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Agroforestry and land reform give Brazil cacao farmers sweet taste of success

Patricia Moll

February 24, 2021 |

Mongabay |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Brazil, Ibirapitanga, Bahia

After there was a fungal disease outbreak in the 1990s that affected cacao crops in Brazil, a group of 150 community members got together to collectively manage a farm to grow back cacao trees using agroforestry techniques. Because of their efforts, they sell their cacao to major chocolate brands and have seen their monthly income more than double.

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How Banana Waste Is Turned Into Rugs, Fabric, And Hair Extensions

Jacqueline Baylon

February 19, 2021 |

Business Insider |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Uganda, Kampala

A Ugandan company called TEXFAD is taking the stems from banana trees that would normally go to waste and is turning them into new textiles like rugs, place mats, and hair extensions. Over its eight year existence, TEXFAD has grown to also employ 23 people, many of whom started in their internship program for students. While the cost to make these products can be expensive, the textiles are biodegradable and use less water and land to produce.

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Wales's "One Planet" Policy Is Transforming Rural Life

Oliver Gordon

February 12, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Wales, Pembrokeshire

Wales’ One Planet Development Policy allows people to live a more sustainable lifestyle by using only the resources on the land where they reside. For one family, they get their electricity from their own solar array, heat from firewood, and food from their gardens and livestock. Each year, they must prove that they are using only their “global fair share” of resources. So far, 46 farms have signed on to the program and the lessons learned from the experiment are helping to inform the government’s actions on other policies like housing.

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Treetop sensors help Indonesia eavesdrop on forests to cut logging

Harry Jacques

February 11, 2021 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Indonesia, Solok, West Sumatra

In Indonesia, there are 27 “Guardian” sensors eavesdropping on forests as a way to monitor them for cases of illegal logging. The organization Rainforest Connection uses artificial intelligence to analyze the audio from these sensors and if the system picks up the sound of a chainsaw, it sends a mobile alert to community patrols in the area. This technology can be scaled for other parts of the world and habitats. “We're basically building a nervous system for the natural world," says Topher White, founder of the nonprofit.

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‘What's at stake is the life of every being': Saving the Brazilian Cerrado

Peter Yeung

February 11, 2021 |

Mongabay |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Brazil

The National Campaign in Defense of the Cerrado coalition of Indigenous peoples and organizational partners is fighting political challenges to preserve the region’s native vegetation and biodiversity. The Cerrado is a tropical savanna In Brazil that is home to about 5 percent of the planet’s animal and plant species, yet only 3 percent of the land is under “strict protection” regulations. Pressure from the campaigners has led to a public hearing and proposal with more than 500,000 signatures to declare the region a World Heritage site.

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Large food companies are looking to lock carbon in soil as a way to meet ambitious emissions goals

Meg Wilcox

February 09, 2021 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Fairfield, Maine

Stonyfield, an organic dairy company, is working with six of its suppliers to pilot how farms can measure the amount of carbon it’s trapping in soil through regenerative farming practices as a way for the company to achieve its goals to cut carbon emissions. The OpenTEAM initiative is working to demonstrate how a dairy farm could improve its soil health to reach carbon net zero and, eventually, have food companies pay its farmers to adopt the new practices.

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How a Young Activist Is Helping Pope Francis Battle Climate Change

David Owen

February 08, 2021 |

The New Yorker |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Holy See (Vatican City State), Rome

Molly Burhans, a young cartographer and environmentalist, is using GIS technology to map out the Catholic Church’s global property holdings to encourage them to improve the environmental impact on the lands they own. Burhans’ organization called GoodLands has been working with various parishes and dioceses to help Church leaders — including Pope Francis — understand their vast landholdings. While finances and COVID-19 have impacted her progress, Burhans’ maps have been used for other purposes like mapping Catholic radio stations in Africa and tracking the whereabouts of priests accused of sexual abuse.

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Planting Trees Sounds Like A Simple Climate Fix. It's Anything But.

Kyla Mandel

February 05, 2021 |

The Huffington Post |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, England

As governments and businesses make pledges to cut their carbon emissions, planting tress has become a popular solution to combat the effects of climate change. But tree-planting schemes take time and proper management to actually be effective. Many efforts have failed to take some key factors into consideration, including types of trees, location, and even community-involvement.

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Nature calling: how can Sweden's success story help rewild London?

Matthew Ponsford

February 05, 2021 |

The Guardian |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Sweden, Malmö

As London starts to implement its plan for boroughs to implement sustainable urban greening strategies, officials look to Malmö as a guide after the Swedish city used a green space factor (GSF) as a way of calculating green space requirements for new developments. The GSF system allows governments to integrate biodiversity-focused incentives into their urban planning, while allowing designers and architects to respond to local needs.

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The Tribe that's Moving Earth (and Water) to Solve the Climate Crisis

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson Alex Blumberg

February 04, 2021 |

Gimlet Media |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Yurok Nation, United States, Yurok Reservation, California

The Yurok Tribe is tackling climate change through the use of a carbon-offset program, sustainable forestry principles, watershed and river recovery methods, and even beaver restoration practices. Over the years, the Indigenous community has worked to restore their territory using sustainable land management initiatives and because of their efforts, they were awarded the Equator Prize from the United Nations Development Programme in 2019.

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