State of Grace

The River Basin Resilience Strategy

The Valueflow Strategy

The Essential Elements

Collective Visioning

Tim Smit Intro to Valley of Grace, SA

Project Planning

Explore

The Valueflow Strategy

Land Stewardship Tokens (LSTs)

Unlocking Sustainable Returns for Investors while Unleashing Bioregional Regeneration

Introduction

[LSTs are a subset of

The Valueflow Strategy⁠

, which describes how we create valueflow from cities into rural bioregions.]

Land Stewardship Tokens represent a transformative approach to sustainable investing, offering tremendous returns for investors, philanthropists, corporate ESG programs and those wanting to leave a legacy associated with what’s emerging. These tokens harness the power of regenerative land stewardship and conservation practices, enabling investors to contribute to environmental preservation and regeneration while generating attractive financial gains. This section explores the potential of Land Stewardship Tokens as an investment vehicle, highlighting their benefits, risks, and impact on bioregional regeneration.

Land Stewardship Tokens are based on the crypto instrument known as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). An NFT represents something that is unique and a normal crypto token represents something that isn't unique. To learn more about NFTs (in a non-geeky way), dive into

NFT 101⁠

Understanding Land Stewardship Tokens

Land Stewardship Tokens are a novel financial instrument that leverages blockchain technology to tokenize land stewardship rights. These tokens represent fractional rights to be recognized for the protection and regeneration of environmentally significant lands, which are managed using regenerative practices such as reforestation, regenerative permaculture, and conservation. The speculative nature of these tokens lies in the potential for substantial financial returns as the value of the underlying Bioregional Progress Indicators improve over time.

Here’s how the Land Stewardship Token offerings can work:

Membership and Participation: Land Stewardship Tokens grant holders the status of being active participants in land stewardship programs. By owning these tokens, individuals or organizations become stakeholders with a vested interest in the well-being and regenerative use of the land.

Funding Mechanism: The sale of Land Stewardship Tokens generates funds that are directed towards the implementation and maintenance of land stewardship initiatives. These initiatives can include activities such as habitat restoration, reforestation, soil conservation, water management, or regenerative food production practices.

Governance and Decision-making: Token holders may have the opportunity to participate in governance processes related to the land stewardship program. They can have voting rights or influence in decision-making processes, such as selecting projects, setting priorities, or determining the allocation of funds.

Benefits and Rewards: Land Stewardship Tokens can offer various benefits and rewards to token holders. These may include access to the land for recreational or educational purposes, preferential rates for ecotourism activities, discounts on locally produced goods or services, or other incentives that foster a sense of involvement and connection to the land.

Transparency and Accountability: The use of blockchain technology provides transparency in the management of Land Stewardship Tokens. The blockchain records transactions and allows for traceability of funds, ensuring accountability and demonstrating the impact of contributions towards land stewardship initiatives.

Community Engagement: Land Stewardship Tokens can help build a community of individuals and organizations committed to the long-term health and sustainability of the land. Token holders can connect, collaborate, and share knowledge and resources, fostering a sense of shared responsibility and collective action.

How LSTs are Minted: Unlocking the Power of Land Trusts

Let’s explore how LSTs can be minted using a hectare of land placed into a land trust. We will delve into the concept of minting, highlighting its significance, and discuss why backing these tokens with a physical hectare of land adds a distinctive dimension to their value and impact.

Understanding Minting

In the context of digital tokens, minting refers to the process of creating or issuing new tokens. It is akin to the production of physical currency by a central authority. However, in the case of LSTs, minting goes beyond the creation of mere digital assets. It involves the conversion of real-world land assets, specifically a hectare of land, into a digital representation of value that can be transferred and traded on a blockchain platform. Minting ensures that each LST is uniquely tied to a physical piece of land, establishing a direct connection between the token and the underlying asset.

The Unique Backing of Land

What sets LSTs apart is their backing by a physical hectare of land held in a land trust. This is a significant departure from traditional NFTs that are usually backed by items that can be moved and created at whim (like art pieces). By linking the LSTs value to a tangible, finite and immovable resource like land, the tokens gain a level of stability, transparency, and intrinsic value that is unmatched by many other forms of digital assets. The physical land backing provides reassurance to LST holders that their investment is supported by a tangible asset, enhancing their confidence in the LST's long-term value and potential returns.

Preservation and Responsible Land Management

Placing land into a land trust is a critical step in ensuring the preservation and responsible management of natural resources. Land trusts are established to protect land from development, exploitation, and degradation, and to promote its conservation for ecological, cultural, or community purposes. By designating land into a trust, its use is limited to activities that align with the principles of bioregional sovereignty. This commitment to stewardship ensures that the underlying land asset backing the tokens remains protected and contributes to the overall goals of bioregional sovereignty.

