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proceeds·6 min read

how to fund conservation for 512 years

perpetual stewardship infrastructure—not another grant cycle

What if you could fund conservation for the next 512 years—and it only cost what you are already spending?

The infrastructure exists. Here is how it works.

the 40-word answer

Ensurance proceeds are onchain vesting streams that release funding across preset intervals—from 3 months to 512 years—creating perpetual, automated stewardship without ongoing fundraising, grant applications, or institutional dependency.

The mechanism is live on Base. The streams are flowing now.

why time-based funding matters

Conservation finance has a temporal architecture problem. Grant cycles run 3–5 years. Ecosystems operate on multi-decadal and intergenerational timescales. This mismatch guarantees that funding ends before outcomes compound.

Traditional solutions—endowments, trust funds—attempt to solve this by locking capital. But locked capital is not the same as perpetual flows. Endowments deplete. Trust funds face market risk. Both require ongoing institutional stewardship.

Vesting streams solve the temporal problem directly. They release value automatically across time, matching ecological timescales without requiring human intervention at each step.

step 1: understand the streams

Ensurance operates 12 vesting streams, each releasing proceeds across a specific duration:

StreamDurationUse Case
3 monthsQuarterlyUrgent interventions, seasonal stewardship
6 monthsSemi-annualShort-term restoration, monitoring cycles
1 yearAnnualStandard operating support
2 yearsBiennialProject-scale initiatives
4 yearsQuadrennialMedium-term restoration
8 yearsOctennialLandscape-scale recovery
16 yearsGenerationalForest maturation, species recovery
32 yearsMulti-generationalWatershed restoration
64 yearsInstitutionalInfrastructure-scale protection
128 yearsCentury-scaleEcosystem succession
256 yearsMulti-centuryDeep time stewardship
512 yearsHalf-millenniumPermanent protection

Each stream is an immutable smart contract. Once value enters, it vests linearly until the duration completes. The recipient can claim vested funds at any time, but the total allocation releases gradually.

Key insight: A 512-year stream means that value deposited today will still be releasing to stewards in the year 2537.

step 2: see how value enters

Proceeds flow into the system from eight sources:

SourceWhat Generates It
ENSURANCE MARKETSTrading activity, market infrastructure
GENERAL ENSURANCECoin creation and swaps
SPECIFIC ENSURANCECertificate creation and swaps
ENSURANCE AGENTSAgent creation and operations
ENSURANCE DUNAGroup and account creation
BASIN FIELD SERVICESNatural asset valuation, land works
BASIN STUDIOMedia and story
ENSURANCE PROCEEDSCyclical flows from protocol proceeds

This is not a single funding source. It is a diversified proceeds infrastructure that generates continuous inflows from multiple protocol activities.

The last source—ENSURANCE PROCEEDS—creates a cyclical loop. Some proceeds flow back into the system, compounding value over time.

step 3: follow the flow

Proceeds move through a transparent routing system:

SOURCES
   ↓
ORIGIN | ENSURANCE PROCEEDS (headwaters)
   ↓
┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                          │
├─→ NATURAL CAPITAL POOLS                  │
│      ├─→ STOCKS (15 ecosystem types)     │
│      └─→ FLOWS (19 ecosystem services)   │
│                                          │
├─→ STREAMS (12 vesting durations)         │
│      └─→ 3mo → 6mo → 1yr → ... → 512yr   │
│                                          │
├─→ GROUPS (ensurance collectives)         │
│                                          │
├─→ SWAPPER (currency diversification)     │
│      └─→ ENSURE, USDC, ETH, cbBTC, EURC  │
│                                          │
└─→ CORE (operations)                      │
       ├─→ HOLDCO (perpetual steward)      │
       ├─→ OPCO (active caretaker)         │
       ├─→ PROPCO (title holder)           │
       └─→ DISTRIBUTIONS (member benefits) │

Every split, every stream, every distribution is a smart contract. All flows are traceable onchain. There is no opacity.

step 4: match timescales to ecosystems

Different conservation needs require different temporal architectures:

NeedRecommended Streams
Emergency response3 months, 6 months
Annual stewardship operations1 year, 2 years
Restoration projects4 years, 8 years
Species recovery programs16 years, 32 years
Watershed and landscape recovery32 years, 64 years
Forest succession and carbon sequestration64 years, 128 years
Intergenerational protection256 years, 512 years

The 512-year stream is not symbolic. It is functional infrastructure for permanent protection—funding that continues flowing long after any individual, organization, or government persists.

how this differs from traditional models

DimensionConservation Trust FundEnsurance Proceeds
Capital deploymentLocked endowmentActive flows
Funding sourceOne-time donationContinuous protocol activity
DurationFoundation lifespan3 months to 512 years
GovernanceBoard decisionsSmart contract automation
TransparencyAnnual reportsReal-time onchain
Currency riskUSD/local exposureMulti-currency swapper
Institutional dependencyHighNone
Post-funding continuityGrant ends → outcomes decayStreams continue → stewardship persists

The fundamental difference: CTFs try to create permanence by locking capital. Ensurance creates permanence by encoding temporal release into immutable infrastructure.

frequently asked questions

how is this different from an endowment?

Endowments lock capital and distribute income. They depend on investment returns, face market risk, and require ongoing institutional governance. Ensurance streams release principal directly across preset durations, with no investment decisions, no market exposure on the vesting mechanism itself, and no institutional intermediary.

what happens if the protocol stops?

The vesting contracts are immutable and permissionless. Once value is deposited, it vests according to the contract terms regardless of what happens to any organization. The streams will continue releasing even if every company involved disappears.

who decides where proceeds go?

The routing is encoded in smart contracts. ORIGIN splits proceeds to NATURAL CAPITAL POOLS, STREAMS, GROUPS, SWAPPER, and CORE according to preset allocations. Within each branch, further splits route value to specific beneficiaries. All of this is transparent and auditable.

can anyone use this infrastructure?

Yes. The proceeds system is permissionless. Anyone can create splits, route value to vesting streams, and designate beneficiaries. The infrastructure is public goods.

is this proven?

The mechanism is live. The streams are currently receiving and releasing proceeds. You can view the entire system at /proceeds.

the bottom line

Conservation finance fails because it is designed for human institutional timescales, not ecological ones.

Ensurance proceeds solve this by encoding temporal release into immutable infrastructure. Twelve vesting streams—from 3 months to 512 years—create perpetual funding flows that match the timescales ecosystems actually require.

This is not theory. This is live infrastructure.

The streams are flowing. The question is whether you will route value through them.


Explore the proceeds system →

View the live streams →

See why conservation finance keeps failing →

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