Combining geospatial foundation models with rigorous causal inference to build more credible forest carbon baselines.
Belian is the local Sabahan name for the Bornean Ironwood — a remarkable tree with a lifespan exceeding 1,000 years and exceptional carbon storage capacity.
Forest conservation and carbon projects face a fundamental challenge: how do you credibly estimate what would have happened without the conservation intervention? Getting counterfactuals right is essential for carbon markets to deliver real climate impact.
We're building new approaches to this problem, bringing together state-of-the-art geospatial foundation models with rigorous causal inference methods.
Science-backed counterfactuals
Foundation model powered
Like the Bornean Ironwood, we're committed to long-term thinking and lasting impact.
belian.earth has been awarded funding from the European Space Agency (ESA) for our project 'Conservation Integrity: Geo-AI powered transparency for Nature-Based Solutions.'
Photo: Sonny Royal
With restoration and tree-planting projects back in the spotlight, we revisit a paper we published five years ago in Science on active restoration and the carbon recovery of human-modified tropical forests.
Combining cutting-edge technology with established scientific methods for credible baseline estimation.
Leveraging the latest advances in Earth observation AI to understand landscape-scale patterns of forest change and condition.
Applying rigorous statistical methods to estimate counterfactual outcomes—what would have happened without the conservation intervention.
Deep domain knowledge in forest carbon monitoring, project assessment, and the challenges facing credible baseline estimation.
We'd love to hear from researchers, developers, and project teams.
