🦀 Nika.Eco: Analyse nature-based carbon project data quicker than anyone else on the market [BA+ 2023]
TLDR; Nika.eco helps carbon market stakeholders perform pre-feasibility studies on nature-based solutions in 2 weeks - 4x more quickly than the next best alternative
Carbon credits provide us with the most ready financing tools for large-scale habitat protection and restoration, but projects must meet the carbon market’s standards for integrity.
The problem: Nature-based project developers must provide evidence of the integrity of their projects to be approved for sale by carbon registries, but doing so is cost- and time-intensive.
Investors, too, must complete due diligence checks on the integrity of nature-based carbon projects they are considering funding, before they can deploy money into any single one.
All players in the carbon market have to understand the principles and norms governing the system in order for it to function as intended.
The basic questions stakeholders in the carbon markets must answer include:
Would the project’s carbon reduction activities have occurred without the financial incentive that the carbon credits provide? In other words, is it “additional”? To answer this question, developers must establish a “baseline” based on a business-as-usual scenario, and prove that their project surpasses this baseline - such as by measuring encroaching deforestation rates that threaten the project area’s habitat.
Is there a risk of carbon emissions being released back into the atmosphere after offsetting? In other words, are the projects providing permanent carbon reductions or removals? To minimize the risk of emissions leakage over time, developers have to demonstrate understanding the area’s vulnerability to trigger events such as wildfires, and show they have plans in place to mitigate the effects of such risks.
Might the project lead to an unintended increase in emissions outside the project boundary - what is known as “leakage”? Leakage mitigation can involve measures such as buffer zones, or community engagement to prevent indirect emissions increases.
The solution: Powered by AI, remote sensing, and a strong focus on its users needs, Nika.eco performs pre-feasibility studies in 2 weeks - 4x faster than anyone else in the market.
By simply uploading the boundaries Nika.eco’s NikaFeasability product, users can assess a project’s risks at scale, with easy-to-understand explanations for why red- or yellow- alarms were raised.
Nika.Eco’s product also allows project developers to monitor on-going project risks, changes to above-ground carbon biomass, and estimate future sequestration potential from the latest SAR and LiDAR technologies, in accordance to established carbon methodologies.
And Nika.Eco’s supporting chatbot, CarbonGPT, simplifies the latest carbon market data, news and project quality insights - to enable every stakeholder in the market gain the knowledge they need with ease to engage with it more effectively.
Initially developed for their own purposes, CarbonGPT uses preprocessed carbon data, users can ask simple queries to gain knowledge of the complexity of the carbon market, including questions about registries and specific project documentation. Questions you could ask CarbonGPT look like:
Can you explain the Verra VM0007 methodology to me in simple terms?
How many carbon projects have been developed and registered by [Project Developer]? What are their project IDs and the number of credits issued from these projects?
Which Gold Standard methodology commands the highest credit prices?
What sections do I need to include in a Verra Project Description Document?
What has been happening in Singapore with respect to nature-based carbon projects?
Users can also upload any PDD or project documents to get CarbonGPT to analyze, scan and write summarized reports for you at scale!
Meet the team: Driven and highly iterative, Nika.Eco’s cofounders Johann (Jon) Wah (CEO) and Lawrence Xiao (CTO) joined forces after working together at Amazon Web Services, inspired to protect the region’s biodiversity.
We sit with Jon and Lawrence to learn more about their journey.
💡 Biodiversity Accelerator+: What does a day in your life look like as a founder of Nika.Eco? How do you both divide and conquer with your responsibilities overseeing your business?
➡️ Jon: A day in our lives as founders of Nika.Eco is characterized by a harmonious division of labor that leverages our individual strengths and expertise. We find ourselves complementing each other exceptionally well in our respective roles.
Lawrence diligently oversees the technical product roadmap, ensuring that our technological advancements are aligned with our organizational goals.
On the other hand, Jon is dedicated to focusing on customer project deliveries, ensuring that our clients' expectations are not just met, but exceeded.
Together, we engage in meaningful dialogues with our customers. This collaborative approach allows us to gain a deeper understanding of their technical requirements, enabling us to deliver climate projects effectively and with the utmost integrity.
💡 Biodiversity Accelerator+: What breakthroughs have you had with your product offerings since you first founded the company?
➡️ Lawrence: Since the inception of Nika.Eco, we have achieved significant breakthroughs that have propelled us to the forefront of the climate industry. We have successfully trained one of South East Asia's best mangrove detection machine learning models using SAR and LiDAR images when we compared it with local research sources. This accomplishment has been instrumental in addressing the data gap in the climate industry, and we are excited to extend this capability to other ecosystems such as peatland and grassland. These milestones were achievable because of our robust internal system, which allows us to prepare high-quality datasets over millions of hectares in a remarkably short span of time.
💡 Biodiversity Accelerator+: If you could ask for anything from the audience reading this today, what would it be?
➡️ Jon / Lawrence: In today's context, the carbon market is fraught with uncertainties, and the biodiversity market is hindered by a lack of methodologies and data. Despite these challenges, the urgency to act against climate and biodiversity collapse is paramount. We humbly ask our audience to consider the critical role of geospatial analysis in making more informed decisions in these domains. How can this technology empower your efforts to contribute positively to our planet's future? Your engagement and action in this area are not just beneficial but essential as we collectively navigate the complexities of our global ecosystem.
Want to learn more about Nika.Eco? Check out their website, Linkedin, or Slack community for more updates!
Learn more about the Biodiversity Accelerator+ at our website today.