Unlocking Value and Financing Bioregional Projects

Minting LSTs for each hectare of land in a land trust enables the unlocking of the land's inherent value and redirects it towards bioregional regeneration projects. The LSTs provide a means for individuals, organizations, and communities to invest in regenerative initiatives, such as permaculture, suppressed energy, ecological restoration, and community empowerment. By leveraging the value of land assets through tokenization, funding mechanisms are created to support the transition to more regenerative and resilient bioregions. This innovative approach to financing aligns economic interests with ecological and community wellbeing, fostering a holistic and inclusive model of development and growth.

By converting tangible land assets into digital tokens, the unique minting process establishes a direct connection between the tokens and the underlying physical land, ensuring transparency, stability, and intrinsic value. Backing the tokens with land held in a trust enhances their significance by promoting responsible land management and contributing to the preservation of natural resources. As we embrace this innovative mechanism, Land Stewardship Tokens become a powerful catalyst for unlocking the true value of land and the creativity and productivity of the community associated with the land.

To understand how the minting process can be accomplished, we’ll look at examples of existing projects and platforms committed to this emerging financing approach.

LST Examples

While the concept of Land Stewardship Tokens is relatively new, there are some emerging examples that demonstrate the potential for success. Here are a few notable examples:

Costa Rica Regenerativa: A program of the University for International Cooperation, CRR is an initiative in Costa Rica that enables local communities and stakeholders to acquire tokens representing fractional ownership of parcels of land and participate in the sustainable management and conservation of the region's natural resources.

See details⁠

Regen Network: A blockchain-based platform that facilitates ecological monitoring, verification, and carbon credit trading. It leverages the power of tokenization to incentivize landowners and stewards to implement regenerative practices. Participants can earn Regen Tokens by adopting sustainable land management practices and generating verified ecosystem service credits. They have extensive documentation and training material available on the establishment of tokens.

See details⁠

Future Thinkers Smart Village: A Non-Fungible Token (NFT) campaign launched in June 2021 to fund a vision for a regenerative living lab and education center to be built in Interior BC, Canada. Tokens are used to finance and support the purchase and restoration of the land. Token holders can participate in decision-making processes and receive benefits such as access to the centre once established.

See details⁠

SEEDS RegenCivics: A collection of place-based projects using tokens to fund their activities.

See details⁠

Landbanking: A very new approach that applies the oldest and most noble function of a bank - custody - to any piece of land for regenerative purposes.

See details⁠

Attracting Investors, Philanthropists and Corporate EGS Programs

The allure of Land Stewardship Tokens lies in the dual promise they offer to investors. Firstly, these tokens provide an opportunity to support environmentally conscious initiatives, contributing to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, and regenerative land use. Secondly, investors stand to benefit financially from the appreciation in the value of the underlying token assets, which can be traded on crypto exchanges. The value of the token increases as the Bioregional Progress Indicators improve over time. This combination of impact and potential returns appeals to external investors, philanthropists, and HNWIs seeking alignment between their financial interests and a legacy linked to sustainability goals.

Unlike standard financial investments in typical development projects (like real estate), Land Stewardship Tokens can generate significant positive Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) impact. By channeling investments into regenerative land stewardship, these tokens foster the restoration of ecosystems, protect biodiversity, mitigate climate change, and enhance natural resource accountability. Additionally, these investments can promote social benefits by creating employment opportunities in regenerative permaculture, ecotourism, and local community development, thus fostering economic resilience and social well-being.

Risks and Considerations

While Land Stewardship Tokens hold great potential, it is important to acknowledge the associated risks and considerations. The value of these tokens is dependent on the performance of the underlying land assets and community associated with the land. Bioregional Progress Indicators, which may be influenced by factors such as strikes, floods, fire, soil erosion, strikes, policy changes, or market fluctuations. Investors should conduct thorough due diligence, assessing the credibility and expertise of land management organizations and ensuring alignment with regenerative practices. Moreover, token liquidity and regulatory considerations should be carefully evaluated to mitigate risks associated with token trading and compliance.

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Understanding Land Stewardship Tokens

How LSTs are Minted: Unlocking the Power of Land Trusts

Understanding Minting

The Unique Backing of Land

Preservation and Responsible Land Management

Unlocking Value and Financing Bioregional Projects

LST Examples

Attracting Investors, Philanthropists and Corporate EGS Programs

Risks and Considerations

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