NatureMetrics Launches Restoration Tracker: Quantifying soil restoration with one simple metric

Key Features of Restoration Tracker

Restoration Tracker offers two core metrics designed to simplify the monitoring and reporting of ecosystem health:

1. Restoration Tracker Score: A score ranging from 0 to 1 for each project and site, providing a clear indicator of restoration progress.

2. Quality Hectares: A measure of the number of high-quality (restored to target) hectares of land in a given area.

These metrics align with frameworks used by leading international organizations, including the United Nations System of Environmental Economic Accounting, Global Reporting Initiative, Capitals Coalition, and the Biological Diversity Protocol.

Wide Applicability and Benefits

Restoration Tracker offers several key benefits to organizations looking to address the challenge of soil restoration:

• Clear data interpretation and reporting with simple metrics

• The ability to aggregate data into one simple portfolio-level score

• Aligned to all major nature-related disclosure requirements

• Ability to compare sites and projects across diverse habitats

• Actionable insights for optimizing restoration efforts

Restoration Tracker caters to a diverse range of stakeholders, including corporate entities, environmental managers, policy makers, conservation organizations, and project developers.

Dr. Bastian Egeter, Ecology Director at NatureMetrics, explains, "Restoration Tracker solves the challenge of making sense of complex ecosystem data by distilling it into clear, actionable metrics that align with global standards and frameworks. This really is a game-changer if you’re looking to track restoration progress in a simple and repeatable way, underpinned with deep ecological rigour."

Alignment with Nature-Related Regulations and Standards

Restoration Tracker is designed to help organizations meet the growing demands of nature-related regulations and reporting standards. It is particularly relevant for:

• TaskForce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD): Restoration Tracker provides metrics that can support TNFD reporting requirements, helping organizations assess and disclose their nature-related risks and opportunities.

• Science Based Targets for Nature (SBTN): The tool's metrics can assist in setting and tracking progress towards science-based targets for nature.

• Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD): Restoration Tracker's standardized metrics can support compliance with the CSRD's biodiversity reporting requirements.

By providing standardized, quantifiable metrics, Restoration Tracker enables organizations to demonstrate their commitment to nature-positive outcomes and meet evolving regulatory expectations.

Global Portfolio Aggregation

A unique feature of Restoration Tracker is its ability to aggregate scores across a global portfolio of sites. This capability allows multinational corporations and large-scale conservation organizations to:

• Obtain a comprehensive view of their restoration efforts across different geographies

• Compare performance between various projects and ecosystems

• Identify best practices and areas needing improvement across their entire portfolio

• Report on overall progress towards nature-related goals and commitments

This global aggregation feature makes Restoration Tracker an invaluable tool for organizations managing multiple restoration projects worldwide.

Validation and Real-World Application

NatureMetrics has rigorously tested Restoration Tracker across various contexts, including woodland restoration for conservation and mine decommissioning. In all cases, the scores accurately reflected the state of restoration, with unmanaged sites scoring lowest and actively managed sites showing substantially higher scores.

As global awareness of biodiversity loss and the need for ecosystem restoration grows, the demand for standardized, scientifically robust monitoring tools is expected to increase. NatureMetrics is already working on expanding the Restoration Tracker suite to cover additional ecosystem types and incorporate other biomonitoring data types.

With the launch of Restoration Tracker, NatureMetrics reaffirms its commitment to transforming ecosystem monitoring and empowering data-driven conservation efforts globally. By providing a tool that bridges the gap between complex ecological data and actionable insights, NatureMetrics is enabling organizations to make meaningful progress in ecosystem restoration and contribute to global biodiversity goals.

Restoration Tracker is now available to customers for commercial use and NatureMetrics is already working with a number of clients on implementation in the field.

For more information about Restoration Tracker, to request a quote, or to schedule a demo, visit naturemetrics.com/restoration-tracker or contact the NatureMetrics sales team at sales@naturemetrics.com.

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