Welcome to the latest newsletter from
The Global Biodiversity Standard
The Global Biodiversity Standard (TGBS) is rapidly gaining recognition as a trusted benchmark for biodiversity integrity in restoration—and this edition highlights how we’re expanding our reach and deepening our impact.
We’re proud to announce the release of the Spanish version of the TGBS Manual, making our methodology more accessible to Spanish-speaking countries. A dedicated launch webinar, hosted by the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER), will walk participants through how to apply it in the field.
Our multilingual webinar series is now available on demand, offering practical guidance to support applicants on their path to certification. We also share a powerful case study from Uganda—one of the first projects globally to earn Advanced TGBS Certification—showcasing how local leadership and science-based evaluation can work hand-in-hand.
As interest in biodiversity-positive restoration grows, we invite organisations, funders, and project developers to explore how TGBS can support their goals. Whether you’re looking to certify your project or strengthen its impact through mentoring, our team is here to help.
Get in touch with us at info@biodiversitystandard.org or click below to start the conversation.
Dr David Bartholomew
The Global Biodiversity Standard Manager
A freely available resource to guide applicants
through the application process
Over the past few months, The Global Biodiversity Standard (TGBS) has delivered a series of webinars titled Better Biodiversity Outcomes: A Guide Through The Global Biodiversity Standard Application Process. Held in four different languages – English, Spanish, French and Portuguese – these sessions were designed to ensure broad assess for applicants across regions.
Each webinar guided participants through the certification application process, offering practical guidance and a step-by-step demonstration of how to use the online portal. These recordings are now available as a valuable resource for any project preparing to apply.
In addition, a separate introductory webinar in Portuguese “Conheça o The Global Biodiversity Standard- promovendo Melhores Resultados” was delivered on May 28, by the Brazilian TGBS Hub, Jardim Botânico Araribá. This session introduced the TGBS methodology to Portuguese-speaking countries and demonstrated how it can be applied to restoration projects to enhance biodiversity outcomes.
We encourage all prospective applicants to explore these webinars as a first step toward certification.
Spanish version of TGBS Manual now available!
We’re pleased to announce the publication of the Spanish version of The Global Biodiversity Standard manual!
The TGBS Manual is a critical resource for restoration practitioners, assessors and applicants. It provides in-depth guidance on the TGBS methodology, including the application form, the assessment criteria and the certification process.
The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) will run a webinar in Spanish on August 26 to launch it!
Case Study: Community-led restoration in Uganda Achieves TGBS Advanced Certification!
We’re excited to share one of the first-ever case studies from a certified site under The Global Biodiversity Standard (TGBS) — highlighting community-led restoration in the Budongo-Bugoma Wildlife Corridor, Uganda.
For over a decade, the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) Uganda has been working to conserve private and communal forests in the Budongo-Bugoma Corridor, a critical habitat for chimpanzees and other wildlife. This region is under significant pressure from deforestation, agricultural expansion, and climate change.
With support from JGI Austria and Ecosia, and co-financing from the Austrian Development Agency, the project focuses on community-led restoration, livelihood diversification, and landscape resilience. The Kasenene restoration site (19.5 hectares), once severely degraded, has been actively restored through local community involvement since 2017.
In 2024, the site was assessed using the TGBS methodology by Tooro Botanical Gardens, Uganda, with an independent review by the TGBS Secretariat. It achieved an impressive overall score of 7.93 out of 10 earning Advanced Certification level. It is the first site to receive this level of certification under TGBS.
This project exemplifies how local leadership, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and science-based standards can drive meaningful biodiversity outcomes.
Can trade in wild species support ecosystem restoration?
That’s the question behind a new resource developed by TRAFFIC, FairWild Foundation, IUCN SULi – Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group, and The Global Biodiversity Standard (TGBS) to mentor on the topic of sustainable use of wild species in restoration landscapes.
A recent pilot in Georgia suggests the answer could be yes! …in the Racha-Likhi Ridge, Society for Nature Conservation (SABUKO) is working with local communities to explore whether sustainable harvesting and small-scale trade of wild plants like wild rose and sweet chestnut could support both biodiversity and livelihoods.
This new ‘Toolkit on Integrating the Sustainable Use of Wild Plants and Fungi into Landscape Restoration’ offers practical steps for restoration practitioners — from identifying useful species to planning harvesting and exploring markets.
