Climate Change

Climate Changehttps://www.conservation.org/OceansClimate ChangeCommunitiesBiodiversityScienceFinance and Tech urn:uuid:ca95fc3e-b54a-4d2a-aef1-4b3450720c2ahttps://www.conservation.org/blog/news-spotlight-deforestation-linked-to-dramatic-decline-in-amazon-rainfall Climate ChangeNews spotlight: Deforestation linked to dramatic decline in Amazon rainfallThe Amazon rainforest, known for lush green canopies and an abundance of freshwater, is drying out — and deforestation is largely to blame.Mon, 15 Sep 2025 13:55:16 ZThe Amazon rainforest, known for lush green canopies and an abundance of freshwater, is drying out.<div>Deforestation is largely to blame, according to a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-63156-0" target="_blank">new study</a>.The study, published in Nature Communications, found that roughly 75 percent of the drop in rainfall can be directly linked to deforestation, Sachi Kitajima Mulkey reported for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/climate/amazon-brazil-drought-rain-deforestation.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.“We were expecting to see deforestation as a driver, but not this much,” Marco Franco, an assistant professor at the University of São Paulo who led the study told The New York Times. “It tells us a lot about what’s going on in the biome.”In the Amazon, more than 40 percent of the region’s rainfall comes from trees, which release water vapor into the air through a process known as evapotranspiration.It’s simple math: fewer trees means less moisture in the air.Scientists <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05690-1" target="_blank">have long known</a> about the connection between deforestation and declining precipitation, but it’s a difficult effect to study and quantify as weather changes can appear far from areas where the deforestation actually occurred.Indeed, the study also connects deforestation to higher temperatures in the Amazon, generally, finding the hottest days increased by roughly 2 degrees Celsius, in part due to deforestation.To understand the impact, the researchers pored over 35 years of annual data from key sections of the Brazilian Amazon, using satellite data and advanced analytical methods to measure changing climate and weather patterns, while sifting out other influences like evolving landscapes.Luiz Machado, a professor of climate and meteorology at the University of São Paulo and an author of the study, told The New York Times that while it’s common knowledge that climate change and deforestation have altered the Amazon, until this study, “nobody knew exactly what each of these things contributed.”The authors also note that a 75 percent drop in precipitation is an average across the Amazon Basin — areas with higher levels of deforestation experienced even greater rainfall declines.This is because years of deforestation have pushed the rainforest into a vicious cycle: As large areas are cleared of trees, the forest loses its ability to retain moisture and recycle that water back into the atmosphere. This contributes to longer periods of drought, which in turn, spur intense fire seasons that destroy even more trees.If this cycle of destruction continues, the rainforest could be pushed to an ecological <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/14/amazon-rainforest-could-reach-tipping-point-by-2050-scientists-warn" target="_blank">tipping point</a>, transforming permanently into a dry savanna.The continued deforestation of the Amazon would be disastrous for the Earth’s climate. Conservation International <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-021-00803-6">studies</a> have <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/new-research-critical-irrecoverable-carbon-at-risk">shown</a> that the Amazon rainforest stores more irrecoverable carbon — carbon that, if emitted into the atmosphere, could not be restored in time to prevent the worst impacts of climate change — than any other region on Earth.While <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/new-protected-area-win-for-Amazonian-wildlife-people">new protected areas</a> are popping up around the world as countries work to meet global climate goals like <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/countries-agreed-to-protect-30-of-the-planet-now-what">30 by 30</a>, deforestation continues to run rampant. In 2024, more than <a href="https://rainforestfoundation.org/engage/brazil-amazon-fires/">40 million acres</a> of the Amazon rainforest burned, and the first six months of 2025 saw deforestation reach <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/amazon-deforestation-spikes-as-brazil-blames-criminal-fires/#:~:text=The%20numbers%20are%20part%20of,the%20first%20semester%20of%202024." target="_blank">27 percent higher</a> than the first half of 2024.As climate change makes forests both more vital and more vulnerable, protected areas remain one of our <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/study-protected-forests-are-a-climate-powerhouse">best tools</a> to <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/what-drives-deforestation-and-how-can-we-stop-it">keep forests standing</a>. Conservation International recently supported the creation of three <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/new-protected-area-win-for-Amazonian-wildlife-people">new protected areas</a> in the <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/where-andes-meet-amazon-a-new-lifeline-for-wildlife">Amazon</a>, protecting huge swaths of threatened forest and keeping vast amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere.Further reading:<ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/what-drives-deforestation-and-how-can-we-stop-it">What drives deforestation — and how can we stop it?