Wildlife Conservation NFTs

Build an in-house platform, with NFT integration, which enables users to support wildlife conservation through a DeFi Staking Pool protocol.

Our core team is comprised of 8 members, and 3 advisors. We all share 2 passions: Conservation and Technology. Combined our team has 25+ years of programming experience, 5+ years of experience in Wildlife Conservation, and 8+ years of Marketing & Business Development experience.

[IMPACT]

The Solution we offer is Black Rhino. A way for everyday users to democratically support endangered species and climate conservation efforts in Africa using NFTs. Our goal is to use NFTs to provide opportunities in emerging markets for non-profit organizations in Africa, as well as prove users a more rewarding and engaging experience for supporting conservation efforts.

For our first project we are currently working in collaboration with our partner organizations on NFT collections which will provide users with real-world utilities and provide organizations an opportunity to increase funding for crucial operations. We have currently partnered with three endangered species and climate conservation organizations to explore opportunities in blockchain including NFT related projects. These NFTs will act as membership passes for Black Rhino 'Early Adopters' and will represent a users contribution to a specific real world cause. Each token will also enable users to access certain exclusive opportunities and information from conservation organizations. Users who purchase will also gain early access to Black Rhino DeFi protocols, exclusive communication channels, future Black Rhino projects and real world experiences at zoos and sanctuaries around the world. The proceeds from each collection will go directly to our non-profit partner organizations.

The NFTs will represent endangered species that are presently vulnerable or threatened according to the IUCN. Each token will represent a users commitment to support a specific organization. The tokens will be certified as carbon-neutral through our partners Nori, Aerial, and more TBA.

This first project is in parallel with developing our first protocol, a Staking Pool Raffle. Users will be able to enter the pool to win part of the stake weekly, with a percentage of the proceeds and fees from each weekly pool going directly to support our non-profit partner organizations. We have a proposal for this here: https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/403967

For Government Wildlife Agencies and organizations such as Ol Pejeta Conservancy or Loisaba Conservancy in Africa, important issues like habitat loss, habitat protection, wildlife protection and community relationships are dealt with on a daily basis. Finding ways to consistently fund operations to deal with these challenges in efficient ways are a constant challenge.

Utilizing NFTs as utility tools with real world value as a way to raise awareness and support for conservation causes has yet to be fully explored. As of today there are only limited ways for organizations to generate revenue or receive contributions using opportunities blockchain technology. This solution will enable non-profit organizations in Africa to utilize NFTs for good.

This solution will provide new opportunities for non-profit organizations, sanctuaries, parks, zoos, and local communities in Africa to generate alternative streams of revenue, as well as support. Using the Cardano blockchain we aim to build multiple solutions to enable users to contribute to non-profit conservation organizations, as well as provide access for organizations. Working with local communities and organizations, like WADA, we aim to introduce opportunities in blockchain in order to improve infrastructure, as well as provide alternative streams of revenue to fund operations.

The main challenge our project faces is sustainability and overcoming the perception of the blockchain industry amongst the conservation community. Maintaining an eco-friendly and carbon-neutral experience on our platform, and with our NFT related projects, is crucial. The blockchain industry is heavily criticized for its impact on the environment and we are aiming to change this narrative. We will overcome this challenge by building and operating on Cardano, which aligns with our sustainability goals. We will also work with carbon removal and climate conservation organizations such as Pleistocene Park, Cardano4Climate, and Moss, every step of the way which will allow us to measure our carbon output, and ensure our platform, as well as NFT related projects, will be carbon-negative.

[FEASIBILITY]

April + May 2022:

- Build Launch Team (8-12 people).

- Establish two Partnerships with Endangered Species + Climate Conservation Organizations.

- Launch Social Media Communities. Successfully Establish an Online Community of 10k+.

- Launch one 'Early Adopters' NFT project in collaboration with a Black Rhino partner.

June + July 2022:

- Additional Partnerships (Secure 2-3 Additional Partnerships)

- Launch 2-3 NFT 'Early Adopters' projects in collaboration with a Black Rhino partners

- Successfully Establish an Online Community of 25k+

- Successfully Raise $25k+ for Endangered Species Conservation Organizations

Q4 2022 + Beyond:

- Successfully Establish an Online Community of 50k+

- Successfully Raise $50k+ for Endangered Species Conservation Organizations

- Begin Design + Architecture Phase for Black Rhino Interactive NFT platform.

Legal + Administrative: This portion of funding is allocated for all legal and administrative costs to ensure that Black Rhino will follow all proper legal procedures per regulations and guidelines.