The toolkit draws on tools like WildCheck and the FairWild Standard and were developed as part of an Advancing Restoration Knowledge project funded by the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme.
“What we found is that even basic support with identifying plants that have market potential, and understanding the principles of sustainable harvest, can make a real difference” said Amy Woolloff, TRAFFIC.
You can find here the published resources which are freely available in the form of an e-learning resource and a downloadable toolkit. The page also provides a link to the webinar recording for anyone who missed it, and several case studies demonstrating how the sustainable use of wild species is currently enhancing landscape restoration.
If you are interested in tailored mentoring support to your project or to be guided through this resource, reach out to info@biodiversitystandard.org
TGBS Joins the World Economic Forum’s UpLink Platform
We’re excited to share that TGBS is now featured on UpLink—the World Economic Forum’s platform to accelerate innovation and collaboration for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
TGBS was selected as a solution advancing nature-positive restoration through credible certification and mentoring. Being part of UpLink opens up new opportunities to connect with global changemakers, funders, and solution-seekers committed to biodiversity, climate resilience, and sustainable land use.
Are you an UpLink user or partner?
You can help scale the impact of TGBS by endorsing our solution, sharing our profile, or reaching out to explore collaboration.
TGBS Science News
EcoregionsTreeFinder—A Global Dataset Documenting the Abundance of Observations of > 45,000 Tree Species in 828 Terrestrial Ecoregions
Best practice of ecological restoration is informed by reference ecosystems for planning and monitoring. As defined in the Resource guide to Target 2 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, “Ecological restoration” seeks to recover biodiversity and ecosystem integrity, while delivering ecosystem services and ensuring human well-being and with the conservation and restoration of biodiversity as a primary outcome. A new database, the EcoregionsTreeFinder, can help in selecting native tree species as described in this open-access article.
The EcoregionsTreeFinder database provides information on the native distribution for 48,129 tree species across 828 terrestrial ecoregions. Tree observations were filtered from over 44 million occurrences available via the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, the same observations that informed the TreeGOER (Tree Globally Observed Environmental Ranges) database, another database that was co-funded by the Darwin Extra fund for the project of Developing a Global Biodiversity Standard certification for tree-planting and restoration. Terrestrial ecoregions of the database correspond to the Ecoregions 2017 app.
EcoregionsTreeFinder can be downloaded from a Zenodo archive and can be interacted with via a shinyapp. User guidelines for the app are available as supporting information from the Global Ecology and Biogeography article.
The 453,053 ecoregion-species records of the EcoregionsTreeFinder include information on the number of observations in different bioclimatic zones within each ecoregion for zones defined by the Climatic Moisture Index, average monthly temperatures > 10°C, and the Maximum Climatological Water Deficit. Also provided with these records is information on the expected native distribution of species across ecoregions, allowing filtering of native tree species from a selected ecoregion. With the shinyapp, the user can ‘zoom in’ to a specific restoration location so that the position of that location in ‘environmental space’ respective to the known bioclimatic ranges of tree species is reflected by climate suitability scores.
A tutorial for the GlobalUsefulNativeTrees on the CIFOR-ICRAF digital campus
A tutorial is now available for the GlobalUsefulNativeTrees (GlobUNT) database. GlobUNT can be accessed via a shinyapp and was described in this open-access article. Developed primarily by combining data from GlobalTreeSearch with the World Checklist of Useful Plant Species (WCUPS), GlobUNT includes 14,014 tree species that can be filtered for ten major use categories, across 242 countries and territories and including 188 subnational levels for 33 countries. The 14,014 species represent roughly a quarter of the tree species from GlobalTreeSearch and a third of the plant species from WCUPS.
Recently an online tutorial has been developed for GlobUNT. It is available from the Digital Campus – Online learning to sustain our planet hosted by The Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF). Please check out the tutorial via this link.
TGBS IN The News!
SER and The Global Biodiversity Standard: Building global capacity for high-quality restoration, Society for Ecological Restoration July 2025 Restoration Now
India’s biodiversity is a strategic advantage, Hindustan Times
Member in Action: Kiran Baldwin, CERP in Training, Society for Ecological Restoration July 2025 Events and Opportunities
Moving biodiversity from an afterthought to a key outcome of forest restoration, Nature
