ZIP-560: Evidence Locker Index

Abstract

This ZIP serves as the centralized index for all conservation impact and governance evidence artifacts maintained by Zoo Labs Foundation. It catalogs policies, impact reports, conservation data, community agreements, and attestations that support claims made in ZIP-500 and related proposals. This is the "credibility engine" that makes our conservation impact verifiable.

Purpose

As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, funders and partners require:

1. Impact evidence: Proof that conservation outcomes are achieved
2. Financial accountability: Documentation of fund deployment
3. Ethical compliance: Records of community consent and protection
4. Scientific validity: Peer-reviewed methodologies and data

This index serves as the single entry point for all conservation evidence.

Evidence Categories

1. Governance & Compliance

Foundational Documents

Document	Description	Location	Last Updated	Owner
Articles of Incorporation	501(c)(3) founding documents	Legal files	[Date]	Legal
IRS Determination Letter	Tax-exempt status confirmation	Legal files	[Date]	Legal
Bylaws	Governance structure	Legal files	[Date]	Board
Conflict of Interest Policy	Board COI procedures	Legal files	[Date]	Board
Whistleblower Policy	Reporting procedures	Legal files	[Date]	Board

ESG Framework Documents

Document	Description	Location	Last Updated	Owner
ESG Principles	Master ESG framework	ZIP-500	2025-12-16	Board
Standards Alignment Matrix	Mapping to global standards	ZIP-550	2025-12-16	ESG Committee
Ethical Partnerships Policy	Partner screening criteria	ZIP-502	TBD	Ethics Committee
Impact Measurement Framework	Methodology for impact	ZIP-501	TBD	Science Advisory
Anti-Greenwashing Policy	Claims verification	ZIP-503	TBD	Communications

Governance Records

Document	Description	Frequency	Retention
Board Minutes	Board meeting records	Quarterly	Permanent
Ethics Committee Minutes	Partnership decisions	Monthly	7 years
Conservation Council Minutes	Grant recommendations	Monthly	7 years
Annual Meeting Minutes	Member meetings	Annual	Permanent

2. Conservation Impact Evidence

Species Monitoring Data

Data Type	Description	Frequency	Methodology
Population Counts	Species population estimates	Per project	ZIP-520
Range Maps	Species distribution data	Quarterly	ZIP-521
Trend Analysis	Population trajectory	Annual	Statistical models
Camera Trap Data	Photo/video evidence	Continuous	AI classification
Acoustic Monitoring	Audio recordings	Continuous	AI classification

Habitat Monitoring Data

Data Type	Description	Frequency	Source
Satellite Imagery	Land cover analysis	Monthly	ZIP-521
Deforestation Alerts	Forest loss detection	Real-time	Remote sensing
Habitat Quality Index	Ecosystem health metrics	Quarterly	Composite index
Protected Area Coverage	Hectares monitored	Quarterly	GIS analysis
Water Quality Data	Aquatic ecosystem health	Per project	Field sampling

Anti-Poaching Evidence

Evidence Type	Description	Frequency	Security Level
Alert Records	Poaching alerts generated	Continuous	Restricted
Response Times	Time to ranger response	Per incident	Aggregated public
Patrol Coverage	Area patrolled	Daily	Restricted
Arrest/Prosecution Data	Law enforcement outcomes	Per incident	Anonymized
Deterrence Metrics	Poaching attempt trends	Quarterly	Public

Project Impact Reports

Report	Description	Frequency	Audience
Project Outcome Reports	Per-project results	Per project	Funders
Annual Impact Report	Aggregate conservation outcomes	Annual	Public
Species Recovery Reports	Species-specific progress	Annual	Public
Ecosystem Health Reports	Landscape-level assessment	Annual	Public

3. Community & Ethics Evidence

Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC)

Document	Description	Per Project	Retention
FPIC Process Documentation	How consent was obtained	Yes	Permanent
Community Agreements	Signed partnership agreements	Yes	Permanent
Meeting Records	Community consultation records	Yes	10 years
Consent Verification	Third-party verification	When required	Permanent

Benefit Sharing Records

Document	Description	Frequency
Benefit Distribution Reports	How benefits were shared	Quarterly
Community Payment Records	Direct payments to communities	Monthly
In-Kind Support Records	Non-monetary benefits	Quarterly
Employment Records	Local employment created	Quarterly

Data Sovereignty Records

Document	Description	Per Community
Data Agreements	Data use terms with communities	Yes
Access Controls	Who can access community data	Yes
Data Return Procedures	How data is returned to communities	Yes

4. Scientific Evidence

Research Outputs

Document	Description	Source
Published Papers	Peer-reviewed publications	Research partners
Preprints	Non-peer-reviewed manuscripts	Research partners
Technical Reports	Methodology documentation	Internal/partners
Conference Presentations	Academic presentations	Research partners

Methodology Documentation

Document	Description	ZIP Reference
Species Monitoring Methodology	How we count species	ZIP-520
Habitat Assessment Methodology	How we assess habitats	ZIP-521
Impact Attribution Methodology	How we claim impact	ZIP-501
AI Model Documentation	Model cards for conservation AI	ZIP-520

Data Quality Assurance

Document	Description	Frequency
Data Quality Reports	Error rates, validation results	Quarterly
Ground Truth Validation	Field verification of AI outputs	Per project
Expert Review Records	Scientist validation of results	Per analysis
Uncertainty Quantification	Confidence intervals on estimates	Per analysis

5. Financial Evidence

Non-Profit Financial Records

Document	Description	Frequency	Audit
Form 990	IRS annual filing	Annual	Filed publicly
Audited Financial Statements	Independent audit	Annual	CPA audit
Grant Reports	Per-grant financial reports	Per grant	Funder review
Budget vs. Actuals	Financial performance	Quarterly	Internal

