This Is My Earth

Description

This Is My Earth is a nonprofit international environmental organization that uses crowdsourcing to buy and protect land in biodiversity hotspots.

Members make an annual donation of as little as one dollar and each receives a vote to choose which scientifically vetted conservation project should receive that year’s funds. Its Scientific Advisory Committee evaluates and approves proposed projects before they are put to a vote on the organization’s website. When a project reaches its funding goal, the organization purchases the land and transfers it to a local or indigenous partner organization, under a legal agreement protecting it for at least a century. It has bought and protected land in countries including Peru, Belize, Colombia, Kenya, Brazil and Ecuador.

The organization was founded in 2016 by Professor Uri Shanas of the University of Haifa at Oranim, later joined by Professor Alon Tal of Tel Aviv University. It is led by an international board and a scientific advisory committee of academics and environmental activists, and relies on volunteers and pro bono support to run its operations.