</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/study-protected-forests-are-a-climate-powerhouse">Study: Protected forests are a climate powerhouse</a></li></ul>Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>urn:uuid:7e3989dc-e428-4cf4-8c83-7fbe3ed077d5https://www.conservation.org/blog/where-andes-meet-amazon-a-new-lifeline-for-wildlife BiodiversityClimate ChangeWhere Andes meet Amazon, a new ‘lifeline’ for wildlifeAs global temperatures rise, wildlife around the world are on the move, a new protected corridor in one of the planet’s most biodiverse countries aims to help.Wed, 30 Jul 2025 15:05:47 Z<div>As global temperatures rise, wildlife around the world are on the move, and one of the planet’s most biodiverse countries is no exception.In central Ecuador, where the Andes meet the Amazon, lies a patchwork of protected areas and Indigenous territories. But climate change and persistent deforestation are widening the gaps between them — leaving species like jaguars, tapirs and monkeys with few safe paths to find more suitable habitat.The solution: Stitch some of these areas back together.Today, the Ecuadorian government, with support from Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund and the Global Environment Facility, announced the Palora-Pastaza corridor, which links protected forests with Indigenous territories to enable wildlife to more easily migrate to higher and more temperate elevations.Spanning 316,000 hectares (781,000 acres) — an area roughly the size of Rhode Island — the corridor is the largest of its kind in Ecuador’s Amazon.“Rising temperatures coupled with deforestation are pushing wildlife into smaller and smaller areas,” said Joy Woolfson, who leads the Amazonian Connectivity Corridors project for Conservation International-Ecuador. “Corridors that connect remaining patches of healthy habitat are a lifeline."<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_18405502_full.jpg?sfvrsn=8e020a9e_1" alt="" sf-size="2498677" />© Esteban BarreraA jaguar in the Palora-Pastaza conservation corridor.But where will wildlife migrate in the future? To answer this, Conservation International and EcoCiencia-Kolibria analyzed factors including the distance between primary forest and ease of travel, considering roads and landscapes.Protected areas are <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/what-drives-deforestation-and-how-can-we-stop-it">one of conservation’s most effective tools</a>, but by design, they can create isolated islands of healthy habitat for wildlife, Woolfson said. Corridors help bridge these gaps, linking fragmented ecosystems and providing safe routes for wildlife in search of food, mates or space.Though protected areas typically limit human activity, protected corridors are different: They're designed to support wildlife and people, allowing sustainable land use while allowing animals room to roam.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_58212197_full.jpg?sfvrsn=19d1db7_1" alt="" sf-size="2635833" />© Esteban BarreraA South American tapir in the Palora-Pastaza conservation corridor.With Sangay National Park in the Andes to the west and Indigenous territories in the Amazon to the east, establishing the protected corridor required buy-in from local and Indigenous communities whose ancestral lands it connects to, Woolfson said.Eighty-four percent of the land in the Palora-Pastaza corridor belongs to three Indigenous communities — the Shuar, Achuar and Kichwa — who along with two provincial and six municipal governments elected to include their territories in the protected corridor. Since 2023, Conservation International has worked with representatives from each group to plan and manage the corridor and ensure its long-term protection.“The forest is important to us. Our father always told us to share with other communities — show others the importance of protecting the forest,” said José Vargas, president of the Arutam Forest, a Shuar core area located within the corridor. “It makes me happy to see other nationalities participating, because unity will help us conserve nature.”Without support from these communities, establishing the corridor would have been impossible, Woolfson said. As research has <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/what-drives-deforestation-and-how-can-we-stop-it">repeatedly shown</a>, Indigenous peoples are some of the most effective stewards of the environment, and deforestation on Indigenous-managed lands is consistently lower than average.The corridor, its backers say, will directly benefit more than 2,000 people who live in the area by providing them with funding or technical assistance to shift to sustainable farming practices and livelihoods.Woolfson says that the effort is part of a larger strategy in Ecuador, where there is little remaining land in the country — about the size of the U.S. state of Nevada — to designate as protected.“Ecuador is a small country,” she said. “Even in the protected areas that we have now, a good portion is occupied by people. By targeting protected corridors, we’re maximizing protected areas’ potential, while also protecting wildlife and the livelihoods of people living there."<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_21833635_full.jpg?sfvrsn=8422caf4_1" alt="" sf-size="3677764" />©Esteban BarreraThe vast majority of the new conservation corridor belongs to three Indigenous communities. Deforestation on Indigenous-managed lands is consistently lower than average.Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>urn:uuid:45b21e20-2228-45e4-85a6-cf378a9c7ab1https://www.conservation.org/blog/a-climate-ally-needs-support-but-at-what-cost Climate ChangeBiodiversityA climate ally needs support — but at what cost?A Conservation International study finds key detail on restoring the world’s mangroves: a price tag.Thu, 03 Jul 2025 15:00:22 Z<div>For many years, mangroves were an underappreciated climate ally.Not anymore.For countries looking to meet their promised climate goals, mangroves have become an attractive investment. In just a single square mile, these coastal forests can hold as much <a href="https://www.conservation.org/stories/mangroves-facts">climate-warming carbon</a> as the annual emissions of 90,000 cars. <a href="https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2022/07/06/climate-benefits-of-coastal-wetlands-and-coral-reefs-show-why-they-merit-protection-now" target="_blank">One report</a> found that every dollar spent protecting them could yield upwards of five dollars’ worth of additional benefits, such as food security and coastal protection from extreme storms.And there’s a lot of room for growth: Since 1980, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/priorities/mangroves">35 percent</a> of the world’s mangroves have been lost to coastal development, unsustainable aquaculture and sea-level rise.But the swelling interest in mangrove restoration has raised a critical question: How much does restoring mangroves cost?That question matters because there are limited resources to go around, said Jonah Busch, a former Conservation International fellow. And without a clear answer, targeting where to get the most bang for your buck is next to impossible.In a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259033222500168X" target="_blank">new study</a>, Busch and Dane Klinger, Conservation International mangrove and aquaculture expert, unpack this question — and how to accelerate and improve restoration projects across the globe.Conservation News: Why did you do this research?Jonah Busch: Mangroves have emerged in recent years as an unsung hero of the climate and biodiversity crises. They’re extremely rich in carbon, act as nurseries for fisheries and protect coasts from storms and tsunamis.People have really woken up to their value — and as a result, there’s been a wave of restoration initiatives around the globe. This is fantastic, but now we’re entering the hard and practical work of getting this done. And one critical piece of information has been missing: How much does it cost to restore a mangrove forest?Individual projects have estimated costs in various places around the globe, but that information hadn’t been pulled together and synthesized to give a clear picture of the costs. So that’s what we did — we created a map that estimates the cost of mangrove restoration anywhere in the world based on what it’s cost others in comparable conditions. We combined this with a map of the amount of carbon mangroves in any given location will capture.Coastlines are extremely competitive places for land — think about all the pressure from the tourism and aquaculture industries, for example. With these maps, we can offer a clear picture of where a restoration project will get the best bang for its buck.What did the research find?JB: We found three key numbers: the area of mangroves that could be restored, how much carbon mangrove restoration would remove from the atmosphere, and, based on information from over 250 restoration projects, how much it would cost to do so.The amount of mangroves that the world has lost since 1996 equals about 1 million hectares — an area about the size of Jamaica. Restoring all those mangroves would pull roughly 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide — equivalent to 212 million cars driven for one year — out of the atmosphere. And the cost to accomplish that is roughly US$ 11 billion.Keep in mind that this cost is what we call implementation cost — essentially, everything associated with getting the trees in the ground and keeping them alive. It doesn’t include the costs of acquiring the land, which if needed, could up to triple the overall costs.Indonesia, Brazil and Mexico have the greatest potential for restoration at a decent price point — meaning, where the costs are lowest and the carbon capture potential is highest. Several factors determine whether the costs go up or down in a location. For example, the larger the area for restoration is, the lower the per-area costs, and the richer the country — in terms of national GDP per capita — the higher the costs. What the site was used for prior also affects the cost. If it was an aquaculture pond, for example, it’s cheaper to restore than if it was eroded land.What does this mean for mangrove restoration going forward?Dane Klinger: Put into context, this study shows that mangrove restoration is not prohibitively expensive. On average, it costs less than US$ 10,000 per hectare, that’s US$ 11 per ton of carbon kept out of the atmosphere. When you measure that against the benefits of healthy mangroves, it’s worth it.And while this study solely focuses on the carbon value of mangrove restoration, the monetary value of the biodiversity, storm protection and local livelihoods that mangroves support is enormous. One study estimated that mangroves provide <a href="https://www.oneearth.org/mangroves-and-the-cost-of-flooding/" target="_blank">US$ 