Grant & Fund Deployment

Document	Description	Frequency
Grant Agreements	Funding terms	Per grant
Fund Deployment Reports	How funds were used	Per grant
Conservation Bonds Documentation	DeFi instrument records	Per issuance
Treasury Reports	Foundation treasury status	Quarterly

Cost Efficiency

Document	Description	Frequency
Program vs. Admin Ratio	Efficiency metrics	Quarterly
Cost per Hectare Monitored	Unit economics	Quarterly
Cost per Species Tracked	Unit economics	Quarterly
Fundraising Efficiency	Cost of fundraising	Annual

6. External Attestations

Non-Profit Certifications

Certification	Provider	Status	Renewal
501(c)(3) Status	IRS	Active	N/A
State Registration	State AG	Active	Annual
GuideStar Seal	Candid	Bronze	Annual
BBB Wise Giving	BBB	Planned	Biennial

Conservation Certifications

Certification	Provider	Status	Scope
IUCN Member	IUCN	[Status]	Organizational
CMP Practitioner	CMP	[Status]	Methodology

Audits

Type	Provider	Frequency	Status
Financial Audit	CPA firm	Annual	Active
Impact Audit	Conservation org	Annual	Planned
Technology Audit	Security firm	Annual	Active
FPIC Audit	Human rights org	Per project	As needed

7. Public Reports

Regular Publications

Report	Description	Frequency	Location
Annual Report	Comprehensive yearly review	Annual	Website
Impact Report	Conservation outcomes	Annual	Website
Quarterly Update	Progress and metrics	Quarterly	Newsletter
Project Reports	Per-project summaries	Per project	Website

Open Data

Dataset	Description	Access	License
Aggregated Species Data	Non-sensitive population data	Public	CC-BY
Habitat Maps	Vegetation and land cover	Public	CC-BY
Publications Data	Research supporting data	Public	Per paper
Model Weights	Conservation AI models	Open source	Apache 2.0

Restricted Data

Dataset	Description	Access	Reason
Species Locations	Exact coordinates	Restricted	Poaching risk
Patrol Routes	Anti-poaching operations	Restricted	Security
Community Data	Indigenous community info	Restricted	Data sovereignty

Evidence Standards

Documentation Requirements

All evidence must include:

1. Title and version: Clear identification
2. Date: Creation/update timestamp
3. Author/Owner: Responsible party
4. Methodology: How data was collected/created
5. Limitations: Known gaps or uncertainties
6. Verification level: Self-reported to audited

Conservation-Specific Standards

Requirement	Standard
Species data	IUCN Red List methodology
Habitat data	Remote sensing best practices
Impact claims	Attribution methodology (ZIP-501)
Community data	CARE Principles (ZIP-502)

Verification Hierarchy

Level	Description	Examples
Self-reported	Internal data, unverified	Operational metrics
Internally verified	Cross-team validation	Species counts
Expert reviewed	Scientist review	Population estimates
Externally audited	Third-party audit	Financial statements
Published	Peer-reviewed	Research papers

Evidence Access

Public Evidence

Available at: zoo.ngo/evidence/

• ESG framework (ZIP-500 series)
• Annual and impact reports
• Aggregated conservation data
• Open source AI models
• Published research

Partner Evidence

Available to: Funders, research partners (under agreement)

• Detailed project reports
• Grant compliance documentation
• Non-sensitive species data
• Methodology documentation

Restricted Evidence

Available to: Regulators, auditors (under NDA)

• Financial details
• Community agreements
• Security assessments
• Incident reports

Highly Restricted Evidence

Available to: Board, legal (need-to-know)

• Exact species locations
• Anti-poaching operations
• Active investigations
• Personnel records

Evidence Lifecycle

Creation

1. Data collected per methodology
2. Quality assurance review
3. Scientist/expert review (if applicable)
4. Documentation completed
5. Classification and filing

Maintenance

1. Scheduled data refresh
2. Methodology updates
3. Error correction procedures
4. Version control

Retirement

1. Retention period review
2. Archival or destruction decision
3. Secure handling
4. Index update

Integration with Impact Reporting

Theory of Change Linkage

Each evidence artifact links to:

• Input: What resources were used
• Activity: What we did
• Output: What we produced
• Outcome: What changed
• Impact: What difference it made

Attribution Requirements

For any impact claim, evidence must show:

1. Baseline data (before intervention)
2. Intervention documentation
3. Post-intervention data
4. Counterfactual consideration
5. Attribution methodology

Audit Support

Request Process

External parties may request evidence via:

1. Funder requests: [email protected]
2. Audit requests: [email protected]
3. Research requests: [email protected]
4. Regulatory requests: [email protected]

Response SLAs

Request Type	Initial Response	Full Response
Funder	2 business days	Per grant terms
Audit	1 business day	Per audit timeline
Research	5 business days	30 days
Regulatory	Same day	As required

Related ZIPs

• ZIP-500: ESG Principles for Conservation Impact
• ZIP-501: Conservation Impact Measurement Framework
• ZIP-502: Ethical Partnerships Policy
• ZIP-503: Transparency & Public Reporting Standards
• ZIP-520: ESG Metrics for Conservation
• ZIP-521: Remote Sensing & Habitat Monitoring Methodology
• ZIP-530: Citizen Science Program Playbook
• ZIP-531: Open Research License & Data Governance
• ZIP-550: Conservation Standards Alignment Matrix

Changelog

Version	Date	Changes
1.0	2025-12-16	Initial draft

Copyright

Copyright and related rights waived via CC0.