capacity. The tokens should be available to the community, as a piece of infrastructure. Therefore, the party who does this, should do it for the community and make it available to the community. That's the goal of this proposal. Supply the tokens in a non-profit way, so all the others can benefit without having to mint the tokens themselves.

Also, this is a green, nature preserving and climate friendly innitiative. If this initiative grows and gets media attention, then that would also be good for the Cardano ecosystem. It brings in new users. More people may start to see benefits of the blockchain- and specifically the Cardano-technology.

[IMPACT] How do you intend to measure the success of your project?

Success is when the platform for users is available.

It's basically a piece of infrastructure: a website for requesting the plant tokens (and returning them).

It is expected to attract new users (of the housing market) to Cardano, and supports initiatives of other users.

The pilot is only for the Netherlands. This is used to establish the platform. Next phase would be to roll it out to more countries. That would be relatively easy, and is expected to mainly consist of minting more tokens.

[IMPACT] Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?

The platform (i.e. website) for users to interact with, is the primary output of my project.

There are several parts to executing this proposal:

1. Mint the appr. 2100 tokens.
2. Build the platform (i.e. the website) for users to request these tokens.
3. Creating the possiblity for other users to see what plant tokens are in somebody's wallet.
4. Extend the platform, so users can burn/return tokens.

The minting can be done using a script. Developing such a script would take probably weeks. The (bare) functionality of the platform takes more work. Users should be able to connect their wallet (or make one; an enterprise address might have benefits here), put a list of tokens in their shopping cart and pay for the transaction. It requires a running node with graphql attached to monitor all plant tokens in order to be able to show what tokens are in a selected wallet. It probably takes a couple of months to complete this, and more to test it and get it live. Perhaps, if help is offered by someone or some organization, then this can be sped up.

Any relevant code will be open-source and shared via github.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

I'm a member of the Emurgo Academy, completed the Haskell Developer Professional course and currently am diving deep into Cardano by following the Cardano Developer Professional program. Other than that I was trained as a pharmacist (M. Sc.) and worked for over a decade in the pharmaceutical industry. In the past I built several websites. On the side I've always had a great interest in flora and fauna. Being the son of a biology teacher certainly left a mark on me. Past years, I did 4 small courses on the subject of flora and fauna.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

Main goals:

1. Mint the appr. 2100 tokens.
2. Build the platform (i.e. the website) for users to request tokens.
3. Build a section so others can see what's in a by the user specified wallet.
4. Extend the platform, so users can burn/return tokens.

This is not very complex. It's definitely feasible.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed breakdown of your project’s milestones and each of the main tasks or activities to reach the milestone plus the expected timeline for the delivery.

(--repeated text:

There are basically three parts to executing this proposal:

1. Mint the appr. 2100 tokens.
2. Build the platform (i.e. the website) for users to request tokens.
3. Creating the possiblity for other users to see what plant tokens are in somebody's wallet.
4. Extend the platform, so users can burn/return tokens.

The minting can be done using a script. Developing such a script would take probably weeks. The (bare) functionality of the platform takes more work. Users should be able to connect their wallet (or make one; an enterprise address might have benefits here), put a list of tokens in their shopping cart and pay for the transaction. It requires a running node with graphql attached to monitor all plant tokens in order to be able to show what tokens are in a selected wallet. It probably takes a couple of months to complete this, and more to test it and get it live. Perhaps, if help is offered by someone or some organization, then this can be sped up.

--)

Next phase (outside scope of this funding)

• roll out to more countries

Future outputs (hopefully):

• increased prices of private property
• incentive for users to add biodiversity (to increase the value of their real estate)
• calculate the economic value for different levels of biodiversity (being the difference in property price with versus without the plants)

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

• Script for automatically mint a list of plant species as native tokens: 4 weeks
• Wallet with minted tokens: 1 day
• Establish bare website without functionality: 1 week
• 'Products' (i.e. tokens) added to the website: 2 months
• Wallet connection added to the website: 1 month
• 'Shopping cart' + payment and transaction functionality added to the website: 1 month
• Add 'viewing tokens of a specified wallet'-functionality: 1 month
• Add 'regain locked ADA'-functionality.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

For user experience (i.a. smaller transaction size) it's better to have in the organizations wallet just one token per eUtXO. This means that for each token appr. 1.5 ADA gets locked in.

Minting costs are 0.5 ADA per token.

Combined this is appr. 4000 ADA.

Platform server costs: 200 ADA/month

Everything else is cost of labour. One fte for 6 months. 9.000 ADA per month. 54.000 ADA.

In total 60.000 ADA.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

As said above tokenization of species is next level. An economic value model for biodiversity would be next level. It would be a significant step forward for human civilization. It could impact many project development decisions in the future. It would positively impact biodiversity to a large extend. And all of this would be a very good use of Cardano's capacities. I'm sure it would make Charles proud.

I think 60.000 ADA is a bargain for establishing such functionality. Off course, roll out to other countries requires more tokens, more ADA locked in and that might very well be part of a next catalyst fund proposal. Ultimately, this is a piece of infrastructure for other people to use. Cardano needs this infrastructure sooner or later. Cardano is uniquely suited for this piece of infrastructure due to it's native tokens and multi-asset transactions.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agreed to Fund10 rules and also that data in the Submission Form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.

I Accept