Is Bumicerts Right for You?

Are you:

• Part of a community group (cooperative, association, village organization)?

• Working with an Indigenous organization on traditional stewardship?

• Leading a grassroots environmental project?

• Running a school or education program with environmental activities?

• Part of a local NGO working with communities?

• Coordinating environmental work on the ground?

• A social enterprise doing environmental work with communities?

Here's what matters: Is your work happening on the ground? Are communities involved? Can you show evidence of what you're doing? If yes, you're in the right place.

Does Your Environmental Work Qualify?

Not all environmental activities can be documented as Bumicerts. Here's what qualifies and what doesn't.

✅ Eligible Domains	❌ Not Eligible
Ecological restoration (land-based or land-connected ecosystems) Forests, mangroves, riparian areas, coastal wetlands. Activities must involve direct intervention on land or land-connected ecosystems	Open-ocean or fully aquatic projects Projects without land connection are not eligible
Agroforestry Regenerative or diversified production systems	One-off awareness activities – Single social media posts, posters, or brief talks without measurable outcomes
Climate adaptation Water security, disaster risk reduction, climate-resilient livelihoods	Administrative work only Fundraising, marketing, or office work with no action on the ground
Biodiversity monitoring Species monitoring, habitat protection, bioacoustics, community-based MRV	Projects without measurable impact Work that can't show specific, observable outputs
Environmental education (with measurable outputs) Programs linked to concrete eco-actions or behavior change	Narrative-only projects Stories without photos, data, or evidence
Indigenous & local knowledge Activities grounded in traditional stewardship or knowledge co-production	Harmful activities Projects causing environmental damage or ignoring community rights
Environmental justice (with tangible eco-actions) Projects linking environmental quality to health and well-being	Work below minimum scale Very small activities like micro-plots

Basic Requirements

To create a Bumicert, your project must meet these requirements:

1

Measurable, Observable Outputs

Can you show what you did?

• Area restored (hectares)

• Trees planted or managed

• Participants trained

• Species monitored

• Habitat protected

Example: "We planted 500 native trees across 2 hectares" is measurable. "We care for nature" is not.

2

Clearly Defined Site Boundaries

Can you show where your work is happening?

• Mark the boundaries of your project site

• Define the area clearly so others can verify it

3

Evidence

You'll need at least 2 types of evidence:

• Visual & Activity Documentation — photos, videos, planting logs, attendance sheets

• Field Data — GPS coordinates, species counts, acoustic recordings, survival rates

• Governance Evidence — meeting minutes, consent forms, community endorsements

• Data Analysis — species identification, biodiversity labeling, processing acoustic or drone data

We'll explain evidence in detail in the Evidence Layers section.

4

Meaningful Community Involvement

Your Bumicert must show that local people are connected to the work—whether they're leading it, participating in it, or benefiting from it.

What does this look like?

• A local group is leading, partnering, or benefiting – This could be a cooperative, community association, Indigenous organization, school, local NGO, or grassroots group

• Communities are involved in decisions – They participate in planning, data collection, or validation, or they're the intended beneficiaries of the work

• You have their consent – Communities have agreed to the project and given permission for how their data, images, and knowledge are used

• Benefits reach local people – Whether financial support, training, improved livelihoods, or ecosystem services, benefits flow to the community

Why does this matter? Bumicerts are built on the principle that communities doing or benefiting from environmental work should have ownership, control, and recognition. We build relationships based on respect and reciprocity, not extraction.

Minimum and Maximum Scale

Some domains have size requirements to make sure the evidence is meaningful.

Domain	Minimum Size	Maximum Size
Restoration	0.0825 hectares	200 hectares
Agroforestry	30 trees	1,000 trees
Mangroves and Coastal	0.5 hectares	50 hectares
Education	10 participants	1,000 participants

If your project is smaller than the minimum, you may be able to combine it with other projects/activities into a shared Bumicert.

Ready to Start?

If your project qualifies, head to Creating a Bumicert to get started.