Natural ecosystems need high-quality monitoring

Forests span across 30% of the world's terrain providing crucial ecosystem services to life on Earth. They serve as the Earth's lungs, providing a breath of fresh air to all life forms and hosting an incredible range of biodiversity. Despite their inestimable importance in the health and balance of our global ecosystem, these forests are confronted by an unparalleled threat: deforestation.

The state of our forests

Since 1990, we've lost a staggering 420 million hectares of forest, a trend predominantly seen in Africa and South America, according to the FAO.

About 17 percent of the Amazonian rainforest has been destroyed over the past 50 years.

Farming, grazing of livestock, and mining combined account for more than half of all deforestation. Forestry practices, wildfires, and urbanization account for the rest.

Why it matters. Impact beyond the trees

Forests are intertwined with human life. 250 million people live in forests and savannahs and directly depend on forests for their livelihoods and income—many of them among the world’s rural poor. 80% of Earth’s land animals and plants live in forests. Species such as the Orangutan, Sumatran tiger, and many bird species are threatened by the ongoing deforestation crisis.

The loss of forests disrupts regional to global cycles, with consequences from extreme temperature changes and disrupted water cycles to the emergence of zoonotic diseases as the lines between animal and human areas blur.

Time is of the essence. The rapid deforestation and degradation of natural ecosystems means that the window for effective intervention is narrowing.

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Revolutionizing MRV with satellite analytics and AI-driven remote sensing

The need for accurate monitoring has never been so high. To protect and restore the forests, savannahs, and wetlands of our world, we need to start monitoring them with high-quality data and at a high spatial scale.

In response to these alarming trends, we launched nadar. Our name, nadar, which translates to 'nature's radar', is a testament to our mission and purpose: to serve as nature's radar, constantly monitoring forests and other natural ecosystems, globally.

Nadar’s technology revolutionizes forest monitoring by blending satellite imagery and AI-driven remote sensing. By fusing satellite data from multiple sensors, different data types, and multiple spatial and temporal resolutions, we bring a new level of data quality and accuracy into forest monitoring. We act as a source of truth for natural resources, harnessing remote sensing that provides unbiased insights on deforestation and degradation, land cover changes as well as accurately modeling the amount of biomass and carbon stored in vegetation.

We target two markets at the forefront of halting global deforestation: the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) and the agricultural supply chain market.

Digital MRV is essential for scaling natural carbon markets

The Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) is an emerging market poised for growth but lacks the transparency and trust it desperately needs. The success of this market hinges on the availability of scalable and accurate digital MRV (Monitoring, Reporting & Verification) solutions as the traditional accreditation process is very lengthy, non-digital, and cost-intensive.

Nadar targets the issues the carbon market faces directly at the source. Our MRV solution supports project developers, investors, and other stakeholders involved in developing carbon offsets with accurate and scalable biomass and carbon monitoring data to help channel funding and resources more swiftly into high-integrity nature-based solutions.

Transparency in agricultural supply chains & EUDR compliance

As global markets become more conscious of sustainable sourcing, there's an increased need for monitoring global agricultural and forestry supply chains. Satellite imagery is the key to monitoring global supply chains covering multiple countries and continents.

With Nadar’s satellite analytics, traders and operators can ensure compliance with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and similar mandates making responsible sourcing the norm rather than the exception. Our satellite-powered deforestation monitoring offers global coverage of every forest, field, or plantation and makes it easy for companies to provide evidence that their supply chains are free of deforestation.

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At Nadar, we're not just offering a service; we're spearheading a mission. Through advanced satellite analytics and monitoring, we help protect and restore our precious natural landscapes. By driving transparency, accuracy, and quality in monitoring, we hope to catalyze a data-driven movement toward a more sustainable future for all.

If you’re a project developer protecting or restoring natural carbon, want to participate in the carbon market, or wish to bring transparency into your global supply chain to prepare for the EUDR, we should talk. Contact us on Linkedin or visit us at nadar.earth.

Caroline is an experienced data scientist with a management degree from TU Munich and a degree in earth observation from the University of Würzburg, which is co-chaired by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). She has worked as a data scientist in the areas of nature conservation and land use change monitoring at WWF, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), and at tech companies such as Celonis and Deloitte.