65 billion annually</a> in flood protection alone.Yet globally, the resources available for mangrove restoration are currently much smaller than the need. With this research, our hope is to maximize the scarce resources for mangrove restoration by prioritizing restoration in locations where there are the greatest benefits at the least cost.Further reading: <ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/to-save-a-dying-forest-this-town-dug-in">To save a dying forest, this town dug in</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/can-shrimp-farming-restore-mangroves-this-scientist-is-making-it-happen">Can shrimp farming restore mangroves? This scientist is making it happen</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/in-ecuador-a-milestone-effort-to-protect-mangroves-and-people">In Ecuador, a ‘milestone’ effort to protect mangroves — and people</a></li></ul>Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates.</a> Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>urn:uuid:f4389ea4-a8e7-4620-87f8-4490570a3c58https://www.conservation.org/blog/new-paper-aims-to-defuse-climate-infighting Climate ChangeCan a new paper defuse climate infighting?To fix climate, all the tools need to be on the table, experts say.Thu, 26 Jun 2025 13:36:47 Z<div>How much can — or should — humanity rely on nature to help solve the climate crisis?It’s a debate that readers of this news site know well.In 2024, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/in-climate-fight-nature-vs-tech-a-false-debate">two Conservation International scientists</a> responded to a study that was dismissive of the role of forests in absorbing climate-warming carbon from the atmosphere. That study’s authors favored engineered solutions that, they contend, can permanently remove carbon pollution by using nascent technologies to capture and store it underground.<hr /><ul><li>Further reading: <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/in-climate-fight-nature-vs-tech-a-false-debate">In climate fight, ‘nature vs tech’ a false debate</a></li></ul><hr />The problem is that technological solutions are decades away from being ready at the scale needed. Trees, on the other hand, are immediately scalable, but their potential “impermanence” — one way or another, all trees eventually die — renders them unreliable for fixing humanity’s climate problem, critics say.Now, a group of experts from academia, corporations and civil society say: We need both. In a <a href="https://philpapers.org/archive/STRCDI-2.pdf" target="_blank">paper published last week</a> in the journal Climate Policy, the authors say that pitting the two carbon-removal approaches against each other will only slow progress in solving perhaps humanity’s most urgent environmental challenge.Conservation News spoke with Jason Funk, a climate expert at Conservation International and a co-author of the article, to talk about what it means and why the issue of “permanence” remains so hotly contested.Conservation News: What's the key message of this paper?Jason Funk: This paper is in many ways a response to the narrative that says if these carbon removals aren't permanent, then they're useless. We authors agreed that this is not really the case. This paper is responding to what we feel is an inaccurate or misguided narrative that says the only removals that matter are the ones that last forever, or at least a thousand years.For non-experts: ‘Permanence’ refers to how long the carbon stays locked in the tree. Eventually, all trees die some way or another, so there is some discord over what standard of permanence should be used.JF: Exactly.But true “permanence” is not a meaningful standard. Instead, we need to think about the durability of these solutions, which is a spectrum: It's not just yes or no, is it permanent or not? Rather, the question is: Is this removal going to last long enough to solve the problem we have? And that's a much different question.And in fact, permanence is a standard you can never meet, right? None of us are going to be around forever; we would need somebody a thousand years from now to tell us if it had worked, if the carbon was still there or not. And that's just not a thing we can do. So it was kind of a nonsensical way to frame it in the first place.Where did this standard come from?JF: Some of this talk is from people who have developed technologies to enable geologic sequestration (storing carbon underground), so it seems they are trying to exclude others from the solution space that they're trying to occupy. That's never been our attitude — at Conservation International, we say, “New solutions? Great! We need them all.”A pivotal moment in this conversation happened a few years ago now, in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/04/opinion/environment/climate-change-trees-carbon-removal.html" target="_blank">New York Times op-ed</a> that said, in so many words, “You can't rely on forest-based carbon reductions; the trees can burn up — so invest in my sequestration technology instead.” The argument seemed a bit self-serving to me at the time, but we weren’t prepared to push back on it, because up until that point the “Nature” and “Tech” crowds had mostly been working in harmony.In this paper, we finally got around to having a robust response to that piece, with a lot of knowledgeable scientists across the nature and tech fields in agreement about what we were saying. And what we're saying is, “permanence” is the wrong way to think about it.Explain.JF: We're saying, let's look right now at the