Nobody has to take Savimbo's word for it.
Savimbo: Indigenous-led biodiversity credits
Biodiversity credits sold direct from Indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon. One credit is one hectare protected for two months.
DOVU's role
The marketplace and the record for each credit
Savimbo runs the programme and the monitoring. DOVU runs the marketplace and keeps the record. Anyone can check:
- Which Savimbo project each credit came from (certified, pre-certified or MRV)
- That each credit was issued once, and whether it has been retired
- The listed price per credit, and Savimbo's stated 50% share to landowners
The problem
Indigenous peoples conserve 30% of the planet's intact ecosystems and manage 80% of its biodiversity, yet receive under 2% of climate funding. Carbon markets failed them: complex counterfactuals, intermediaries taking value, projections instead of results. They needed direct payment for conservation that had happened.
What DOVU did
Savimbo created a biodiversity credit with 99+ Indigenous leaders across 55 nations, which Savimbo describes as the world's first certified biodiversity credit. One credit is one hectare of biodiversity hotspot protected for two months. DOVU sells it and records it.
- Verification through the Savimbo Indicator Species Biodiversity Methodology: drone mapping, game cameras and Indigenous monitoring
- Credits listed on dovu.market at $3.70 per hectare, with 50% of revenue to landowners under 30-year conservation contracts
- The first 2,030 credits sold out, protecting 74,200 hectares through 300+ smallfarmers and 4 Indigenous groups
- Three listings: certified, pre-certified, and MRV (measurement, reporting and verification) credits
- Savimbo projects 178 million credits within five years across 12+ groups in 9 countries
“We've created a system where one credit equals one preserved hectare for two months, verified through indicator species. No counterfactuals. No complex calculations. Just transparent, results-based conservation that ensures locals are paid fairly for their stewardship of the world's most biodiverse ecosystems.”
Press