Absorbing carbon and filtering water are just two of the many ecosystem services that tropical forests provide. Tropical forests now comprise just five percent of the world's landmass, down from 12 percent previously. However, restoration efforts are underway to reverse this trend. If these efforts continue, Project Drawdown estimates that these valuable ecosystems could sequester 54 or more gigatons of CO2 emissions by the year 2050. Their ample capacity to sequester carbon makes tropical forests a key strategy to slowing and reversing the effects of climate change.
The stories in this collection (see below) demonstrate how people around the world are working to restore degraded tropical forests. In Malawi, using a three-pronged approach of providing water filters, planting trees, and using effective cookstoves has helped curb rapid deforestation. In Borneo, providing affordable health care removed the locals' financial need for logging and forests are making a comeback. Replanting efforts are underway in Brazil, led by a women's collective, and in Myanmar where drones are being harnessed. This solution is one of the Drawdown Ecochallenge actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
https://www.dw.com/en/can-bird-watching-help-save-colombias-forests/a-43889538
Manuel Rueda
Deutsche Welle (DW)
7 March 2018
Multi-Media / 800-1500 Words
Cities near some of Columbia's national forests have seen a dramatic increase in their bird populations and tourism numbers after fighting between the government and guerilla groups quieted down. Many locals are finding economic prosperity by taking advantage of the war-zone turned bird watching phenomenon.
https://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/if-a-tree-falls-in-the-forest-a-drone-may-be-there-to-see-it-and-seed-bomb/88422
Justin Higginbottom
OZY
20 September 2018
Multi-Media / 800-1500 Words
Drones aren't just for filmmaking and covert operation anymore. A team in India has devised a way to turn these flying contraptions into seed-dropping tools that also measure the progress and success of reforestation efforts.
https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-11-12/borneo-healthy-people-equals-healthy-forests
Adam Wernick
Public Radio International (PRI)
12 November 2019
Text / 800-1500 Words
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.
https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/seed-by-seed-a-womens-collective-helps-reforest-brazils-xingu-river-basin
JoAnna Haugen
Mongabay
12 May 2020
Text / 800-1500 Words
A group of women, known as the Yarang Women’s Movement, from villages in Brazil collect and sell seeds to nurseries, landowners, and other organizations to replant degraded land by the Xingu River. While this effort has helped reforest the area, a significant amount of land is still degraded and climate change threatens the availability of seeds throughout the year. Yet, “they have found creative ways to survive and adapt to climate change. The Yarang Women’s Movement is an example of resilience,” said someone who has worked with the group.
http://www.ensia.com/photos/to-everyones-surprise-forests-are-returning-to-malawi-heres-why
Didem Tali
Ensia
26 May 2015
Photojournalism / Under 800 Words
The people of Malawi count on wood for cooking, cleaning, and sanitation, which contributes to the country’s ranking as fifth highest in the world for deforestation. Once thought unsolvable, the people of the country are planting trees, benefiting from water filters, and using efficient cookstoves.
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