risks (of harmful climate change impacts) and how they can be managed, and decide what we should be doing right now. What's worth investing in now as a solution? And let’s not base the decision on some far-in-the-future test that we can never meet.We also talk in the paper about complementarities — if you're looking at climate change as a problem that requires a portfolio of solutions, then it really makes sense to do both. Essentially: Let's do the nature stuff now, and if some of it ends up being non-permanent and being reversed later, then even the temporary benefit has bought us some time to develop the tech solutions, which right now are operating on a very small scale or still in development. We're saying very clearly: We're not opposed to those technologies. Sure, people should invest in that — but let's have a balanced approach.So you can ‘deploy’ nature now on an immediately huge scale while you start figuring out this technology?JF: It still takes time to deploy “nature-based solutions,” but we know how to do them, and the technology is off-the-shelf. And on the nature side, it’s fair to say there's some acknowledgement that the way we've been managing risks in the voluntary carbon market so far were blunt instruments, maybe not the best fit for the job. We learned lessons from the early approaches, and now we're in a position of having a lot more information we can use to develop more sophisticated tools.That’s exciting, and some people are piloting new approaches and building business models around them. For instance, there are carbon insurance companies now, in the way that works similarly to how we insure cars and houses and things like that. These are insurable risks, as long as you understand the risk profile of these different technologies or different activities and how they apply to decisions about planting trees today (as an example).And guess what? The timber industry has already been thinking about the risks to their trees for decades and decades. They know how risk management works for forests. And they know how to manage risk from a financial perspective. Carbon removal is the same thing — except that you're not cutting down the trees. You want them to stay! So there’s a lot of relevant knowledge out there that we just haven't fully tapped into yet.These conversations about permanence, about risk, about nature-vs.-technology — they’ve been going on for years. How does the market deal with them?JF: I have been thinking about this quite a bit lately. Because carbon is still a relatively “young” market, you’ve had the opportunity for people to take advantage of others’ ignorance about the risks. It sounds plausible to say, “That forest burned up over there, so therefore all forest carbon is at risk.” But in reality, there's a ton of data that says, “No, that's not really the case — actually, forest carbon stocks are increasing.” True, there are fluctuations over time. This is the reason why scale is the solution to this — you can insure against individual risks when you pool risk together.I’m not trying to downplay the risks. Certainly, there are instances where a forest burned up or was blown down or was converted to agriculture. The point we are making in the paper is that we can address and manage those risks, in the way we do in other, more mature markets.Let me use a farming metaphor. I've got farmers in my family, and I know that their livelihoods are at risk from weather-related events all the time. But the idea that we can't depend on farming because of the risks — well, that's disproven every day by the fact that almost all of us eat, we have milk in our fridge, we have bread in our cabinets. We rely on a production system that has risk embedded in it, but it's reliable enough that it keeps us fed and healthy — in part because it has pooled that risk.It’s not a perfect system, and we still have food security challenges to resolve. But by and large, the system works well for most of us. No one thinks, “I'm not going to be able to get food anymore because of this rainstorm or the flood or that fire over there.” We've put systems in place to help farmers — and the food system — manage those risks. We can do the same for carbon.How do things look in your world now compared with where they were five years ago?JF: Compared to five years ago, I definitely think that private-sector momentum is not going to go away, and that the companies of the world, independent of the regulations that they face, are realizing the trend of the world is that we have to hit <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/in-race-to-reach-net-zero-businesses-look-to-carbon-credits-survey-finds">net zero</a> by 2050. And the ones who want to be part of that future economy are making the changes to prepare for that trend — the majority of them seem to have embraced the idea that there's no going back.The second thing is that we see that so many countries are really doing effective things for their forests. Many developing countries are doing things that you wouldn't necessarily expect. They have a choice, right? They know they can cut down the forest and put soybeans in and sell into a pre-existing market. Or they can choose to keep these trees standing instead and get a smaller return. And in so many cases, they take the smaller return and keep the trees standing — and it's revealing to the rest of us that they care so much about their forests. Clearly there's an inherent value in these resources that they want to protect, beyond the economic value today. They see it as part of their national identity, part