In April 2025, Ecosia celebrated 250 million trees, a milestone they are very proud of and that reflects over 10 years of learning and adapting. As they continue to plant trees, and their ambitions continue to grow, so does their commitment to ensuring that all projects are implemented with a focus on maximizing long-term impact for people, planet, and animals.
To achieve this, it is essential that their partners are equipped with the right tools, guidance, and expertise to deliver projects that not only maximise tree survival, but also enhance biodiversity gains over the long term.
With over a decade of experience in large-scale reforestation projects, and a global portfolio spanning 40 countries, Ecosia recognises that even with strong intentions, many restoration efforts lack the tools, technical expertise, or resources needed to fully realise their potential for lasting socio-economic and environmental impact.
The 10 Golden Rules of Reforestation (Di Sacco et al., 2021) have provided valuable guiding principles for how their projects are structured and implemented. However, TGBS goes a step further, translating these Golden Rules into an accessible site-based assessment to determine whether a tree-planting project is achieving, or is on the right path toward achieving, meaningful biodiversity gains. This is increasingly important as momentum builds around tree planting and reforestation projects; it is essential to ensure these efforts are well designed and genuinely support ecosystem restoration and biodiversity improvement.
TGBS offers clear criteria and practical guidance to improve project design and implementation. A key strength is its ability to bring multiple stakeholders together around a shared understanding of what high-quality restoration looks like. Its holistic approach ensures that ecological outcomes are considered alongside social dimensions, including community ownership, livelihoods, and long-term sustainability, elements that are of critical importance to Ecosia.
For Ecosia, adopting the TGBS certification serves several important purposes. First of all, it grants recognition to their partners who are creating positive impact for both people and nature, while giving them reassurance that their resources are delivering measurable outcomes. TGBS also supports more effective use of resources by providing a comprehensive assessment across multiple criteria, helping identify strengths, gaps, and priority areas for improvement.
It also reinforces the importance of biodiversity gains as an essential dimension of all tree-planting and restoration efforts.
The Global Biodiversity Standard
The Global Biodiversity Standard (TGBS) is an independent assurance standard that assesses whether biodiversity outcomes in nature-based restoration projects and programmes are credible, appropriate and improving over time. Launched at UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP 16 in Cali, Colombia, (TGBS) is a site-based certification scheme and mentoring programme that aims to improve biodiversity outcomes throughout the full range of the restoration continuum, including restorative agricultural practices such as agroforestry, rehabilitation and ecological restoration (Bartholomew et al., 2024).
TGBS provides site-based assessment grounded in ecological science and local expertise, helping funders, governments, and investors understand biodiversity risk and performance. A not-for-profit organisation, TGBS works alongside existing standards and finance mechanisms, without delivering projects or issuing credits.
TGBS offerings provide practical, concrete support to help us meet these goals, whether through certification, mentorship, or access to local experts located near our project sites and partner organizations.
Site-Based Certification Scheme
In 2025, Ecosia had its first cohort of projects assessed for TGBS certification:
Bolivia – SICIREC / ArBolivia: This project works with smallholder farmers to restore degraded land through agroforestry systems that combine native trees with crops like cocoa and coffee. It focuses on long-term biodiversity recovery and sustainable livelihoods, and was certified under TGBS for its strong ecological design and monitoring approach.
Uganda – Jane Goodall Institute: This project restores a critical forest corridor for chimpanzees and other wildlife through community-led tree planting and forest protection. It has reforested large areas while supporting local livelihoods and was awarded TGBS certification for its high biodiversity impact and restoration quality, as well as strong community benefits.
In both cases, the process has helped our partners gain a more holistic understanding of the project and how to best implement project activities to support ecosystem restoration within the local context.
The third project we commissioned for TGBS certification, in Madagascar, did not meet the minimum scoring criteria, however the TGBS assessment became a turning point for the project. In fact, it may have benefited even more than those who were awarded certification, as the assessment generated clear, actionable recommendations that are now driving meaningful changes with significant positive implications for future biodiversity outcomes.
TGBS Mentorship
If a project is still in its early stages and not yet ready for certification, TGBS can still provide value. In addition to its site-based certification service, it also offers mentoring support to help guide project development and advance the skills and knowledge of restoration practitioners.
In 2024, Ecosia partnered with Canopy Regenerative, a Ugandan-based company focused on restoring degraded landscapes, on a new ambitious project entitled The Kyamugavu Forest and Wildlife Sanctuary. This project aims to restore a 405-hectare former woodland in Uganda that has been heavily degraded by decades of conversion to farmland. It focuses on regenerating native forest, reintroducing wildlife, and establishing a long-term protected conservancy managed through a trust structure.
"The mentorship offered by the Global Biodiversity Standard was invaluable. The team was exceptional: passionate, multidisciplinary, and deeply experienced across forest restoration, agroforestry, birding, entomology, and geospatial analysis. The content was rich and directly relevant, covering ecosystem reference modelling, species matching fundamentals, and the local political and regulatory context in which the project is embedded. The field work was carried out with real rigor and care. The experience has empowered our field team to embed a biodiversity-first approach from the very outset of the project, generating learning that will benefit not only the Kyamugavu site, but our other project sites as well."
To make sure the project was set up correctly from the beginning and could deliver the best possible biodiversity outcomes, we contracted the TGBS Mentorship programme and engaged the Essentials Mentoring Module to support its early implementation.
As part of this process, the Uganda TGBS hub (hosted at the Tooro Botanical Gardens) developed a baseline biodiversity assessment that was carried out following TGBS guidelines. This helped identify what the original forest ecosystem in Kyamugavu would have looked like and created a reference point to guide how the landscape should be restored and managed over time. This assessment provided clear evidence that the site is currently significantly degraded, with key ecological functions, such as natural processes, habitat quality, and resilience to threats, no longer working properly.
The mentoring support proved especially valuable because it allowed the project team to make important adjustments prior to implementation. It also provided training and capacity building, ensuring the team is now better equipped to design and manage the project in a way that maximises long-term biodiversity gains. Partners not only become familiar with TGBS targets, but also receive training in biodiversity monitoring and implementation, building long-term capacity within local teams.
A network of local experts on the ground
From Ecosia’s perspective, one of the most valuable aspects of TGBS is its strong emphasis on honing local expertise. The standard is implemented through independent regional hubs, which act as key points of contact for project evaluation, ongoing support, and knowledge exchange.
Beyond certification itself, this structure provides access to a wider network of local experts and auditors who can review projects, offer guidance, and share recommendations. This creates an ongoing feedback loop that strengthens project quality over time and extends valuable expertise to partner organisations.
Overall, TGBS is helping Ecosia align our big reforestation goals into verifiable impact on the ground. By combining clear science-based standards, hands-on mentorship, and local expertise, it supports our partners in improving their projects and building stronger, more biodiverse ecosystems over time.
References
- Bartholomew et al. (2024) The Global Biodiversity Standard: Manual for assessment and best practices. Available at: https://www.biodiversitystandard.org/our-method/(Accessed: 1 April 2026).
- Di Sacco, A., Hardwick, K.A., Blakesley, D., Brancalion, P.H., Breman, E., Cecilio Rebola, L., Chomba, S., Dixon, K., Elliott, S., Ruyonga, G. and Shaw, K., 2021. Ten golden rules for reforestation to optimize carbon sequestration, biodiversity recovery and livelihood benefits. Global Change Biology, 27(7), pp.1328-1348.
