ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Several organizations are exploring profitable ways for global investors to preserve nature rather than harvest it. Using blockchain technology, the startup Rebalance Earth enables investors to pay local populations to protect apex animals such as forest elephants. The elephants are approaching extinction under threats by poachers and disappearing habitats.
The loss of such elephants would be catastrophic because they provide essential “environmental services” that help protect the health of the Congo rainforest.
The rainforest—the second biggest on Earth—generates atmospheric moisture that brings rain to huge areas of north central Africa. Without the elephants, the forest is likely to shrink. And if the forest shrinks, millions of people are likely to go thirsty and hungry.
In this episode 9 of Climate Levers, guest Walid Al Saqqaf tells host Eduardo Esparza how Rebalance Earth works to protect forest elephants and other species that provide key environmental services.
After establishing the financial value of the services elephants provide, Rebalance Earth sets a value on the elephants themselves. The company then creates tokens that investors can trade on international markets by using blockchain technology.
Mentioned in the episode:
• Walid Al Saqqaf: https://www.linkedin.com/in/walid-al-saqqaf/
• Rebalance Earth: https://www.rebalance.earth/
• Ralph Chami: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralph-chami-63785313/
• How African Elephants Fight Climate Change: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2020/09/how-african-elephants-fight-climate-change-ralph-chami
• Fabio Berzaghi: https://www.berzaghi.com/
• Ian Redmond: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-redmond-b849283
• R3 Corda: https://www.r3.com/products/corda/
• One from Many: Visa and the Rise of Chaordic Organization by Dee Ward Hock: https://bookshop.org/books/one-from-many-visa-and-the-rise-of-chaordic-organization/9781576753323
About the guest
Walid Al Saqqaf is Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Rebalance Earth, a purpose-driven startup that focuses on mitigating climate change and protecting nature.
“Rebalance Earth is here to do one thing,” he says. “It provides a mechanism for assigning an economic value to nature so we can fund its preservation. Once you’ve established a value for both living and dead nature, you can weigh the cost of killing things. When the cost is too high, you won’t kill them. Rebalance Earth protects nature by establishing the monetary value of keeping it alive.”
Walid, a serial entrepreneur with experience in information technology and blockchain, has also started seven other companies. For four years, he has hosted a weekly podcast about blockchain technology, called Insureblocks.
