GainForest: Decentralized science for verifiable environmental action and decision making

Public Good Projects Discussion
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Project Description:
GainForest is a decentralized science non-profit organization. Our interdisciplinary team of scientists, engineers and community builders develop innovative technological solutions to address environmental challenges and inform decision making.

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Our four focus areas are:

  1. Decentralized MRV (Measurement, Reporting, and Verification): A technology-driven approach that brings transparency and accountability to environmental restoration projects through decentralized verification methods, enabling accurate measurement and validation of conservation impacts.

  2. Conservation Data Income (CDI): A system that uses dMRV and borderless payments to reward environmental stewardship.

  3. AI for Nature: A decentralized science platform developing cutting-edge AI models specifically designed to enhance and scale biodiversity monitoring and detection capabilities. We host two AI agents, Taina and Polly, to support environmental decision making for Indigenous and policy leaders.

  4. Environmental Hypercerts: Impact certificates representing verified environmental conservation outcomes achieved by local communities. They combine on-chain data, AI verification, and multiple monitoring methods to validate impact, creating direct connections between funders and environmental results while providing communities sustainable income.

GainForest pioneers indigenous and local data governance that empowers communities to control their environmental data through integrated pricing and policy frameworks, ensuring fair compensation while maintaining sovereignty over their resources.Our collaborative approach helps preserve ecosystems for future generations while ensuring resources remain accessible to all.

Impact Reports

Community Groups

Social Media

Public Repository:

Budget Breakdown

Milestone 1: [$11,000 USD / 2.80 ETH - Environmental Hypercert Marketplace]

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Expected Outcome: A functional marketplace for environmental hypercerts with proven community adoption and impact verification

  • Launch hypercert marketplace platform
  • Onboard at least 5 verified community partners
  • Create counterfactual analyses for each hypercert

Milestone 2: [$14,000 USD / 3.57 ETH - Environmental Impact Evaluation APIs]

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Expected Outcome: Production-ready API suite enabling conservation projects to measure and verify their impact

  • Launch GainForest “Impact Passport Stamp” that any conservation project can use
  • Package current algorithms into user-friendly APIs
  • Complete API documentation

Milestone 3: [$7,500 USD / 1.91 ETH - Decentralized Science Community Platform]

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Expected Outcome: Established global network for decentralized environmental research collaboration

  • Create collaboration platform that allows scientists all over the world to collaborate and share environmental knowledge
  • Establish network of at least 10 active core contributors across at least 3 countries doing decentralized environmental research
  • Enable decentralized environmental research collaboration

Milestone 4: [$1,500 USD / 0.38 ETH - Road to Gitcoin Accelerator Program]

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Expected Outcome: Established global network for decentralized environmental research collaboration

  • Provide 1:1 mentorship for 5 community partners to apply for a round in Gitcoin Grants
  • Guide partners through Gitcoin Grants application process
  • Support promotion during donation period
  • Assist with successful fund withdrawal

Milestone 5: [$15,000 USD / 3.82 ETH - Second AI Ă— Environment Hackathon]

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Expected Outcome: Successful execution of hybrid hackathon event

  • Secure accomplished field mentors
  • Organize venue and technical infrastructure
  • Host hybrid (in-person and virtual) workshops and hackathon

Milestone 6: [$15,000 USD / 3.82 ETH - Agentic AI for Environmental Decisions]

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Expected Outcome: Enhanced AI systems integrating scientific and Indigenous knowledge for environmental decision-making

  • Enhance Taina with proactive environmental conservation suggestions
  • Upgrade Polly with improved decision-making capabilities for policymakers, integrating both scientific data and Indigenous knowledge
  • Complete 3 successful pilot implementations with existing Indigenous community partners

Total Funding Requested: $64,000 USD / 16.32 ETH

Plans should fall below, reach or exceed funding goals:

  • Below: Depending on how much lower than the funding goal, we will likely have to apply for more ecosystem grants, reducing the amount of time that we have to build the project. We will still be working on our milestones, but at a lower capacity, as we are a small team. The milestones will likely be reached later than expected.
  • Reach or exceed: We would not have to look for grants or other funding, and can focus on building our project, as well as adding in more documentation so anyone can contribute. We will be able to onboard more communities and traditional scientists into the web3 ecosystem.

Impact Measurement and Reporting

Inputs > Activities > Outputs > Outcomes > Long Term Impact

Short-term Outcomes (0-3 months):

  • Launch Hypercert Marketplace with at least 5 community partners
  • Create Environmental Impact Evaluation APIs with complete documentation
  • Establish decentralized science community platform
  • Support 5 community partners in applying for Gitcoin Grants
  • Host AI Ă— Environment Hackathon
  • Enhance AI agents Taina and Polly with improved capabilities

Mid-term Outcomes (3-6+ months):

  • Successfully onboard community partners with demonstrated environmental impact
  • Create counterfactual analyses for each hypercert
  • Establish network of at least 10 active core contributors across 3+ countries
  • Complete 3 successful pilot implementations with Indigenous community partners
  • Package current algorithms into user-friendly APIs

