The preservation of biodiversity is a major issue for our planet. Sovereign Nature Initiative (SNI) offers a response with new funding mechanisms that support local organizations all over the globe protecting fragile ecosystems. They look at innovative models and solutions like Blockchain and Web3. I meet with Catherine Bischoff CEO of SNI at CHANGENOW fair in Paris. We talk about impact, biodiversity, technology and creativity, all the components embedded into their projects already operating. Catherine is such an empathic leader for change. Enjoy our podcast conversation! 😉
Who is Catherine Bischoff ?
Catherine Bischoff is the CEO of Sovereign Nature Initiative, at the crossroads of biodiversity, technology and creativity.
March 26th / Paris – ChangeNow event
From Delphine Souquet & Julien Barrault
1, 2, 3 … on 2Goodmedia
1 Podcast
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The Podcasthon Week on 2Goodmedia
The Podcasthon is a project focus on podcasts and the power to make a difference. It’s led by over 300 podcasters from all walks of life who have decided to come together to promote the nonprofit world, highlighting initiatives that inspire us.
Introduction of the Podcast
Hello, everyone. Today we have an exceptional episode with two main features. First, it’s an extra episode as it is our participation in the grand Podcasthon week. Second, it’s coinciding with Change Now Paris the largest professional fair for environmental and social impacts. For this episode, I’ve chosen the nonprofit organization Sovereign Nature Initiative, based in Portugal. I’m delighted to welcome on 2Good Media’s show Catherine Bischoff, the CEO of Sovereign Nature Initiative.
Sovereign Nature Initiative looks to innovative funding mechanisms, combining creativity, technology and impact to protect biodiversity.
2 Ideas from me
- Paris as a Hub for Technology and Creativity
- Paris is evolving into a hub where technology meets creativity, attracting international leaders due to its unique blend of creativity, sustainability efforts, and technological advancements. The city’s focus on sustainability and aesthetics has created an environment conducive to innovative collaborations at the intersection of various fields. The importance of aesthetics in building community within sustainable initiatives.
- We cannot slow down and give ground on environmental and social impact
- At a time when the global economy is shifting and reorienting on AI and Technology we cannot slow down and give ground. I believe we can do both. Tech can be a powerful lever for environmental and social impact impact
3 Questions
1. How to make a bridge between biodiversity, creativity and technology?
we want to find new funding mechanisms that support organizations that are protecting the biodiversity of our planet
Catherine Bischoff, CEO of Sovereign Nature Initiative
Delphine Souquet: [00:03:25] We’ve met a few weeks before at NFT Paris. It was all about NFTs and technology, and now we are at change now, very different purposes. So ecology, the planet, the people… What does it mean for you to make a bridge between biodiversity protection, creativity and technology? [00:03:46]
Catherine Bischoff: [00:03:47] It’s a very important bridge and it’s at the core of the mission of Sovereign Nature Initiative. So we want to find new funding mechanisms that support organizations that are protecting the biodiversity of our planet and fragile ecosystems. And so in order to do that, we look at innovative models and solutions, and blockchain and Web3 is one of the avenues that we have explored.
speaking with corporates and ecologists and activists and helping them understand how things like the blockchain and the transparency and verifiability can be beneficial to them as well
And so being at NFT Paris and seeing that community and trying to mobilize that community to work with us on impacts, project on things that are really connected to the real world is a very distinct conversation. And then being here and speaking with corporates and ecologists and activists and helping them understand how things like the blockchain and the transparency and verifiability and all of the wonderful aspects of the infrastructure can be beneficial to them as well, is yet another conversation. So it’s it’s this typical bridge that I have basically on a daily basis, we have the same conversations with the conservation organizations we work with across the globe. So we also have to help them and onboard them into the world of of blockchain and understanding how it can be utilized for their benefit. [00:04:59]
