Indigenous data & rights of nature with Drea Burbank of Savimbo
Special guest Drea Burbank MD, co-founder of Savimbo joined NTC Now on March 6th, 2024.
NTC Now is a program launched by the Nature Tech Collective where members drop in to present time, exchange updates, and connect. Each event kicks off with a special guest, followed by a pulse on the nature tech sector and community including member only special announcements, updates and activities.
Special Guest, Drea Burbank MD
Our guest this week was Drea Burbank, CEO and co-founder of Savimbo, who joined NTC Now from the Columbian Amazon, a biodiversity hotspot with rare species including bush dog, jaguar, and harpy eagle. Outside her office is a pristine primary forest which hasn’t been disturbed for over 5000 years.
Savimbo & Indigenous Representation
Originally from Idaho, Drea presently lives in a remote region deep in the Columbian tropical Amazon where she co-founded Savimbo together with Jhony Lopez, and Fernando Lezama. During the call she discussed her work with Indigenous Peoples, Savimbo’s credits, data rights, and how she leverages privilege as a former Stanford collaborator whose research specialized in behaviour change and chaos theory.
Photos credits: Savimbo.
One story Drea shared regarding privilege is how she has helped to open doors to global convenings — often closed to indigenous representation or guidance — where emerging biodiversity credit markets are being negotiated and developed.
Drea helped represent “99 leaders, 25 nations, 55 indigenous nations” and open doors to global negotiations where pressure to develop offsetting, which many indigenous groups view as unethical, brought about comparisons of the present development of the biodiversity credit market to mining and petroleum.
Organizations such as the Biodiversity Credit Alliance, the World Economic Forum, and the IAPB, to varying degrees, are seeking to advance a scalable nature market that stands up to the scrutiny of multiple stakeholders and unlock significant financial flows for nature. And yet, such global organizations, have historically had challenges to appropriately include and invite guidance from indigenous groups who “make up 6% of the world’s population representing 80% of the world’s biodiversity.” As the nature transition quest and market development picks up pace from investors and the financial sector, we must not lose sight of the fact that the global economy has the most to learn from those who have culturally integrated the stewardship of nature into the fabric of their way of life.
Collaboration is clearly not a simple task — especially when bridging and seeking to include the voices of cultures who have been historically marginalized. As an organization the Nature Tech Collective views cultural diversity as an evolutionary strategy for success and is committed to creating programs and offerings founded upon safety and trust to amplify diverse perspectives and stakeholders — a ground of health and reciprocity over privilege and power.
Rights of Nature, Indigenous Friendly Data Contracts, and Savimbo’s Credits
What’s next? Drea shared three exciting initiatives,
Rights of Nature. A forthcoming UN proposal for the rights of nature is being developed as a comprehensive campaign, leveraging social media, celebrity endorsements, and corporate support reflecting the voices and concerns of those most affected by environmental degradation. While their coalition may not wield significant political power, they are actively seeking allies who share their vision and are willing to offer their support. Together, they aim to ensure that indigenous voices are not only heard but also respected in global environmental governance.
Indigenous Friendly Contracts for Commodities & Data. Many view data, like oil, as a resource to be extracted. Drea and her team at Savimbo have witnessed numerous case studies of bad contracts and they want to help shift this narrative. Drea is working with legal professionals to develop foundational contracts for commodities and data — similar to a Y-Combinator style SAFE agreement but for data.
Savimbo’s Credits. Savimbo’s credits differ from traditional credits because they have already happened — they are ex-post credits as opposed to ex-ante credits and are expected to be listed on commodities exchanges this July.
Want to learn more about Drea & Savimbo?
Connect with Drea via Linkedin visit Savimbo, or become a friend.
NTx Nature Fintech, Putting Nature on the Map
The nature fintech sector map was shared with members who will have the opportunity to participate and be featured further.
During this week’s call members were invited to the first thematic workshop of the Nature Fintech series, this first event will allow participants to learn more and then work in small groups to put the map at test .
Download the map, view the past event, or subscribe to our calendar to keep up with future collaboration opportunities.
Interested to learn more about nature tech?
Apply to join the collective. Our team is here to help fast track action on climate, nature, and biodiversity through peer learning, sector intelligence, and hands on tailored workshops and experiences. Whether you’re a nature tech solution provider or a corporate seeking guidance on choosing the right tools and methods, we’re here to help strengthen and accelerate your progress together with a growing community of passionate entrepreneurs, domain experts, and practitioners.
Have a question or want to explore further?
Drop us a line or apply to join.