Bosque Guardian & ChainZilla unite to find a new way forward in the battle against deforestation
There’s a small captivating city in the middle of the Peruvian rainforest in a little town near Tarapoto, Peru— located in the buffer area of Cordillera escalera National Park. This is an immensely biodiverse part of the upper Amazon basin, home to hundreds of species of plants and animals. It is also a source of water for all the nearby towns located downstream, making it of tremendous importance for local society.
Even though these resources are invaluable they are threatened by deforestation and global warming. Studies show that in 2016 more than 164000 Hectares of rainforest were cut down in the Peruvian Amazon.
Most forest land in Peru is owned by the national government, which grants permission — often in the form of concessions — to applicants to temporarily harvest the land (many cut the trees down). Moreover, the government also grants “squatter rights” which makes it a massive undertaking for them to protect large areas of the rainforest. But indigenous communities, like the ones near Tarapoto, are motivated and want to do everything in their power to preserve the remaining fauna.
A Small Step To Solve a Big Problem
In February 2018 we met with Rafael Benavides — a entrepreneur that is interested in the conservation of the forest in Tarapoto through a sustainable project called Bosque Guardian. Rafael further explained his vision for the project which includes a “green” or boutique hotel along with eco-bungalows designed by Ibuku (he showed us the master plans) in the middle of a 70 hectare property situated in one of the only unprotected parts of the rainforest in Tarapoto.
“We are working with the Ibuku studio in Bali, which is one of the best studies in architecture with bamboo in the world” said Benavides
However, the main focus of the project wasn’t to make huge profits for himself. He was more keen on protecting the trees that haven’t been cut down through a series of sustainable business ideas that could be implemented in the region. These ideas includes a range of revenue streams, renewable energy workshops, education of the locals, scientific research, and a strong reforestation program.
Soon after we met Rafael, we travelled to the project. To reach Bosque Guardian in the Amazon rain forest of southern Peru, the first step is to get to the city of Lima, capital of Peru. The next step is a 45-minute plane ride to Tarapoto. Then comes a satisfying ride in small 2-man motorcycle taxi that weaves through the bumpy city roads.
We spend the night at a beautiful hotel in the middle of Tarapoto and we further discuss Rafael’s ideas on how to create a community that is both sustainable and profitable without destroying the trees. When we arrived at the project we became aware of its impressive size. Bosque Guardian is currently comprised of 70 hectares of land and they are in the process of building the green structures that will act as the foundation of the community.
Furthermore, Rafael impressed on us that the reason he brought us here was because he understood the power of distributed blockchains and how it could provide a transparent medium of fundraising to acquire more land for conservation. He wanted our help to implement blockchain systems into the project as a means to expand and leverage the power of cryptocurrencies — decentralization and liquidity. Currently, the forests are at the whims of government funding which is minimal and it doesn’t encourage the people living on the land to keep the trees standing.
The idea is to bypass the need for government funding or traditional donations by creating liquidity for the forest by tokenizing the most valuable resource— the trees. As it stands, our trees are the most valuable resource that we have but they are being cut down for profit. Instead, society should make it more profitable for the people that live on the land to take care of the trees. This can be accomplished by using the liquidity of Guardian coin to encourage the land-owner or dweller to take care for the trees through a gig economy. Bosque Guardian plans to do just this by creating jobs for the locals which revolve around reforestation, tourism, and renewable materials.
We believe that with blockchain powering the entire ecosystem, the project should be able to achieve a high level of transparency and governance. Guardian coin will be spendable in the main hotel, for amenities, and activities such as spiritual retreats, birdwatching, or white water rafting. Furthermore, strategic partnerships are being established with local businesses to accept Guardian as a means of redeeming services. Other technologies such as drones and aerial footage will be made available so that the community can literally watch the trees grow back in the areas that have been deforested.
“If our trees are the most valuable resource on earth, why are we not taking care of them? Because cutting them down is more profitable. We need to change that” — Rafael Benavides
In addition to creating liquidity for the forest by creating a cryptocurrency that has tangible assets behind it (the trees and natural resources), Bosque Guardian will create revenue streams by building a boutique hotel, renewable material workshops, tourism, spiritual retreats, and scientific research programs. All of which will be done with the help of locals and a group of international professionals that will oversee the project.
The Next Step
Bosque Guardian signals a new way forward in the battle for conservation and ChainZilla will be a part of it. Before leaving the project we made a commitment to Rafael to help the foundation integrate blockchain systems into his business and conservation model. That means ChainZilla will create and manage Bosque Guardian’s blockchain , and we will also dedicate resources to the education and integration of cryptocurrencies in Tarapoto and surrounding areas. We have decided to build Guardian coin on Komodo Platform due to its flexibile KIC (Komodo Independent Chain) protocol and robust security.
There are various obstacles that we have to overcome but we feel strongly that our team is able to handle all of the technical aspects of Bosque Guardian’s blockchain. Our team has already started working on Guardian’s cryptocurrency specifications and we will work side-by-side with their team. The Bosque Guardian website will be live in mid-Semptember and more details will be available then regarding the ICO, plans for the hotel, and technical details of Guardian coin.
Resources:
Bosque Guardian and ChainZilla featured on Peruvian Newspaper: https://gestion.pe/economia/empresas/tarapoto-tendra-primer-hotel-luxury-adventures-2019-240190
ChainZilla Website: www.chainzilla.io
ChainZilla Discord: https://discord.gg/G4dxgmv