2. Could you describe a typical project with SNI?
we had a very specific project where we got access to bio acoustic data of humpback whales
Delphine Souquet: [00:14:31] Can you explain us a typical project with Sovereign Nature Initiative? Which parties are you bringing to make these projects function? [00:14:38]
Catherine Bischoff: [00:14:40] So it starts with the data, and I’ll become very concrete about some projects to make, it’s understandable. So for example, we work with Aqua Search which is a French marine conservation organization, and they do monitoring of whale and shark as well as some turtle populations. And with them we had a very specific project where we got access to bio acoustic data of humpback whales. And so these communication essentially proof that they’re warning each other that they’re, you know, having conversations literally with each other. We took this data and found Web3 clients, so it was a and new product launched for a Web3 tool called Web3 inbox, which is a way for wallets to communicate with each other. So I don’t mean to get too jargony about it, but it’s a way for essentially you can communicate to the holder of an NFT and we thought “oh wow, this is really cool”. It’s actually a beautiful metaphor. If we could take communication from the wild and overlap this with a campaign and a project for this client Wallet Connect.
at the beginning, we’re going to have 20,000 people that would like to have one of these NFTs, and we ended up distributing 122,000 of them. It was the largest drop, in a specific ecosystem.
The “Soundwaves” NFT collection
We hired an incredibly talented artist and data architect named Daria Smakhtina, who took these data outputs of these soundscapes from the whales, and she processed them algorithmically and created a 3D sculpture out of the sound. And the sounds then became an object, it became an NFT, it became a piece of artwork. And our clients and I worked on deploying and distributing these NFTs to the new product adopters that they had onboarded. So we literally I mean, we went and we thought at the beginning, we’re going to have 20,000 people that would like to have one of these NFTs, and we end up distributing 122,000 of them. It was the largest drop, in a specific ecosystem.
It was an incredible way for this company, for Wallet Connect, to demonstrate that they’re making a nature positive impact, that they are interested in design and in art that they’re interested in leveraging technology to help the conservation organization and also to build a community around that. So we now have 121,000 wallets holders, hopefully most of them people that, that have these NFTs in their wallet. And they can now go to an interface that we have created called REAL, which is a sites where your, your token ID can be inputted and you see exactly which animal your NFT is connected to.
So I think now we’re getting to the core of what we’re doing is that every digital asset we produce is embedded with ecological data. So we are putting the value of nature within a digital asset, and we are proving it through blockchain technology that one is connected to the other. And when you go on to our interface, you can then see, okay, this NFT that I hold of whale sounds or of lion movements, whatever it is, is linked 1 to 1 with this, original data set. So you can see the actual fin of the, the whale, the emitter of the sound.
an incredibly talented artist and data architect named Daria Smakhtina, who took these data outputs of these soundscapes from the whales, and she processed them algorithmically and created a 3D sculpture out of the sound
The “Moonsama” NFT collection
Or another example, we work with a gaming community and they wanted to introduce lions into their game. And they approached us and we said “Oh, we actually have some lions in our catalog. We have 400 lions in the Maasai Mara and Kenya!”. And so they created their design studio, created 400 line lion avatars for their game. They did a sale of these NFTs. It raised $100,000 in three hours. It was incredible.
Biodiversity, Creativity, Technology : NFT & Gaming
And now there are 400 lion cub digital owners of these assets in their game. And so they have utility there, their lion companions that give them strength, power, prowess, etc. but these people are gamers who probably never would have anything to do with the Maasai Mara region or lions as such, all of a sudden are becoming interested in what’s going on in nature. And they want to see who is my lion, what is it connected to? What’s happening out there? How are the funds being used that I was able to code, generate, etc. so there’s like a social component to it. There’s a financing component to it, there’s an exposure component to it. There’s a biodiversity narrative component to it. [00:18:49]
their design studio created 400 line lion avatars for their game. They did a sale of these NFTs. It raised $100,000 in three hours. It was incredible.
