The Open Forest Protocol (OFP) – an open platform to transparently measure, verify and fund forestation projects with blockchain technology – said it has gone live and is ready to accelerate climate action by onboarding projects on the carbon-neutral NEAR Protocol.
The announcement signifies the beginning of one of the first open and free, measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) services accessible to forestation projects of any size, throughout the world.
The decentralised and scalable Open Forest Protocol is in alignment with the UNFCCC recommendations for effective forest conservation and restoration to revert forest loss, protect and preserve biodiversity, as well as ecosystems and life.
The Open Forest Protocol launched its main net with 435,000 hectares of natural forest committed to its platform from 46 forest project partners in 35 countries.
There is no fee to join or to operate.
“Open Forest Protocol provides a clear pathway for re-inventing and rapidly scaling reforestation and forest management, nature-based carbon markets, and our relationship with nature. But in reality, this core logic is only the mothership of an entire fleet of services that our ecosystem will be able to offer in the future – all subsumed beneath a single token – the $OPN that will be launched later this year,”said Michael Kelly, co-founder, CPO of OFP.
A community-based, decentralised network of environmentally-focused individuals and organisations will transparently validate data measured and reported from all forests, in a permanent updated record, publicly auditable on OFP, to open direct access to support, funding and carbon financing for successfully validated projects.
“We are driven by purpose and seeking like-minded partners who are open to sharing our values and vision,” said Frederic Fournier, co-founder, CEO of Open Forest Protocol. “We are thrilled to be working with NEAR on our world-changing mission to make a tangible contribution towards tackling climate change.”
OFP’s Open-MRV has the potential to unlock carbon financing for forests across the world, with the promise of bringing high-quality, auditable, carbon credits to countries, companies and institutions looking to meet their emission targets. The first and only Web3 native Open-MRV system will empower climate and blockchain projects alike, to share and scale nature’s answers with the world.
“Technology has a clear role to play in ensuring sustainability for future generations,”said Marieke Flament, CEO of the non-profit NEAR Foundation, which oversees the development and funding for creators of the NEAR Protocol.
“This collaboration with Open Forest Protocol reiterates our commitment to ecological stewardship. This has been demonstrated not only towards our carbon neutrality but also through supporting projects that are strengthening the global ecosystem for centuries to come.
“With a human-centric and natural approach to blockchain, the platform’s launch is a new approach to forest management: One that is open, with trees and forests leading the world forward, to accelerate a positive climate change. All starting from the truth.”