of their national value that goes beyond simply liquidating these assets and turning them into dollars. So that's been a profound thing for me to witness and understand.Of course, protecting forests is not always done in a way that can't be reversed. There's political risk as administrations change. We've seen some of that in the countries where Conservation International works. But I've been pleasantly surprised in many cases about how far countries are willing to go. They put a lot of effort into building out their policies and developing their own capacities. And that gives me hope.Bruno Vander Velde is the managing director of storytelling at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>urn:uuid:d471eaee-5cc5-451a-a211-6b8ffe8caa64https://www.conservation.org/blog/can-mongolia-s-oldest-traditions-survive-a-changing-climate Climate ChangeCan Mongolia’s oldest traditions survive a changing climate?For thousands of years, Mongolian nomads have herded across the country’s vast steppe grassland. But as Mongolia warms more than three times faster than the global average, their future is in question.Wed, 25 Jun 2025 13:30:20 Z<div>They were nomadic herders long before the rise of Genghis Khan.For <a href="https://www.amnh.org/explore/videos/biodiversity/takhi-mongolian-horse/horse-mongolian-culture" target="_blank">thousands of years</a>, Mongolian nomads have herded across the country’s vast steppe grassland. It’s a legacy they keep close today: Roughly <a href="https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20241101-the-changing-face-of-mongolia" target="_blank">40 percent</a> of Mongolians still herd livestock, following traditions their ancestors have honored for millennia.For these communities, adaptability is survival. Nothing is static — not the harsh weather, not the steppe and certainly not the people.But the pace of change today is no longer seasonal.Mongolia is warming more than three times faster than the global average. Between <a href="https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/709901/climate-risk-country-profile-mongolia.pdf" target="_blank">1940 and 2015</a>, average temperatures rose by 2.24 degrees Celsius (4.03 Fahrenheit). For comparison, much of the rest of the world is struggling to hold warming below the dangerous threshold of 1.5 degrees C (2.7 F). Here in central Asia, that threshold was passed long ago.The effects are unmistakable: longer droughts, vanishing water sources and a surge in brutal cold snaps known as dzuds — sudden freezes that killed more than <a href="https://apnews.com/article/mongolia-climate-dzud-livestock-weather-42192fdc8e9462d3983c37943a9969b0" target="_blank">7 million livestock</a> in 2024.But a new effort supported by Conservation International in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert — one of the harshest landscapes on Earth — is helping herders restore fragile grazing lands that have been fractured by overgrazing and climate change.<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/non-vault-images-s3/02-mng-gers-image.jpeg?sfvrsn=eea1a19d_1" alt="" sf-size="1273353" />© Jim FitzpatrickMongolian herders move with the seasons in gers — traditional felt tents also known as yurts.One of the projects is centered in the Lakes Valley, a vulnerable ecosystem in the shadow of Ikh Bogd, a 4,000-meter (13,000-foot) mountain that towers above the steppe. Here, in the Erdenet Mal Sureg community, herders still rely on traditional strategies like seasonal movement and rotational grazing to survive the extremes.With support from the start-up <a href="https://www.goodgrowth.earth/" target="_blank">Good Growth</a> and funding from Conservation International’s <a href="https://www.conservation.org/projects/regenerative-fund-for-nature">Regenerative Fund for Nature</a>, the community is pairing that deep knowledge with new tools to build resilience on a changing steppe.It starts with trust.<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/non-vault-images-s3/03-mng-father-herding-goats-2.jpeg?sfvrsn=ffaff237_1" alt="" sf-size="2162059" />© Jim FitzpatrickLocal herder, Munkhjargal, tends his flock of goats.“People don’t change how they graze because someone shows up with a satellite map of all the degradation,” said Jim Fitzpatrick, Conservation International’s lead on the project. “You have to sit down, drink tea, hear their stories. You have to understand the land the way they do."Before introducing any new tools or approaches, Good Growth has spent time walking the land with herders — mapping valleys, marking where grass no longer grows, listening. Together, they are agreeing on what needs to change and where to start.“We must ensure any long-term plan belongs to the community,” said Chultem Batbold, a scientist with Good Growth, who grew up on the steppe.  “It has to come from what the community already practices — and build on it."<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/non-vault-images-s3/06-mng-mother-goat-milking.jpeg?sfvrsn=b7ae8f4_1" alt="" sf-size="3815508" />© Jim FitzpatrickOdonchimeg, a local herder, milks goats in the pen.Mongolian herders move with the seasons, guiding their flock from summer pastures to sheltered winter grounds. These migrations aren’t random — they’re rooted in a deep, inherited understanding of the land’s natural rhythms.Through satellite monitoring, herders are beginning to receive early warnings about conditions on the ground — a pasture drying out, or the telltale signs of a dzud beginning to form. These real-time updates, shared through social media and mobile apps, could give herders a critical window to respond.And more is on the horizon. Good Growth is working to develop a system that estimates how long a pasture can support grazing before it needs rest — using satellite images, machine learning and on-the-ground checks. The aim isn’t just to react. It’s to prevent pastures from reaching that breaking point in the first place — rotating grazing areas more intentionally, while ensuring that herd sizes don’t balloon out of control.