Sylvera Launches Open Carbon Data Project to Unlock Investment in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, Supported by The Rockefeller Foundation and Meta

With a combined $900k in funding from The Rockefeller Foundation and Meta, Sylvera partners with the State University of Santa Cruz, World Resources Institute, and Symbiosis Coalition, to create the world’s first open-access, benchmark-grade forest carbon dataset

London / New York / São Paulo | July 30, 2026 — Sylvera today announced the Open Carbon Data Project, a first-of-its-kind initiative to generate high-resolution, open-access forest carbon data across the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, Meta, World Resources Institute, Symbiosis Coalition, and leading Brazilian research institutions, the initiative targets one of the most critical barriers — increasing the amount of trusted, scientifically rigorous data to underpin credible measurement, reporting and verification at scale.

By enabling accurate measurement and verification of forest carbon stocks, the dataset will lower barriers to carbon market participation, particularly for smallholders and community-led projects — and increase investor confidence, helping to scale financing for forest restoration and protection.

“Carbon markets cannot scale without trust, and trust starts with ground truth data. Through our work combining field measurements and advanced remote sensing, we’re helping build the biomass data foundation that more accurate, transparent, and scalable carbon markets depend on,” said Allister Furey, CEO, Sylvera.

“High-quality, accessible data is critical infrastructure for scaling nature-based climate finance and ensuring it delivers real benefits to communities on the ground,” said Carli Roth, Director of Innovative Finance at The Rockefeller Foundation. “This initiative shows how open, more accurate data can unlock investment, building investor and buyer confidence while helping local stakeholders accelerate equitable access to capital for underserved communities that depend on healthy forests for their lives and livelihoods.”

Nature-based climate solutions are attracting growing investment and delivering real climate outcomes. Establishing an open-sourced dataset of ground truth data in complex ecosystems like the Atlantic Forest will enable more sophisticated verification systems — accelerating deployment and reducing costs, which will enable the market to scale. Digital MRV (dMRV) systems offer a path to scalable, lower-cost verification, but they require robust data to model accurately. This initiative is designed to provide that foundation.

The dataset will enable accurate measurement and verification of forest carbon stocks, improving the calibration and validation of satellite-based monitoring models. This will lower the barrier to entry for carbon market participants, particularly smallholder and community-led projects, and will increase confidence in verification results among investors and corporate buyers, helping to scale financial flows into forest restoration and protection.

The data will be released later this year under a CC BY 4.0 open license and hosted by World Research Institute (WRI), ensuring it is freely available to developers, registries, policymakers, and researchers globally.

A core principle of the initiative is that the work is locally anchored and steered by local experts. Through partnerships with Brazilian universities, research institutions, local implementation partners, and government agencies and landowners, the initiative ensures both scientific integrity and equitable participation, building long-term data capacity and institutional trust in the region.

Brazilian / Local Partner

Prof Deborah Faria, Permanent faculty member of the DCB and coordinator of the Laboratory of Ecology Applied to Conservation (LEAC), UESC
“The Open Carbon Data Project initiative strengthens global knowledge regarding forests and the carbon cycle. In Bahia, the project will enable more accurate estimates of carbon stocks in Atlantic Forest remnants and cocoa agroforestry systems, generating benefits for rural producers. By bringing together scientists, communities, and landowners, the initiative produces knowledge aligned with local realities and contributes to the region’s sustainable development.”

Brazilian / Local Partner

Prof Daniel Piotto, Permanent faculty member of the Graduate Program in Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation, UESC
“The partnership with Sylvera will generate robust estimates of carbon stocks in the southern Bahia region, in addition to enabling scientific exchange and training for academics from southern Bahia on the most advanced research methods focused on forest carbon.”

World Resources Institute

John Brandt, Data Science Lead, WRI
“Open, high-quality datasets are critical to ensuring credibility in the monitoring and management of forests with remote sensing technology. This initiative will strengthen the tools available to policymakers, researchers, and market participants alike.”

Meta

Blair Swedeen, Global Head of Net Zero and Sustainability, Meta
“Scaling credible carbon markets requires the same foundation as any good science: open, high-quality data that anyone can build on. We’ve seen firsthand through our AI-powered forest mapping work with WRI how open-source tools can dramatically improve our understanding of forest ecosystems. This initiative will help lower barriers for new and community-led projects to begin receiving carbon financing, and ultimately build the trust that carbon markets need to attract investment at scale.”

Symbiosis Coalition

Julia Strong, Executive Director and Founder, Symbiosis Coalition
“Nature-based solutions are some of the most important, near term, cost effective climate solutions we have, and the market is maturing faster than many people realize. Establishing high-quality, open datasets to set benchmarks and standards for measurement is key to giving buyers the confidence they need to act and unlock the market at scale.”

This dataset builds on Sylvera’s broader work in forest biomass data and is being collected with local partners through a combination of advanced airborne and ground-based measurements, including terrestrial laser scanning, airborne laser scanning and gamma spectrometry, as well as conventional field inventory and soil coring. Field campaigns are underway, with data collection expected to be completed by Q3 2026 and the open dataset targeted for release in Q4 2026.

The dataset will have immediate real-world applications, including improving the accuracy of the Meta and WRI Canopy Height Maps, one of the most widely used open-access forest monitoring tools globally.

Notes to Editors

About the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: One of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems, the Atlantic Forest once covered approximately 330 million acres along Brazil’s eastern seaboard. Today, more than 85% has been cleared, leaving a highly fragmented landscape that nonetheless supports over 148 million people and accounts for approximately 70% of Brazil’s GDP. It is a UN-designated World Restoration Flagship and a priority region for both conservation and climate finance.

About multi-scale lidar (MSL): MSL combines terrestrial, airborne, and satellite-based laser scanning to generate high-resolution, three-dimensional measurements of forest biomass. It provides significantly greater accuracy than traditional plot-based sampling and is used to calibrate and validate satellite-based monitoring models at biome scale.

About dMRV: Digital monitoring, reporting and verification (dMRV) refers to the use of remote sensing, AI, and computational tools to automate and standardize the measurement of carbon stocks and emissions reductions, replacing manual field-based approaches that are costly, slow, and difficult to scale.

About the Open Carbon Data Project

The Open Carbon Data Project is a multi-partner initiative to create the first open-access, benchmark-quality forest carbon datasets, initially focusing on the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Combining advanced multi-scale lidar field campaigns with satellite remote sensing, the project aims to improve the accuracy, accessibility, and credibility of forest carbon data — and in doing so, lower the cost and raise the confidence of carbon market participation for developers, registries, investors, and policymakers worldwide.

About Sylvera

Sylvera is the leading carbon intelligence company providing independent ratings, market data, and geospatial analytics to incentivize investment in real climate action. Using proprietary data, machine learning, and on-the-ground expertise, the company has assessed over 700 projects and provides unmatched visibility into more than 27,000 projects. Trusted by corporates, investors, project developers, and policy-makers worldwide, the company is backed by leading investors including Balderton Capital, Index Ventures, Insight Partners, and Salesforce Ventures.

About The Rockefeller Foundation

Investing $30 billion over the last 113 years to promote the well-being of humanity, The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on unlikely partnerships and innovative solutions that deliver measurable results for people in the United States and around the world. We leverage scientific breakthroughs, artificial intelligence, and new technologies to make big bets across energy, food, health, and finance. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on  X @RockefellerFdn, Instagram @rockefellerfdn, YouTube @RockefellerFdn, and LinkedIn @the-rockefeller-foundation.