The Question: What Do We Optimise For?

This raises critical questions:

1. What does success for nature look like?
2. What are the metrics of nature that truly matter?

Metrics are a set of numbers that give information about a particular process or activity and are often used to track progress of the activity over time. Once the goals (OKRs, KPIs, etc.) are set, organisations and systems optimise relentlessly to achieve these numbers. The same principle applies to nature. If we don’t measure the right things, we don’t know what to optimise for.

Across the world, scientists and environmentalists focus on five key areas that reflect the health of ecosystems:

1. Biodiversity: The variety and abundance of plant, animal, and insect life
2. Water: Its availability, quality, and flow patterns
3. Soil: Fertility, nutrient levels, and carbon storage capacity
4. Air: The quality of the atmosphere we breathe
5. Carbon Storage: How effectively land captures and holds carbon

These metrics aren't abstract. They are essential indicators of the planet's health. Measuring them clearly and consistently gives us a baseline for action and a way to track progress.

Proving Value: Making Nature Investable

People invest in what creates value. When it comes to nature, that value can take two forms:

The challenge is proving these values. To show impact, we need accurate, verifiable data.

This is where autonomous monitoring systems come in. Advances in technology allow us to measure environmental health with precision and scale. Tools like these are transforming how we collect and interpret data:

• Satellites: Provide a bird’s-eye view of landscapes and water bodies over time
• Drones: Capture high-resolution images and videos of ecosystems
• Bioacoustics: Record and analyse wildlife sounds to monitor species diversity
• eDNA: Detect species by analyzing genetic traces in soil, water, or air
• Sensors: Measure real-time changes in air quality, soil health, and water purity

Combining these tools with human expertise creates a robust system for measuring progress, revealing patterns, and guiding restoration strategies.

Measuring Progress: Beyond Numbers

It's not enough to count species or record carbon levels. Progress in nature goes deeper:

• Are ecosystems regaining balance?
• How are species interacting with their environment?
• Are ecological systems like food chains and water cycles intact?

To illustrate this, consider a recent case study at Soul Forest. In 2023, a baseline study recorded:

201

species of flora

192

species of fauna

One year later, these numbers had grown significantly:

267

species of flora

248

species of fauna

These numbers showed an uptick in one of the metrics—biodiversity. However, it was the observation of increased bird and snake activity, along with various other animal and plant interactions, that indicated a revival of deeper ecological relationships.

Such measurable progress highlights why tracking more than just counts matters. It connects raw data to real impact, helping us understand not just what’s changing but why it matters.

Dynamic dashboards can bring this data to life:

• Show changes over time through clear visual graphs.
• Allow users to explore trends in biodiversity, water, soil, and air quality.
• Combine individual metrics into a unified view of ecosystem health.

When done well, this data becomes a powerful tool for decision-makers, investors, and communities. It connects abstract goals to real-world impact.

Innovation and Collaboration: The Way Forward

For humans, it all comes down to what matters most: the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. These systems must remain intact because our survival depends on them. If ecological systems fail, the economic losses follow, and so does our quality of life.

Addressing this complexity demands innovation, but technology alone isn’t enough. Progress requires collaboration:

• Governments, scientists, organisations, and communities must agree on shared metrics to measure success.
• Technology must integrate with local knowledge and expertise to ensure solutions are practical and inclusive.
• Scalable models are needed to prove that restoring ecosystems creates value for both nature and people.

Across the globe, efforts to use autonomous tools like drones, satellites, and sensors to monitor biodiversity are showing promise. Projects like Soul Forest demonstrate what becomes possible when innovation is paired with action.