Solutions journalism is news about how communities and organizations are responding to social and environmental problems. This collection contains solutions stories about a number of forest management solutions. In Oregon, prescribed burns are returning the forest to a natural and healthy state. Across the West, natural burn patterns are being encouraged as a cost-saving measure. A startup is connecting people of African descent around the world to forests in Africa, and planting trees in their honor to combat deforestation. In Australia, a partnership between Indigenous ranger groups and a nonprofit are conserving rainforests through fire management and revegetation. And in Indonesia, researchers are using acoustic monitoring to track illegal logging in forests.
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https://news.mongabay.com/2019/11/indigenous-wildlife-ranger-collaboration-conserves-rare-australian-rainforests
Nick Rodway
Mongabay
18 November 2019
Text / 800-1500 Words
Revegetation and fire management practices are helping to preserve Australia’s biodiversity. In Western Australia, collaborative efforts between Environs Kimberley, an environmental NGO, and local rangers from the First Nation communities of the Dampier Peninsula are working to document, conserve, and manage the region’s monsoon vine thickets (MVT). As part of the Kimberley Nature Project (KNP), local rangers employ traditional methods like seasonal burns to allow for revegetation and to reduce the threat of larger bushfires.
https://youtu.be/MXBSXY1Ox8s
Delaney Young
University of Oregon
7 June 2018
Video / Under 3 Minutes
With climate change warming the planet, wildfires are becoming an increasingly worrisome issue. In Ashland, Oregon, fire crews are working to reintroduce fire to forests through prescribed burns in order to mitigate the growth of wildfires and make the forest healthier.
https://www.fastcompany.com/40586162/this-dna-database-for-trees-will-help-track-illegal-logging
Adele Peters
FastCompany
18 June 2018
Text / Under 800 Words
The west coast of the United States is taking a stand to stop the poaching and selling of trees from prohibited areas in the region. By creating a DNA database that can be used to determine the specific genetics of trees as they relate to different regions, the Forest Service will be able to tell if wood is being illegally harvested.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/24/africa/mipad-africa-tree-naming-intl/index.html
Paul Adepoju
CNN
24 December 2019
Text / 800-1500 Words
The My Roots in Africa Project is an initiative of a group called the Most Influential People of African Descent, which seeks to build connection between Africans in Africa and elsewhere around the world through the act of having trees planted in their honor to combat deforestation, especially in West and East Africa. The project will complement the mission of the Great Green Wall and the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative, both of which also aim to plant large numbers of trees across Africa.
https://news.trust.org/item/20210210235852-kjyq2
Harry Jacques
Thomson Reuters Foundation
11 February 2021
Text / 800-1500 Words
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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