Turn your idea into an AgoraNatura project!
Develop your idea
Who can propose a project?
- Do you work for a landscape conservation group, or a nature conservation organisation or charity? Are you part of a funding association, or are you a landowner or farmer?
- Do you want to carry out projects on your own or leased land, individually or together with the people using your land?
- Can you provide an informed estimate about the current and potential nature value of your land? Are you willing to bring in experts to assist with this?
- You are prepared to take lead responsibility of a project's implementation and to coordinate all people involved?
- Is financial support the final hurdle to getting started?
Then read on, you are at the right place!
What kind of project can I propose?
The purpose of AgoraNatura is to increase biological diversity, thereby supporting and drawing attention to other related ecosystem services. By proposing a project, you are providing the opportunity to preserve or improve a piece of land with high nature value. As a result you provide the expected ecosystem services.
Describe your project
To prepare your project description, we have put together an extra page to help you. Finally, your project description must be attractive and accepted by the certification body at the same time. An online form is then available to you for the description. It contains all necessary fields and offers you the possibility to present your project in a concise and appealing way.
- In the form, you will find tips on how to fill out each field and a "Preview" button to see how your entries will look when the project goes online.
- If you want to fill out the form in stages, you can save the details and return to them at another point at "My AgoraNatura".
- Once everything is filled out, double-check that your entries are complete after which you can send the project description to be verified for certification.
To access the online form, you must first register and log into your AgoraNatura account.
Certification process
Once your project description is complete, you can send it with a click of your mouse to be verified for certification. An independent certification authority will check if the information you have given is viable and that all criteria of the natureplus-Standard are satisfied. Currently, the certification process is carried out by agrathaer GmbH.
If changes need to be made, the certification authority will contact you directly. In such a case, you can easily make changes in the online form and resubmit them once you are finished.
Once you are certified, your project will automatically go online and the funding period will start. You can decide how long you want the duration of funding to be. We do, however, recommend using the maximum funding period of 6 months.
Find investors
Nature conservation certificates are allocated depending on your indications about area and project duration. One certificate represents an investment of 100 m2 for one year of the project's duration. In the project description you will also indicate how much your plans will cost to implement; this total price will be divided into individual certificates.
Private individuals and companies can buy your certificates on AgoraNatura and thereby finance your project's implementation. In some cases, interested individuals may contact you before making their payment. This gives you the chance to have direct interaction with potential funding partners.
Once all certificates have been ordered for your project and you have approved them, the full payment will be transferred to your account. At the same time, your investors will automatically receive their nature conservation certificates from AgoraNatura by email.
In the case of a fundraising project or an investment by a company the investors will also receive a certificate of charitable contribution respectively an invoice. For this, AgoraNatura will send you a contact list of the investors after the project has been successfully funded.
Report results
As soon as all certificates are sold, you can begin putting your proposal into action. You can manage your project at "My AgoraNatura". Here you can post updates, photos or audio recordings which will then appear on the project page. In this way, you can easily report on progress and help your investors and others to experience what is happening on-site. This ensures transparency and provides insights into your work, which can promote further engagement in the medium term.
For the certification, it is important to write reports regularly. Once a year you must submit a brief report confirming the successful implementation of your project. You can find relevant tools for this in "My AgoraNatura". If you already reported on the implementation and outcomes of your project throughout the year, you can simply summarise these updates into a report. The certification authority makes random annual checks on selected projects, depending on the reports and the on-site results. Should any difficulties arise during the course of the project, please contact the certification authority directly.
On the page "We offer you support" you can find more detailed information and a contact list of our proposal experts. If you would like to give feedback or comments, get in touch directly at offer[a]agora-natura.de.
Feedback from land users
Pioneer providers
"Biodiversity in the agricultural landscape needs our attention. With Agora Natura we have found a platform through which farmers and nature conservation representatives can participate in this process together with interested companies and private individuals and enter into dialogue with each other. Together for nature!"
Pioneer provider
"We think that AgoraNatura's approach is innovative and forward-looking. (...) The process is uncomplicated and the possibility to get funds for the start-up financing of meaningful projects through AgoraNatura is very helpful!"
Pioneer provider
"Through AgoraNatura we can offer our member farms a financial perspective for managing their land in a way that is close to nature and promotes diversity."
Pioneer farmer
"Land management can only be done in harmony with nature. Through their investments, companies and private individuals make it clear to us as farmers that the social will for more biodiversity and the recognition of its benefits is there."
Pioneer farmer
"Smaller areas are already sufficient for such a project. Land that is difficult to use for agriculture can be put to good use, for example land with low yields.