Voluntary Biodiversity Units

In short

Each Tebu represents 10 m² of preserved or restored ecosystem, sold once and held for at least 20–30 years of permanence.

What it is

The Protocol for the Issuance of Voluntary Biodiversity Units, version 4.0, defines how Terrasos generates Biodiversity Units, known as Tebu, through conservation and restoration projects. It sets requirements and procedures for the quantification, issuance, and monitoring of units, using factors such as ecosystem rarity, connectivity, threat and climate change vulnerability, project duration, and a social factor recognizing communities and nature stewards. One Tebu represents 10 square meters of preserved or restored ecosystem maintained under technical, financial, and legal conditions that ensure long-term permanence.

What it rewards

The reward is a credit called a Voluntary Biodiversity Unit (Tebu). One credit stands for ten square metres of protected or restored habitat. 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 Tebu credits, a project has to measure and prove a few things. An independent reviewer checks the evidence before any credits are issued.

• Ecosystem type & rarity (IUCN RLE). Ecosystems act as the biodiversity indicator; rarity/threat is a core factor.

• Ecosystem condition / habitat quality. Condition sets the proportion of area preserved vs restored.

• Landscape connectivity & heterogeneity. Connectivity / heterogeneity is a quantified factor (updated in v4).

• Threat & climate-change vulnerability. Threat analysis strengthened in v4 to include climate vulnerability.

• Area preserved / restored. Units derive from the area under conservation (10 m² each).

• Long-term monitoring milestones. Units release gradually over ≥20 yr permanence on verified milestones.

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. 1

   The project team registers the project and its plan.

2. 2

   An independent reviewer checks that the plan is sound and that the benefit is real and would not have happened anyway.

3. 3

   The team looks after the site and measures the agreed indicators over time.

4. 4

   The independent reviewer verifies those measurements.

5. 5

   Credits are issued for the verified result, and a buyer can retire a credit to claim the benefit once.