Ecosystems all over the globe are dying at an alarming rate: according to the World Wildlife Fund, monitored populations of vertebrates, meaning mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish, have seen a 69% drop on average since 1970. Populations in Latin America and the Caribbean have fared worst, with an average decline of 94%. Global freshwater species have declined 83% on average.
The key drivers of this biodiversity decline include habitat loss, species overexploitation, invasive species, pollution, climate change and diseases.
As in so many cases when there are big problems to solve, tech has come to the rescue.
The biodiversity space is made up of a whole bunch of different subsectors, from companies focused on marine biology to wildfire protection to biodiversity monitoring. Some of the most exciting companies are in ecological restoration, which aims to recreate, initiate, or accelerate the recovery of an ecosystem that has seen its structure and function disturbed.
Examples of different kinds of restoration include revegetation, which is the establishment of vegetation on sites where it has been previously lost; habitat enhancement, or the process of increasing the suitability of a site as habitat for some desired species; remediation, which seeks to improve an existing ecosystem or creating a new one with the aim of replacing another that has deteriorated or been destroyed; and mitigation, legally mandated remediation for loss of protected species or ecosystems.
This is a space that is growing: worth $12.93 billion in 2021, it is projected to be worth $18.15 billion by 2027.
Here are some of the companies in the ecosystem restoration space you should know
Description: "Ecological Service Partners (“ESP”) strives to provide the highest quality of ecological restoration at the best value to its customers across the United States. We seek projects of a large scale that generate benefits that are substantially higher and more measurable than multiple smaller scale projects."
Founded: 2016
Total funding: $250 million
Last funding round: November 2017
Investors: Undisclosed
Komaza
Description: "We partner with a massive network of smallholder farmers—the guardians of critical landscapes—to turn underutilized land into thriving microforests. Together, we can sustainably serve modern Africa’s increasing demand for wood and build a bridge to prosperity for generations to come."
Founded: 2006
Total funding: $58.6 million
Last funding round: March 2022
Investors: Mitsui & Co, Sobrato Family Foundation, FMO, Novastar Ventures, AXA Investment Managers, ImpactAssets, Mirova, Hooge Raedt Social Venture, Ceniarth, Kiva, Mulago Foundation, Candide Group
CH4 Global
Description: "Our mission is to meaningfully impact climate change at scale, by developing gigatonne-scale greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation solutions for global industries and governments that are committed to averting climate disaster and acting for a net zero world starting now."
Founded: 2018
Total funding: $45 million
Last funding round: August 2023
Investors: DCVC Bio, DCVC, Cleveland Avenue, South Australian Landing Pad, South Australian Research & Development Institute, Fisheries Research Development Corporation
Terraformation
Description: "We function as an extension of your team to identify, design, and grow reforestation projects that deliver a portfolio of high-quality carbon credits."
Founded: 2019
Total funding: $40 million
Last funding round: February 2022
Investors: Bay Wharf Capital, Dave McClure, Naval Ravikant, Mac Benioff, Lachy Groom, Sam Altman, Eric Kwan, Sahil Lavingia, Luigi Bajetti, Sundeep Ahuja, BlackPine, Joe Thomas, Joe Lonsdale, Max Altman, Sycamore Capital, Susan Wu, OVN Cap
Perennial
Description: "Perennial is building the world’s leading verification platform for soil-based carbon removal."
Founded: 2018
Total funding: $24.5 million
Last funding round: May 2022
Investors: Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, Bloomberg, Augment Ventures, Advanced Industries Accelerator (AIA) Program, Temasek Holdings, SineWave Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Rough Draft Ventures
Dendra Systems
Description: "We equip you with the complete end-to-end operating system necessary to successfully restore biodiverse ecosystems at scale."
Founded: 2014
Total funding: $15.7 million
Last funding round: September 2020
Investors: SYSTEMIQ, Lionheart Ventures, VentureSouq, Lowercarbon Capital, Future Positive Capital, At One Ventures, Airbus Ventures, FOUNDER.org, Parrot
Single.Earth
Description: "Single.Earth tackles one of the most critical challenges in today’s world: the destruction of ecosystems that support life."
Founded: 2019
Total funding: $7.9 million
Last funding round: July 2021
Investors: Icebreaker.vc, EQT Ventures, Ragnar Sass
Viridis Terra
Description: "Viridis Terra International’s activities focus on the restoration of degraded ecosystems, lands, and soils; and on the formulation, implementation, and sustainable management of large-scale reforestation, afforestation, and forest and agroforest landscape restoration projects."
Founded: 2015
Total funding: $7 million
Last funding round: October 2022
Investors: Bruce McKean, Hypercroissance Québec, Sustainable Development Technology Canada, NEL-i, Gestion ChaMarin
Pivotal
Description: "We’re building a future where nature and business are in balance – by incentivising the regeneration of biodiversity at scale."
Founded: 2022
Total funding: £4.5 million
Last funding round: April 2023
Investors: The Clearing Ventures, Pale blue dot, Octopus Ventures, Jorn Jansen Schoonhoven, AENU 
MORFO
Description: "MORFO has developed a solution for large-scale ecological restoration of forest ecosystems. We restore areas, mainly concentrated in tropical and subtropical regions such as the Atlantic Forest and the African Equatorial Forest, which were previously forested and have been deforested, thus becoming unproductive."
Founded: 2021
Total funding: €4 million
Last funding round: December 2022
Investors: AFI Ventures, Teampact Ventures, Raise Ventures, Nicolas Béraud, Jean-Gabriel Levon, Graffi Rathamohan, Caroline Lair, Demeter, AGORANOV
SKYSEED
Description: "Our heartfelt affair: Establishing healthy, climate-stable, near-natural (commercial) forests together with forest owners - quickly, cost-efficiently and smartly."
Founded: 2021
Total funding: €2 million
Last funding round: May 2022
Investors: Rivus Capital, Ralph Guenther, CK Venture Capital, Michael Hetzer, kopa ventures, Benjamin Minack, better ventures, Lucas von Fürstenberg, Gabriel von dem Bussche, Frederik Pfisterer
(Image source: news18.com)
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