MODISA Open Source

One of our core values at Gazelle is maintaining transparency throughout the project development process. In order to honor this commitment we believe in the open-source disclosure of our project documentation. This file provides a detailed background on the MODISA project including data from our fieldwork, supporting documentation, VVB audit reports and applicable items.

Project Background

The MODISA Project is a wildlife conservation project located 50km west of Tsabong, a small town in Botswana. MODISA is sustainably managed, and has a strong population of several native and endangered herbivores and predators. The project is run and managed by Valentin Gruener, a German conservationist who has pursued conservation work in Botswana for over a decade. Even though the project has gained considerable public encouragement, operating such a wildlife project is fairly cost-intensive and yields little profit in areas with significant lack of tourism such as the Kgalagadi District where MODISA is located.


MODISA field crew including Thato, Robert, Val and Peter (left to right)


This project protects 17,000 hectares of pristine Kalahari savannas and is one of the first nature based offset projects in Botswana. We believe nature-based solutions are key in moving toward a decarbonized global economy. Grasslands alone cover roughly 40% of the Earth’s surface, contain 15% of all soil carbon, and are home to 1/3rd of the global population. Due to increasing temperatures, less rainfall and vairable wildfires regions such as the Kalahari face as exacerbated risk of degradation due to the ongoing cycle of land encroachment.



Roughly ~35% of Botswana is protected as a National Park, Game Reserve, or Wildlife Management Area (WMA). These WMAs function as wildlife buffer zones between protected areas and civilian populations. They are some of the region’s last linkages for the free range migratory movement of wildlife. Unfortunately restrictions on commercial activity have limited the income streams of tribal communities to eco-tourism and game hunts creating political & economic pressure for land-use conversion. Since 2016, over 2,041,000+ acres of WMAs have been converted into largely unsustainable commercial ranches threatening endangered species, the integrity of protected areas and the sequestration potential of grasslands. MODISA is located directly adjacent to KD15, one of Botswana’s largest WMAs protecting the Kalahari Transfrontier National Park KKTNP) as shown in the figure below.


MODISA in relation to KD15 and the KTNP


KD15, like countless other WMAs, now faces the risk of land-use conversion. Although it is difficult to predict political tailwinds, ongoing conversion on communal & private lands near KD15 pose an encroachment risk. That is why MODISA serves as a trailblazer is wildlife & grassland conservation setting the standard for what is possible in Kgalagadi South. The project has already engaged countless landowners and game ranchers across Botswana to actively participate in building a more resilient Kalahari.


The Gazelle team at a stakeholder consultation with Mr. Sam Brooks in July of 2022


MODISA enjoys the support of Botswana’s Ministry of Agriculture & the Honorable Sam Brooks, MP for Kgalagadi South. In lieu of renewed commitments at COP27 and ambitious targets under the landmark COP15 Biodiversity Agreement we have successfully engaged local stakeholders. You can learn more about our work protecting WMAs here

Our Standards

The MODISA Project is classified as a non-conversion project meaning it seeks to avoid emissions from land-conversion in sensitive ecosystems. The methodology used for the project is VCS VM0009 v3.0. This methodology was originally developed for forest conservation efforts but is adapted for the baseline type GP-2 (avoided planned conversion of a grassland/shrubland ecosystem). The methodology is approved by both Verra and ICR (standards under the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism). Gazelle has adopted the VM9 methodology with some conservative deviations in-line with project-specific needs, these modifications are justified in our publicly available Project Designed Document (PDD) listed on ICR’s website. Gazelle has built its own proprietary VM9 calculator for the GP-2 baseline specific to the Kalahari’s semi-arid grassland ecosystems. Any deviations are justified in the PDD and the project is also designed in observation to the principles in ISO 14064-2. The project is audited by EPIC Sustainability Services, an approved VVB.

Project Documents

Below are some of our documents related to the MODISA project:

ICR Project Design Document (PDD)

Our Project Design Document gives in-depth details regarding the type of project, background information, the methodology used, and finally our calculations for getting to the Net-GHG Emissions Mitigations for MODISA.

Gazelle VM0009 Calculator

Our VM0009 Calculator is a proprietary calculator developed by Gazelle shown here in Excel for simplicity, to calculate baseline emissions using Baseline Emissions Models (BEMs) for G-P2 grassland baseline types as listed as per the VM0009 methodology.

Estimating Parameters of Conversion

The Baseline Emissions Models in the VM0009 Calculator require certain parameters describing the logistic rate of conversion of the property over time. These were calculated using manual classification of around 800 random points on satellite imagery of the reference area over the historic reference period of 10 years. The analysis data was compiled into an Excel sheet, in which each point was classified as 1 if it was converted, and 0 if it was unconverted. Then, an R script was created to clean, sort and plot a logistic curve from the data.

Application of Logistic Curve Values

This is a separate sheet which outlines the estimations our total GHG emissions mitigations from the baseline carbon stocks over the entire project timeline of 10 years, using the logistic curve values.