= $2,500

Development Resources (Software): This portion of funding is allocated for software resources, including third-party applications to develop and manage the NFT collections.

= $2,500

Marketing + Promotion: This portion of funding is strictly for marketing + promotional purposes including social media marketing, contracting promotional content and more.

= $20,000

= Total 25,000 (100%)

The team will be self-funded. All grant money received will go towards the project development, and the marketing to grow the project.

Brandon — Business Development: Marketing Communications Graduate, 6+ years of working in marketing/business development, 2+ years of working in the blockchain space. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-samuel-87a59210a/)

Kale — Business Operations: 8+ years of management experience in retail businesses, 3+ years of experience in Marketing. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaloyan-pavlov-georgiev-114970160/)

Nik — Engineering: Computer Science Graduate, 2+ years of experience working in the technology sector as a software developer, 1+ year of experience working in the blockchain space.

Todor — Technology: Computer Science Graduate, 2+ years of experience working in the technology sector as a software developer, 1 year of experience working in the blockchain space. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/todor-voynikov/)

Joao — Product: Economics Graduate: 5+ years of experience working in the financial technology industry, 2+ years working as a product manager in the DeFi industry. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo%C3%A3o-forte-carvalho-374b811b/)

Tyler — Research: 8+ years of experience working in the conservation as a volunteer and consultant at sanctuaries, zoo’s and conservation parks.

Yoana — Branding: Graphic Design Student, 2+ years of experience working in the graphic design, branding and marketing field.

Steven Seet — Advisor: Head of Science Communication @ BioRescue & Keep Nature Alive

Jose Etcheverry (Professor) — Advisor: Co-Chair & Director @ Sustainable Energy Initiative International Renewable Energy Academy

[AUDITABILITY]

Our KPI's for will be measured on a monthly/quarterly basis and will include: Total # of NFTs sold, # of unique NFT purchasers, # of trading volume and Total # of contributions supplied. Our measure of success will be based on how much we are able to contribute in funding to our partner organizations. Working with non-profit conservation organizations in Africa, we will also be able to measure our impact on the ground through monthly, and annual reports tracking statics related to climate conservation and endangered species conservation, which will include statistics.

Key Metrics:

- Number of African Conservation Organizations supported in Q4 2022 & Beyond

- Local Impact (measurable monthly through user activity and data from partners)

- Number of Partnerships Formed with Local Communities & Organizations

- Endangered Species Populations (Monthly)

- Climate Impact & Emissions Report on Quality of Habitats (Monthly/Quarterly)

Success for this project looks like having a large engaged community online, multiple successful project launches in collaboration with our non-profit partners, and consistently being able to generate and provide significant funding each month to non-profit endangered species and climate conservation organizations around the world. As well, we want to be able to measure and record real-world impact from our work. Success for us is being able to significantly impact endangered species conservation efforts, climate conservation efforts, and species and ecosystem protection. Within 2-3 years, we would like to have significantly contributed to an increase in endangered species populations around the world, as well as protected habitat ecosystems, reduced poaching, carbon emissions, and a decline in threats to African species.

We submitted a proposal in Fund7: https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/383901

However, our project has developed immensely since then. We have a larger, more experienced team, as well as a group of three experienced advisors. Our project scope has also shifted as well, to focus on building a decentralized platform and using the funds to support our treasury. We are also now working with Cardano4Climate and WADA for this application.

SDG Rating

SDG goals:

Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

SDG subgoals:

13.3 Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning

13.b Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities

15.5 Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species

15.7 Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products

15.8 By 2030, introduce measures to prevent the introduction and significantly reduce the impact of invasive alien species on land and water ecosystems and control or eradicate the priority species

15.a Mobilize and significantly increase financial resources from all sources to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems

15.b Mobilize significant resources from all sources and at all levels to finance sustainable forest management and provide adequate incentives to developing countries to advance such management, including for conservation and reforestation

15.c Enhance global support for efforts to combat poaching and trafficking of protected species, including by increasing the capacity of local communities to pursue sustainable livelihood opportunities

17.16 Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries, in particular developing countries

Key Performance Indicator (KPI):

15.c.1 Proportion of traded wildlife that was poached or illicitly trafficked

15.b.1 (a) Official development assistance on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity; and (b) revenue generated and finance mobilized from biodiversity-relevant economic instruments

15.8.1 Proportion of countries adopting relevant national legislation and adequately resourcing the prevention or control of invasive alien species