“For many families, this is all about cashmere — sometimes that’s 90 percent of their income,” Fitzpatrick said. “And when the price drops, they can feel like their only option is to raise more animals just to make up the difference."<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/non-vault-images-s3/07-mng-combed-cashmere.jpeg?sfvrsn=bfbae743_1" alt="" sf-size="3209926" />© Jim FitzpatrickCashmere drives Mongolia’s herding economy — and its environmental strain.But that survival strategy is costly for nature. Cashmere goats are especially hard on the land — stripping vegetation down to the root.“One option we’re exploring with herders is selling livestock for meat, which has a more stable price and could reduce the number of animals they need to keep,” Fitzpatrick said. “We’re also working to create markets for other fibers — like camel or yak — so families have more ways to earn a living without adding pressure on the land.”Good Growth is working with global fashion brands to do just that — building a supply chain rooted in regeneration. Herders earn better prices for higher-quality fiber, while the land gets a chance to recover.At the heart of all these efforts is balance — where economic resilience and ecological health, as well as the future and the past, are bound together.“Our way of life depends on nature, so we’ve always known we have to protect it,” said Batbold. “That’s part tradition, part belief — but at its core, it’s simple: nature is alive, and if we harm it, it will answer back."<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/non-vault-images-s3/05-mng-ger-and-goats-from-above.jpeg?sfvrsn=40b7a014_1" alt="" sf-size="5029327" />© Jim FitzpatrickMongolia’s Gobi Desert is one of the harshest regions on Earth.Will McCarry is the content director at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this?<a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe"> Sign up for email updates.</a> Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>urn:uuid:9a561111-d2c6-42de-84da-0a1c79358bdchttps://www.conservation.org/blog/new-protected-area-win-for-Amazonian-wildlife-people BiodiversityClimate ChangeNew protected area a win for Amazonian wildlife, peopleAfter more than a decade of work led by Indigenous communities, one of the most unique corners of Amazonia has been officially protected by the Peruvian government.Mon, 16 Jun 2025 14:42:03 Z<div>Editor’s note: Just days after announcing this protected area, Peru announced the establishment of another one, the Velo de la Novia regional conservation area, in the eastern state of Ucayali. Conservation International was closely involved in supporting the protected area, which conserves almost 15,000 hectares of Amazon rainforest. More details about the Velo de la Novia protected area can be found <a href="https://www.conservation.org/press-releases/2025/06/20/new-protected-area-in-peru-safeguards-wildlife-and-promotes-eco-tourism">here</a>.In Peru’s far north, rivers converge and shape parallel worlds.Here, along the Colombian border, a rush from the Andes merges with the Algodón, a meandering trickle the color of well-steeped tea. These waters feed floodplains, swamps and forests that support species found nowhere else on Earth.But for years, illegal logging and mining have threatened both the region’s unique biodiversity — including endangered species like giant otters, pink dolphins and woolly monkeys — and the lives of the Indigenous people who steward it.Now, after more than a decade of work led by Indigenous communities, this remarkable corner of Amazonia has been officially protected by the Peruvian government.With support from Conservation International, on June 6 the government established the Medio Putumayo-Algodón Regional Conservation Area, protecting 283,000 hectares (700,000 acres) — roughly four times the size of New York City.“Every hectare protected here means more space for jaguars to roam, more clean water for river otters, and more security for the Indigenous communities who depend on this forest,” said Luis Espinel, who leads Conservation International-Peru. “This would not have been possible without collaboration.”As part of the process, 16 Indigenous communities received formal legal recognition — strengthening their territorial rights and ensuring they can continue fishing the rivers, harvesting fruits and gathering medicinal plants as they have for generations. For the nearly 5,000 Indigenous people living within the new protected area, the protections not only preserve their way of life, but also open the door for future opportunities, like ecotourism.