Long-term Impact (5+ years):

  • Onboard the next billion nature stewards into the web3 digital economy
  • Create an active decentralized science platform where scientists globally can earn a living doing environmental research
  • Build and fund an active community of nature stewards worldwide earning through conservation work
  • Enable funders to purchase verifiable environmental impact through hypercerts
  • Support local and global decision makers from Indigenous villages to COPs in environmental decision making

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Outcomes Measurement:

Project 1: Environmental Hypercert Marketplace

  • Number of community partners onboarded (target: 5)
  • Creation of counterfactual analyses for each hypercert
  • Marketplace usage and transaction metrics

Project 2: Environmental Impact Evaluation APIs

  • Number of conservation projects using our “Impact Passport Stamp”
  • API integration rates by projects
  • Documentation completeness and usage metrics

Project 3: Decentralized Science Community Platform

  • Active core contributors established (target: 10 across 3 countries)
  • Quality of environmental knowledge sharing
  • Collaboration metrics between scientists globally

Project 4: Road to Gitcoin Accelerator Program

  • Partners successfully completing grant applications (target: 5)
  • Success rate of grant applications
  • Fund distribution and withdrawal completion rates

Project 5: Second AI Ă— Environment Hackathon

  • Participant engagement in hybrid event
  • Quality of environmental algorithms created
  • Technical infrastructure effectiveness

Project 6: Agentic AI for Environmental Decisions

  • Successful pilot implementations with Indigenous partners (target: 3)
  • Integration of Indigenous knowledge with scientific data
  • Quality of environmental conservation suggestions from AI agents

Measurement Tools:

  • Platform analytics for each project component
  • Regular milestone verification
  • Community feedback collection
  • Usage statistics tracking
  • Implementation assessments
  • Event participation data

Interim Reporting

Regular Updates:

  • Our goal is to provide monthly updates on our project deliverables and milestones through the Karma GAP platform.

Milestone Verification:
We will maintain monthly updates on our Karma GAP project page with details of completed deliverables and progress metrics. Additionally, we will document our achievements through blog posts and impact reports that demonstrate project outcomes and learnings.

Sustainability Plan

  • Using XPRIZE Rainforest Bonus Prize funds in an endowment fund
  • Interest from endowment (~25K USD/year) supports three communities in Brazil
  • Long-term strategy includes adding funds from hypercert sales and competition prizes
  • Minimum viable funding: $12,000/month
  • Growth funding target: $20,000/month

Case Studies and Testimonials

Gathering Feedback:

We will gather feedback through regular check-ins with community partners, structured interviews with platform users, and surveys from event participants. For longer-term impact assessment, we’ll document case studies and collect testimonials from various stakeholders. We’ll also maintain ongoing dialogue through our data council to ensure we’re capturing diverse perspectives and experiences.

Showcasing Success:

We will showcase success stories through regular blog posts highlighting partner achievements, social media content including short documentary-style films of community impact, and comprehensive documentation in our annual impact report. These materials will be shared across our platforms to demonstrate real-world applications of our technology and community outcomes.

Advancing Values of Freedom and Privacy

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GainForest advances values of freedom and privacy through:

  • Indigenous and local data governance
  • Empowering communities to control their environmental data
  • Ensuring fair compensation while maintaining sovereignty over resources
  • Transparent environmental decision-making
  • Decentralized verification methods

Supporting Decentralization

The project supports decentralization through:

  • Decentralized MRV (Measurement, Reporting, and Verification)
  • Decentralized science platform for environmental research
  • Borderless payments system
  • Distributed team structure across continents
  • Bi-annual elections for local and Indigenous data council

Team Information

Core team:

  • David Dao (Co-Founder & Chief Scientist)
  • Sharfy Adamantine (Co-Founder & CTO)
  • Niña Cerilla (Founders’ Associate)
  • Nurfatin Hamzah (Community Manager)
  • Diego Rivera (Software Engineer)
  • Rodrigo Ferreira (Software Intern)

Indigenous Data Council:

  • Gabriel Nunes (South America Representative, Brazil)
  • Justine Bual (South East Asia Representative, Philippines)
  • Simon Okoth (Africa Representative, Uganda)

Social Proof

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The project has extensive social proof including:

Transparency

Our internal procedure is to transfer funding on-chain to pay for our core operations. The funds will be used specifically for development team salaries, community program implementation costs, and necessary technical infrastructure. Should we receive funding from Octant, it will primarily go towards supporting our six outlined projects focusing on platform development, community programs, and technical implementation.

Other funding

Gitcoin Grants

  • GG22 Community Round: Ma Earth (Round 2) - $788.09 crowdfunded, $1,959.88 matched, $2,747.97 total
  • GG21 DeSci Round: $31.61 crowdfunded, $286.80 matched, $318.41 total
  • GG21 Celo Real World Builders: $135.43 crowdfunded, $2,050.87 matched, $2,186.30 total
  • GG21 Climate Coordination Network: $120.07 crowdfunded, $1,396.00, $1,516.07 total

We also receive donations from foundations (e.g., Fondation Valery).

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