CHF150k to make wetland restoration lucrative

Wetlands and mangrove forests are not only some of the earth’s most critical ecosystems, but are carbon sequestration superstars, capable of sequestering 4 to 10 times the CO2 of terrestrial forests at rates 400% faster. This makes them particularly efficient options as a nature-based solution for carbon capture, as well as addressing the exploding demand for blue carbon and companies looking for climate and biodiversity contributions. Current estimates suggest that there are approximately 20 million hectares of degraded wetlands in need of restoration globally.

As traditional approaches to wetland restoration face difficulties such as securing financing but at the same time the demand for scalable nature positive impact from corporates is growing rapidly, the Bern-based Startup Inverto therefore connects wetland restoration to corporate funding: Through a subscription-based model, corporates and private individuals can subscribe to the restoration and conservation of specific 3x3 meter parcels of wetlands. Local restoration groups are provided with funding and tools to collect the data necessary. These high integrity data on climate, biodiversity and social impacts make monitoring possible at lower costs. data streams that are disaggregated and delivered directly to sponsors which then can use the data for their sustainability plans to counter the accusation of greenwashing with reliable facts.

Inverto’s systems are capable not just to measure carbon and floral biodiversity but also to collect samples from the environment for environmental DNA analysis to form a full picture of the ecosystem. Further, the system developed by the team composed of CEO Jürg Germann, who completed his doctorate in soft robotics at the EPFL, and Cameron Dowd, CTO and Mechanical Engineer, can precisely release mangrove seeds from drones, reducing planting costs and speeding up the process. Using innovative methods for data collection, their approach also uses an intelligent site selection approach to pinpoint planting locations to maximize yield.

The startup will invest the CHF 150,000 awarded by Venture Kick in the preparation e for a soft launch of their subscription platform, and further test and improve their monitoring and restoration technologies through key partnerships with restoration groups. In December 2022, the startup launched a pilot project with Delta Blue Carbon (DBC), one of the largest mangrove projects worldwide, for large-scale mangrove restoration using drones. Thanks to the solution, areas of 10,000ha a year can be planted with mangroves.

“Venture Kick is the quality stamp for any swiss startup. Investors, partners or even clients know this, hence the number of doors this opens is invaluable. We are really excited that the program is strongly supporting us on making wetland restoration and in general nature positivity a little bit more of reality,” says Inverto’s CEO and Co-founder Jürg Germann.

(press release / FR)

picture (from left to right): Co-founder and CEO Jürg Germann (left), the drone to release mangrove seeds, co-founder and CTO Cameron Dowd