March 2025 Newsletter
Welcome to the latest newsletter from The Global Biodiversity Standard
Welcome to this edition of our newsletter, where we celebrate a major milestone for The Global Biodiversity Standard (TGBS). We are thrilled to announce the certification of our first restoration sites, recognising their commitment to high-integrity biodiversity restoration. These pioneering projects set a new benchmark for ecosystem restoration.
This achievement would not have been possible without the dedication of our global network of assessors. Over 150 new TGBS assessors have now been certified, equipping experts worldwide with the skills to evaluate and mentor restoration initiatives. Their expertise strengthens our mission, ensuring that biodiversity restoration projects meet the highest scientific standards.
As we expand, training and collaboration remain central to our work. Our upcoming webinar series will provide guidance on the application process. Do join to find out more.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Whether you are a restoration practitioner, an organisation seeking certification, or a supporter of biodiversity-positive initiatives, your contributions are essential in shaping a nature-positive future.
Dr David Bartholomew
The Global Biodiversity Standard Manager
First TGBS Certified Sites
We are delighted to announce that The Global Biodiversity Standard has awarded its first certifications to outstanding restoration projects worldwide:
Jane Goodall Institute Uganda & Ecosia – Advanced Certification was awarded to the Kasenene and Nyantonzi sites, key areas within the initiative to restore the chimpanzee corridor between Budongo and Bugoma forest reserves in Uganda.
SICIREC & Ecosia – Certification was awarded to the Nicola Subia and Pedro Galindo sites, integral to the ArBolivia agroforestry project in Bolivia, which promotes sustainable land management and biodiversity recovery
Reforest’Action & Impulso Verde – Certification was awarded to La Ortiga, part of the ‘Reforesting forests and restoring the agricultural frontier with Páramos’ project, which supports Pasto Indigenous communities in the Andean Cordillera of Colombia.
These certifications mark a significant milestone in the application of TGBS, ensuring high-integrity biodiversity restoration. We encourage other projects committed to ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation to apply for TGBS certification.
If your site meets our rigorous standards and you would like to be considered, please visit our website and reach out at info@biodiversitystandard.org.
TGBS Webinar
On April 9, 2025, at 1 PM UK time, we will host a webinar to explain the application process and guide participants through our online portal. The webinar will be repeated in the following weeks in Spanish, French, and Portuguese.
Register now to learn how your project can achieve TGBS certification!
Training The Global Biodiversity Standard Assessors
Training is a key component of TGBS equipping assessors with the skills to evaluate projects, certify biodiversity outcomes, and mentor restoration practitioners. Through rigorous training by experienced professionals in ecology and biodiversity conservation, TGBS strengthens its global network of experts and empowers local specialists to lead impactful restoration efforts.
In 2024, TGBS trainers Miguel Bailetti, José Manuel Mamani and Gaby Orihuela from the Peruvian hub (Huarango Nature) expanded regional expertise, conducting four specialized trainings across Latin America. These sessions held in Cuzco and Lambayeque, Peru, trained over 20 biodiversity specialists from diverse disciplines. Between September and November, additional training at new hubs in Argentina (Jardín Botánico de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires “Carlos Thays”) and Colombia (Jardín Botánico de Bogotá) resulted in 26 new certified assessors.
Momentum continued into 2025 with training at INECOL’s Francisco Javier Clavijero Botanical Garden in Xalapa, Mexico, training 18 experts.
December 2024, marked the launch of the Indonesian hub at Sumatra Rainforest Institute (SRI) in Sipirok, North Sumatra, through hands-on training led by Amarizni Mosyaftiani (Society for Ecological Restoration) and Kiran Baldwin (Auroville Botanical Gardens).
Activities included workshops, group discussions and site assessments at the South Tapanuli Botanic Garden.
With a strong history of social empowerment in agroforestry and restoration SRI is well-positioned to contribute to Indonesia’s biodiversity conservation efforts.
In Hong Kong, Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden (KFBG) hosted another TGBS Assessor Course in December 2024. Led by Fernanda Cardoso (KFBG), Kiran Baldwin and Paul Blanchflower (Auroville Botanical Garden), the training combined interactive sessions with field-based learning in the nearby forest fragment of Tai Po Kao.
January 2025 saw the first TGBS training in an Arabic country, conducted at the Royal Botanic Garden (RBG), Jordan, and led by Jonathan Jenkins and Dr. Teresiah Mungai (The Centre for Ecosystem Restoration Kenya). Home to several regional plant experts, a national herbarium, and a short-term seed bank, RBG is set to become a regional leader in biodiversity conservation and ecological restoration.
In February 2025, TGBS Project Manager Dr David Bartholomew and Kiran Baldwin led training at Reforest’Action in France, establishing a European hub for TGBS. This milestone will strengthen restoration efforts across the country.
Congratulations to all the newly certified assessors!
TGBS India Hub representing TGBS at local biodiversity events
By Kiran Baldwin, Auroville Botanical Gardens)
The Ecological Restoration Alliance-India (ERA-India) has been hosting an annual conference, Restoring Natural Ecologies (RNE), in conjunction with online webinars and panel discussions to build awareness about restoration practices, methods, and projects. At its core, the conference aims to promote a spirit of collaboration and foster a sense of camaraderie within the restoration community of India.
The 2024 conference, centred around three themes “Philosophy, Practice, and Growing the Practice” was an engaging three-day event held at the picturesque Asia Plateau, the education and conference centre of Initiatives of Change in Panchgani, India.
An interactive booth was set up in collaboration between The Global Biodiversity Standard (TGBS) India hub and the ‘Knowledge & Resource Desk’ of ERA-India, both initiatives hosted at Auroville Botanical Gardens (TGBS India hub).
