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Mozambique's newly empowered rangers, courts catch up with poachers, loggers

Fred Kockott

November 19, 2019 |

Mongabay |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Mozambique

Protecting forests requires collaboration between conservation groups and government authorities. In Mozambique, the Peace Parks Foundation is working with support of the Mozambique government to protect the Zinave National Park from illegal poaching and logging. By increasing patrols and tightening the laws surrounding illegal logging, Mozambique’s government has made conservation work in the area much more effective.

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How a new grain could help combat climate change

Megan Thompson Mark Bittman Melanie Saltzman

November 16, 2019 |

PBS NewsHour |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, St. Paul, Minnesota

Planting perennial grains for human consumption retains more nutrients in the soil, prevents soil erosion, and traps carbon. Farmers and researchers have been working to develop a commercially viable perennial grain, known as Kernza. Today, business pioneers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area are finding ways to introduce Kernza into consumer markets, including Kernza beer.

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Desertification Is Devouring India. But There's Hope in the Dunes

Rishika Pardikar

November 13, 2019 |

OZY |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: India, Laporiya, Rajasthan

The people of a small village on the edge of the Thar Desert have managed for decades to resist "desertification" -- degradation of arid land to the point that it is uninhabitable -- by storing monsoon waters for use later. The storage device, rectangular plots of land called chaukas, have worked well enough to be copied by dozens of other villages in the area. It is uncertain if this approach can reverse the loss of land, but it is at least holding off the rapid pace of desertification, which risks mass displacements of people as hundreds of millions of acreage is lost.

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In Borneo, healthy people equals healthy forests

Adam Wernick

November 12, 2019 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Indonesia, Borneo

Those who live on the island of Borneo understand that their well-being comes from the Gunung Palung National Park, but logging remained rampant because it was the only way to make money to pay for healthcare. Thus, an organization named "Health in Harmony" was borne through "radically listening" to locals to find out what they needed. This organization accepts creative forms of payment for healthcare and offers incentives to cease logging, including a chainsaw buyback program. As a result, ten years later they saw a 90% drop in logging households and a re-growth of 52,000 acres of forest.

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From coffee to cosmetics, companies are looking for ways to protect the plants their products are made from

Virginia Gewin

November 08, 2019 |

Ensia |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: France

Around the world, companies, especially those that depend on the production of plant-based products, are stepping up their sustainability efforts. In the face of climate change, producers of things like coffee and fragrances are realizing that biodiversity and conservation are crucial to the companies’ success and sustainability. Trusts like Germany’s Crop Trust are becoming key players in this, helping companies develop conservation strategies.

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Food is biggest stumbling block on zero-waste nature tour

JoAnna Haugen

October 10, 2019 |

Mongabay |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Natural Habitat Adventures, a tour company, has run the first no-waste, week-long trip through Yellowstone. With ecotourism producing millions of pounds of waste per year, the group wanted to demonstrate that doing so was possible as a way of holding other tour companies to a higher standard. Natural Habitat was able to reach the zero-waste success through composting, sharing meals at restaurants, heavy planning and preparation, and consulting with sustainability and waste experts.

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National Renewable Energy Lab Studies Plants In Twin Falls Solar Field

Rachel D. Cohen

October 09, 2019 |

Boise State Public Radio (KBSX) |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Twin Falls, Idaho

Scientists are studying which plants grow best around solar panels and which pollinators are attracted to these plants. To test this, researchers are looking at species like milkweed, buckwheat, and blue flax that are growing in the partially-shaded environment near solar panels in Idaho. While there aren’t many plants growing yet, the scientists are looking to see the environmental impact solar panels can have after being installed.

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A Greener Afterlife

Courtney Duchene

September 11, 2019 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia’s West Laurel Hill Cemetery has gone green. While the burial business may be notoriously filled with chemicals, this cemetery has introduced 50 different sustainability initiatives, including banning machinery use, only allowing biodegradable caskets – or no caskets at all – and keeping the grounds flourishing with native plants instead of manicured lawns. The efforts also include community engagement to bring residents into the environmental shift as part of a larger, cultural trend toward sustainability.

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The Fashion Executives Who Saved a Patagonian Paradise

Jason Mark

September 04, 2019 |

Sierra Club |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Chile, Patagonia National Park

After amassing a large amount of property in Chile, the Tompkins Conservation would donate millions of acres to the government to maintain as national parks for wildlife conservation and sustainable land use. This was the largest act of “wildlands philanthropy” in history. When the Tompkins started buying land, locals were at first distrustful, but now they’re concerned the government won’t be able to maintain the properties. Thanks to the Tompkins Conservation, wildlife, like the South Andean deer, are being reintroduced and forests have recovered.

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This Lake Belongs to Everyone

Daniel J McGraw

August 24, 2019 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Euclid, Ohio

For years, much of the coastline along the Great Lakes has been privately owned. In an effort to stabilize cliff erosion off the coast of Lake Erie, the city of Euclid, Ohio, worked with property owners to acquire those waterfronts. Despite some initial skepticism, the city convinced the owners that turning over their waterfront property would save them money on erosion control and allow public access to the coast. This collaborative approach is being watched by other coastal cities as a potential model for shoreline management.

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