Nature Seychelles, supported by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Porini Foundation, have launched the world’s first Digital Species – the Seychelles Magpie Robin – which is up for sale as the first-ever Digital #NatureCollectible (a Non-Fungible Token for conservation).
The launch was on CNN on 19th July. A month later 46 Tokens have been sold = 78% (13 Tokens left) amounting to USD 10,000. The top token – the “CNN Bird”- at USD 10,000 is still up for sale –buy this one and get No.1 of the world’s first #NatureCollectible. Sixty four countries are on the platform, with the US leading.
“The Seychelles Magpie Robin takes us into the unchartered waters of digital tokens for conservation, with a limited edition of the first 59 collectibles – representing a ‘digital twin’ of this endangered living bird. As traditional sources of funding have dried up, we need new ways to support long-term programmes that are the backbone of successful conservation. This is the beginning of experiments to find new income for conservation,” said Dr. Nirmal Shah, of Nature Seychelles.
“Thanks to the collaboration with Nature Seychelles, this pioneering use of digital and financial technology can be promoted through a new ‘Green List exchange’ where new ideas and success stories on innovative funding mechanisms can be shared. One idea now is to create a special series of ‘nature collectibles’ from protected areas around the world, and encourage new digital supporters and investors to join conservation efforts,” said James Hardcastle of IUCN.
Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are tokens that can be used to represent ownership of unique items. Written on a blockchain, they can only have one official owner at a time. Porini Foundation has initiated an operational blockchain infrastructure that is nearly zero energy consumption and completely CO2 neutral. This is a major breakthrough and allows the use of such digital technology for conservation without an energy consumption trade-off.
The digital species, as a limited edition, is assigned an initial value for their sale. They can be resold and shared by collectors. Importantly, ALL the proceeds of the initial sale go directly to Nature Seychelles. Owners of the digital Seychelles Magpie Robin can sell on their Nature Collectibles and the follow-on proceeds will be shared between the seller and Nature Seychelles and partners. In this way, the active collection of these NFTs will generate an income stream for conservation.
The sale also generated interest on social media with some users publicising their purchase in support of the collectible. “Really happy with my non-fungible magpie!” tweeted Tariq Al-Sadoon. “Today I own a #naturecollectible a unique digital representation connected to a nature conservation project. Written to a zero-carbon blockchain where it cannot be copied. Like a rare piece of art,” said Richard Peers, another Twitter user.
If you want to buy the world’s first Digital #NatureCollectibles they are available on https://porini-foundation.myshopify.com/. There are multiple ways in which you can show, share, trade or display your #NatureCollectibles. The easiest way is to use the dedicated App: https://Porini.foundation/app
Our wallet address is 0x9b769032111980716ac7b16a415d1ad462921
For more information on the #NatureCollectibles
IUCN Green List Exchange https://exchange.iucngreenlist.org/home/
Porini Foundation: https://porini.foundation/naturecollectibles/
Nature Seychelles: https://natureseychelles.org/get-involved/naturecollectibles
