Groups are organizations, communities, or networks that form namespaces within the ensurance protocol. They originate agents and coordinate collective action.
why
Nature protection requires coordination at multiple scales:
- Local stewards need shared infrastructure
- Thematic initiatives need coherent identity
- Capital needs clear organizational containers
Groups provide namespaces that organize agents, pool resources, and create collective identity.
what
group architecture
Each group is:
- An ERC-721 contract that mints agent NFTs
- A namespace (e.g.,
.basin,.ensurance,.syndicate) - A coordination container for its member agents
group types
Groups serve different organizational purposes:
| Namespace | Purpose | Example Agents |
|---|---|---|
.basin | Place-based coordination | klamath.basin, amazon.basin |
.ensurance | Purpose-based coordination | climate-stability.ensurance, habitat.ensurance |
.syndicate | Thematic investment coordination | water.syndicate, wildfire.syndicate |
.refi | Regenerative finance community | member.refi |
the place / people / purpose triad
Groups and their agents map to three categories:
| Category | Definition | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Place | Point, polygon, or region—a location | Natural assets, properties, bioregions, watersheds, mountains |
| People | Individual, organization, or collective | Persons, foundations, companies, governments, communities |
| Purpose | Ecosystem type, service, species, or cause | Marine systems, clean water, salmon, climate stability |
An agent can span categories. A watershed agent (Place) might focus on salmon (Purpose) and be operated by a foundation (People).
how
group membership
Agents originate from group contracts:
Group Contract (.basin)
├── Mints agent NFT
├── Assigns name (klamath)
├── Creates TBA
└── Agent becomes group member
All agents minted from a group contract are members of that group by definition.
group namespaces
Namespaces provide:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Identity | Clear branding (name.group) |
| Discovery | Filter and browse by group |
| Coordination | Shared resources and governance |
| Certificates | Group-specific ensurance lines |
groups and instruments
Groups can create certificates of ensurance:
| Instrument Type | Scope | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Policies | Tied to specific natural assets | parcel-123.certificate |
| Lines | Tied to group, region, or theme | basin-water.certificate |
Lines stack funding toward policies. A .basin group might create water-focused certificates that fund watershed agents.
group contracts on Base
Each group has a deployed ERC-721 contract:
| Contract | Description |
|---|---|
ensurance.721.sol | Main ensurance group |
basin.721.sol | BASIN place-based group |
syndicate.721.sol | Syndicate coordination group |
Contracts are deployed on Base L2. Query /api/groups for current addresses.
creating a group
Groups are created through the DUNA governance process. Contact the protocol for new namespace requests.
related
- agents — The actors that originate from groups
- certificates — Instruments groups can create
- duna — Governance structure for group creation