Pre-certification
Available in the framework for projects under ten years old.
Accreditation begins long before an application.
Standards pathway
A community needs a mandate, baseline, restoration plan, monitoring practice, and evidence trail before selecting an external standard. The current Sol Kin initiatives are not represented as accredited.
A community-ready process.
- Confirm authority.Who owns, stewards, uses, and speaks for the place? Record consent and decision rights.
- Define the project.Set boundaries, purpose, duration, activities, responsibilities, risks, and intended benefits.
- Establish the baseline.Document ecological condition, reference ecosystem, species knowledge, threats, and data gaps.
- Choose principles and methods.Align restoration practice with relevant standards and local knowledge governance.
- Monitor and adapt.Set repeatable indicators, methods, responsibilities, reporting intervals, and review triggers.
- Select an assessor.Compare scope, eligibility, cost, evidence, safeguards, renewal, and public claims.
- Prepare the evidence pack.Keep governance records, maps, methods, observations, images, approvals, and change logs.
- Publish carefully.State the exact assessment status and never imply certification before it is awarded.
The Global Biodiversity Standard: eight criteria.
The 2024 TGBS manual is a restoration-quality reference published by Botanic Gardens Conservation International and the Society for Ecological Restoration.
- Select appropriate sites
- Enhance protection
- Work with stakeholders to protect, restore, and manage biodiversity
- Maximize biodiversity recovery
- Avoid invasive species
- Prioritize native, threatened, and rare species
- Promote biodiversity and adaptive capacity
- Monitor, evaluate, and adapt
Tiers and renewal.
TGBS certification is valid for five years before renewal is required. The manual describes the following levels.
Standard
At least 5/10 overall with no negative criterion scores.
Advanced
At least 7/10 overall and 5/10 on six or more criteria.
Premium
At least 9/10 overall and 5/10 on every criterion.
What Sol Kin needs before claiming progress.
- GovernanceConfirmed project stewards and community authorization.
- PlaceBoundaries and approved public location details.
- BaselineMethods and observations for ecosystems and species.
- PlanActivities, safeguards, resources, and responsibilities.
- ReportsDated evidence of work, change, limits, and learning.
- AssessmentA selected framework and independent review path.