3. Who are the talents composing the SNI’s team?
Delphine Souquet: [00:23:03] Also, employees are looking to companies, more and more committed to the planet and to the people. What’s about, sovereign nature initiatives? Is it easy for you to attract talents? What about the team? And, can you tell us about your experience, as an entrepreneur yourself? [00:23:24]
Catherine Bischoff: [00:23:26] Well, we have a small and mighty team, so we’re a mere six humans, trying to tackle a massive problem, but humans that are incredibly passionate, tireless workers, let’s say, and all coming from different fields. And I think that’s, what makes it unique is we represent the diversity of the problems we’re trying to tackle.
A multi-faceted team composed by artists, corporates, but above all passionated people
So one of the co-founders, Andrea Leiter, she is professor at the University of Amsterdam of global economic law. She brings with her a plethora of ideas and an intellectual output. That’s, that’s pretty astounding. Alessandro Mazzi, he’s our head of partnerships and field research. And, he basically in another life, or maybe in this life is a dolphin is so in-tune with not only with nature and with animals, but provides that bridge to the conservation partners and speaks their language and builds trust very quickly with them. And so he is kind of our link to all, all mycelial networks. And, Vadim Smakhtin, he’s our head of product, super smart technologist, who’s bringing in fresh ideas all the time. Rica Amaral, who just joined our marketing guy from the refi space, also full of enthusiasm, energy, and Beth McCarthy, who heads our granting, grants and and Web3 community building efforts. So very different profiles. And then myself. You’ve heard my profile before. We’re all very, very different people, but we’re all aligned with this purpose in this mission. And so we would love to grow. I think that’s our ambition, of course, but. We still need to overcome a few hurdles to be able to do that. And that’s why I’m here in Paris. [00:25:04]
TAKE AWAYS : 7 things you will learn listening through this episode
- Corporate Engagement and Investment in Sustainable Initiatives
- Engaging CEOs at Web 3 organizations has facilitated discussions about real impact initiatives associated with NFTs and blockchain technology. Entry points into traditional industry units have been explored through media companies, gaming projects, and partnerships with large energy corporations like Ng. Challenges in securing investment for impact-driven projects while aiming to move towards non-extractive investment models.
- NFTs and Biodiversity Data Embedding
- Every digital asset produced is embedded with ecological data, connecting the value of nature to digital assets through blockchain technology. Real interface allows users to see the specific ecological data connected to their NFTs, fostering a connection between digital assets and real-world nature. Examples include introducing lions into a gaming community using real lion avatars from the Masai Mara in Kenya.
- Technology’s role in environmental, social, governance (ESG) focus
- Technology plays a significant role in supporting companies to report their environmental footprints. Sovereign Nature Initiative focuses on working with community-led conservation organizations using technology as an enabler for financial independence. Emphasizing that technology is an enabler but not the sole solution for addressing ESG issues.
- Role as a connector between different stakeholders
- Catherine Bischoff enjoys being a connector between disparate worlds such as field researchers, corporate leaders, and communities at large. Creating a decentralized network of nature advocates through collaborative projects. Adapting communication styles for different audiences while promoting community advocacy.
- Addressing misinformation about NFTs’ carbon footprint
- Emphasizes the small carbon footprint of NFT minting using proof of stake format. Compares the carbon footprint to everyday activities like watching Netflix or sending messages via WhatsApp. Highlights the need to differentiate between various technologies like crypto, blockchain, Web 3, and NFTs.
- Use of technology in conservation efforts
- The organization uses technology to solve problems but emphasizes that it’s not the sole solution. They aim to make an impact through new funding models and marketplaces, ensuring transparency and verifiability. Blockchain is utilized for transparency in funding usage and ecosystem impact.
- Mission of Sovereign Nature Initiative
- The mission is to find new funding mechanisms supporting organizations protecting biodiversity and fragile ecosystems. Exploring innovative models and solutions, including blockchain and Web Three technology. Using art, data processing, and NFTs to create impact projects.
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Credits : Photos by Sovereign Nature Initiative, all rights reserved ; Article, Podcast by 2Good Holding, all rights reserved