Kiran Baldwin delivered a short presentation on the collaboration between the Auroville Botanical Gardens (AVBG) and Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). This talk highlighted the opportunities that have emerged over the years from this partnership. It covered the journey from establishing a native nursery in the early days of AVBG to launching a conservation project for an endangered tree species native to South India, and the development of The Global Biodiversity Standard as the first hub in Asia.
On Day 3 of the conference, a workshop was conducted to introduce The Global Biodiversity Standard (TGBS). Presented by Kiran Baldwin, this session provided a comprehensive overview of the framework of TGBS for attendees. It was conducted in an interactive and open format, encouraging questions from the audience and discussing real-life examples of projects where the TGBS methodology has already been applied in India during the development phase of the Standard. To conclude the session, participants engaged in a group brainstorming activity to explore the potential applicability of the Standard and its Mentoring Programme.
In November 2024, staff from TGBS India hub also participated in Urban Tree Management Workshop organized by the ‘Corporation of the City of Panaji’ in collaboration with ‘Tree Care’ and the ‘Goa State Biodiversity Board’. The event highlighted the importance of sustainable urban forestry and ecological practices. The Auroville Botanical Gardens played a key role by setting up a booth to showcase The Global Biodiversity Standard (TGBS) and presenting the standard & its methodologies.
The workshop attracted a diverse audience, including ecologists, urban landscapers, Goa State Biodiversity Board members, the state’s Forest Department, and technical partners such as drone specialists. The event also received high-level attention, with the Chief Minister of Goa gracing the occasion.
TGBS Science News
By Danilo R. A. de Almeida, Bioflore)
We’re excited to share groundbreaking advancements in tropical forest restoration from a recent review led by Dr. Danilo Almeida from Bioflore, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. The study, titled “Remote sensing approaches to monitor tropical forest restoration: Current methods and future possibilities“, offers a comprehensive analysis of remote sensing technologies shaping the future of forest monitoring.
Tropical forest restoration is crucial for mitigating climate change and preserving biodiversity, yet monitoring these ecosystems effectively is challenging due to their complexity. The research underscores how the integration of ultra-high resolution RGB images, multi- and hyperspectral images, active sensors like LiDAR and radar, alongside artificial intelligence, is revolutionizing forest monitoring. These technologies significantly enhance our capacity to monitor carbon stocks, biodiversity, and the ecological succession and integrity of forests, providing a deeper understanding of forest recovery dynamics on a large scale.
We invite everyone to explore the full article to gain insight into the technologies driving the future of forest restoration monitoring. This knowledge not only supports our current efforts but also inspires the development of new conservation strategies.”
TGBS Partner Highlight: Ecosia
By Antonia Burchard-Levine and Pieter Van Midwoud, Ecosia)
Ecosia is a Berlin-based search engine that uses its ad revenue to fund tree-planting projects around the world, aiming to combat deforestation and climate change. So far, Ecosia has funded over 200 million trees in over 35 countries.
Ecosia’s mission is not solely about planting trees, but uses a holistic approach that seeks to address the underlying causes of deforestation while working with community-led restoration. We aim to ensure that projects are carried out in a manner that maximises biodiversity outcomes while improving livelihoods and socio-economic standards. Essentially, we follow the 10 Golden Rules for Restoring Forest!
To ensure sustainability, we sign 20-year contracts with our partners, which include robust monitoring requirements. Ecosia’s tree team also conducts regular audits, and we also use remote sensing data to track project progress over time.
Ecosia became a technical partner in the development of TGBS in 2022. We were invited to use our experience in implementing a reforestation project to support the development of TGBS’ methodology. The methodology was also tested on 10 of our partners’ sites. At the same time, we have advised on the development of TGBS’s app and remote sensing components. We have also been supporting the PR for the standard and will continue to do so.
Over the past few years, we have seen a surge in tree planting projects, and therefore it is a crucial moment to ensure that the pursuit of planting many trees does not undermine biodiversity goals. We’re very excited to be amongst leading scientists and institutions that aim to ensure high integrity ecosystem restoration. Backed by rigorous science, TGBS sets clear standards to ensure tree planting projects are ensuring positive impacts on biodiversity, which are available online for all.
One of the elements we find the most exciting is that the assessment is led by local experts, who are best positioned to understand the local context and ecology. This also results in a mentoring component in the process. It’s not just about whether a project meets certification or not, but the assessment will also provide guidance on how to maximise biodiversity benefits. For us it has been a big win-win to have our projects assessed by TGBS hub partners, connecting our partners to local experts, which helps us continuously improve our work on the ground.
We continue our work of funding high quality and high integrity tree growing and restoration projects all over the world and seek to ensure we can maximise biodiversity outcomes as we pursue this mission. So far, we have 2 of our projects certified and we hope to certify more of our projects will be certified in the future.
We envision TGBS becoming a trusted and recognizable standard, one synonymous with high-integrity projects, that it will be adopted by many more tree planting organisations across the world.
We also hope that this standard will empower funders and investors by providing clear, actionable criteria to identify and support impactful projects, and avoid greenwashing.
TGBS In The News!
Como garantir a biodiversidade em projetos de reflorestamento?
Isto e’Dinheiro
Right tree, right place: the Global Biodiversity Standard
ECOSIA
Ecosia Presents the Global Biodiversity Standard
Reddit/OptimistsUnite (Onaliquidrock)
New Global Biodiversity Standard raises bar for biodiversity-positive restoration
CIFOR-ICRAF Forests News
Como garantir a biodiversidade em projetos de reflorestamento?
Estadao
For ecological restoration, evidence-based standards deliver better outcomes (commentary)
Mongabay
