Press Release

Groundbreaking new partnership will use blockchain technology to record, view, and measure the growth of 50 million Pongamia trees to be planted in the Paraguayan Chaco forest over the next decade.

June 15, 2021, Asunción, Paraguay, Hong Kong – Leading agro-research company Investancia has teamed up with EcoMatcher to track a large-scale conservation project using EcoMatcher’s blockchain-enabled digital tree-planting platform.

Over the next ten years, 50 million trees will each receive a unique QR code in Investancia’s tree nursery. Once the trees are planted, each QR code is scanned with EcoMatcher’s TreeCorder app to register the tree’s GPS location and planting date. All data will be saved on EcoMatcher blockchain and will produce a detailed, large-scale visualization of the land Investancia has reforested. Moreover, Investancia will be able to collect data points including the amount of carbon dioxide the trees sequester as well as oilseed yields. The partnership ensures full transparency of the entire supply chain and life cycle of the Pongamia trees, which will be planted in the Paraguayan Chaco – South America’s second largest forest.

Investancia CEO and Founder, Marcel van Heesewijk said: “The Paraguayan Chaco is one of the most rapidly deforested areas in the world. To combat this threat, Investancia is using cutting-edge technology and resources. We are thrilled to partner with EcoMatcher to strengthen our reforestation program and ensure this valuable ecosystem is preserved and protected.” 

Through blockchain technology, Investancia will track the performance of its reforestation projects across 125,000 hectares of degraded cattle land. In 2021 alone, Investancia will reforest more than 2000 hectares of land in the Paraguayan Chaco. 

EcoMatcher CEO and Founder, Bas Fransen said: “The partnership with Investancia is our first licensing program of its kind, mapping large-scale reforestation projects and has resulted in some world-first features, like linking trees’ QR codes to location data. Investancia is a fantastic partner to work with.”

The tropical forest of the Chaco is home to some of the richest and most biodiverse ecology in the world. It is home to endemic and endangered animal species and indigenous communities who heavily rely on the forest for their existence.

Investancia has worked on world-leading research with the Pongamia tree, which is used in their reforestation programs. Native to India and Australia, the trees are adaptive, allowing them to grow on degraded land, flood and drought resilient, yet are non-invasive. The trees also produce pods containing oilseeds that are high in protein and vegetable oil.

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About Investancia

Investancia, founded in 2013, is a leading agro-research company, a pioneer within Pongamia research, development, and tree propagation management. The company has its corporate headquarters in the Netherlands, while its local forestry operations are based in Paraguay. The company’s elite tree propagation and R&D center located in Carmelo Peralta, Alto Paraguay, already represents the world’s largest dedicated elite Pongamia tree production site.

Investancia reforests degraded cattle land to produce Pongamia oil, an advanced and highly scalable renewable feedstock with indirect land-use change (low-ILUC) making it one of the best feedstock choices for Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production also due to its extremely low carbon intensity levels. Unlike most next-generation vegetable and waste oils, Pongamia oil has a positive climate impact resulting from the unique agroforestry practices applied by Investancia based on the principles of reforestation in silvopasture mode. 

To learn more, visit Investancia at www.investancia.com

About EcoMatcher 

EcoMatcher, a certified B corporation, is a green tech company founded in 2017 in Hong Kong by Dutch entrepreneur Bas Fransen.  EcoMatcher plants trees and complete forests with vetted foundations from around the world that are specialized in tree planting. Through technology, EcoMatcher’s clients know everything about every tree planted, offering complete transparency. Clients can virtually travel to every tree and learn more about the tree and the tree’s farmer. 

EcoMatcher has recently launched a technology licensing program for clients that want to map their own mass tree planting projects using EcoMatcher’s technologies. 

For more info, visit EcoMatcher at www.ecomatcher.com.