In plain English
PV Nature Biodiversity Standard
PV Nature Biodiversity Standard is a biodiversity method run by Plan Vivo. People often refer to it by its code, PV Nature. It works in the biodiversity space.
In short
Community-led biodiversity certification. Issues Plan Vivo Biodiversity Certificates and is designed to stack with PV Climate carbon credits.
What it is
PV Nature is Plan Vivo's biodiversity standard for community led projects that restore or protect ecosystems. Its methodology and data protocol set out how projects establish a baseline, measure biodiversity change, and quantify benefits, and certified projects can issue and sell Plan Vivo Biodiversity Certificates. Certificate revenue funds project operating costs and local communities. A certificate represents a quantified, verified biodiversity outcome calculated under the Plan Vivo Biodiversity Certificate calculation protocol.
What it rewards
The reward is a credit called a Plan Vivo Biodiversity Certificate (PVBC). One credit stands for one measured unit of biodiversity gain. A verified, nature-positive biodiversity outcome. A whole period of work is issued as one batch of credits at a time, in the same way a registry issues a batch.
What gets measured
To earn PVBC credits, a project has to measure and prove a few things. An independent reviewer checks the evidence before any credits are issued.
Community field observations. Locally-driven teams record indicator taxa with digital tools.
Auditable digital evidence. The standard premiums high-integrity, auditable data & evidence.
Habitat / vegetation condition. Ecosystem condition is tracked over time.
Baseline vs monitoring change. Certificates quantify measurable difference for ecosystems.
Who takes part
Standard Registry. Owns the policy, approves participants, anchors each issuance to its evidence.
Project Proponent. Registers the project and submits monitoring reports.
Validation & Verification Body. Independently validates the design and verifies monitored data.
How it works
- 1
The project team registers the project and its plan.
- 2
An independent reviewer checks that the plan is sound and that the benefit is real and would not have happened anyway.
- 3
The team looks after the site and measures the agreed indicators over time.
- 4
The independent reviewer verifies those measurements.
- 5
Credits are issued for the verified result, and a buyer can retire a credit to claim the benefit once.
Learn more