“We hope that this protected area will bring benefits to our communities,” said Gervinson Perdomo Chavez, former chief of the Indigenous Puerto Franco community. “We are going to watch over our forest so that foreign people do not enter our territory, and so we prevent the illegal extraction of wood and gold that harms us a lot.”The Medio Putumayo is the newest piece in a vast conservation mosaic that connects three existing protected areas and stretches 18,000 square kilometers (7,000 square miles) — an area roughly twice the size of Puerto Rico. These interconnected protected areas enable wildlife to travel freely — and could act as a bulwark against extinction for threatened species.But the benefits go beyond biodiversity. The new protected area contains one of the largest carbon stocks in Peru — storing the equivalent carbon emissions of 14 million cars driven for one year. Protecting the world’s carbon stocks is critical for staving off the <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/ipcc-report-countries-miss-the-mark-on-climate-action-but-nature-could-help-get-us-back-on-track">worst consequences</a> of climate change: In a recent study, Conservation International scientists found that protected forests keep an additional <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38073-9" target="_blank">10 billion metric tons of carbon</a> out of the atmosphere. That’s equivalent to one year of global fossil fuel emissions.Peru has committed to protecting 30 percent of its natural ecosystems by 2030 in line with the global <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/countries-agreed-to-protect-30-of-the-planet-now-what">“30 by 30”</a> pledge. Protecting the Medio Putumayo-Algodón is expected to prevent more than 46,000 hectares of deforestation over the next 20 years — helping the country move closer toward that goal, while keeping vast stores of carbon in the ground.“This protection gives Indigenous communities what they’ve long called for — the ability to keep this forest standing,” said Yadira Díaz, a scientist with Conservation International. “It secures one of the most unique corners of Amazonia — for the benefit of us all.”The initiative was carried out by the regional government of Loreto, Peru, the Environmental Protection Agency of Peru and local Indigenous communities, and supported by Andes Amazon Fund, Art into Acres through Re:wild, Bezos Earth Fund, Conservation International, Conservation International-Peru, the Instituto del Bien Común and the Peruvian Society of Environmental Law.Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer and Will McCarry is the content director at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>urn:uuid:72c44b1b-0912-423a-97b1-edc014969257https://www.conservation.org/blog/hawai-i-passes-landmark-green-fee-to-fight-climate-change BiodiversityClimate ChangeHawai‘i passes landmark tourist fee to fight climate changeHawai‘i lawmakers passed a groundbreaking bill that will impose a small tax on visitors in an effort to protect the islands from the growing risks of a warming planet.Tue, 27 May 2025 23:00:05 Z<div>A small fee stands to make a big impact in Hawai‘i.Hawai‘i lawmakers passed a groundbreaking bill that will impose a small tax on visitors in an effort to protect the islands from the growing risks of a warming planet.Funds generated by this “green fee,” as it is being called, will be used to invest in projects to fight climate change and stem biodiversity loss — including restoring native ecosystems such as coral reefs and native forests, and removing invasive grasses like those that fueled the deadly <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/updates-lahaina-wildfire-documentary/" target="_blank">Lahaina wildfire</a> in 2023.“When we started the journey, it really was a moonshot idea,” said Jack Kittinger, who leads regenerative economies at Conservation International. Kittinger lives in Hawai‘i and has worked to support the initiative since its inception in 2018.“As we worked on this over many years, it became more and more clear that this was necessary for our survival,” he said.With 1.4 million residents and 10 million visitors every year, Hawai‘i’s communities and infrastructure are stressed by both tourism and the growing climate emergency.“Like many island communities, Hawai‘i is at the forefront of the climate crisis,” Kittinger said. “The tragedy of the Lahaina wildfire made that apparent in the most painful way.This bill gives us an opportunity to reduce our climate risk and reshape our tourism sector.”The bill adds an additional 0.75 percent to the existing hotel tax and applies to travelers who stay in hotels and short-term rental stays. The legislation also, for the first time, applies this tax to visitors who arrive in Hawai‘i on cruise ships.The administration of Gov. Josh Green, who campaigned on the issue, estimates that the legislation will bring in <a href="https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/Testimony/SB1396_HD2_TESTIMONY_FIN_04-02-25_.PDF" target="_blank">US$ 100 million</a> annually to support biodiversity on the islands and strengthen climate resilience.Hawai‘i, known as the <a href="https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/2023/12/14/23990382/extinction-capital-hawaii-endangered-species-act" target="_blank">endangered species</a> and <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/invasive-fish-Hawaii-shoe-leather">invasive species</a> capital of the world, has long struggled to fund its environmental and conservation needs — which are amplified by the number of tourists who visit the island.Kittinger says that the idea of tourists chipping in has gained support since the idea was first introduced — including support from tourists themselves.“We polled visitors, and the vast, vast majority of people who visit Hawai‘i want to be able to give back with support of a green fee,” he said. “Islands carry unique vulnerabilities, and in Hawai‘i, where tourism is the major industry, if you do not take care of the environment, that creates a long-term vulnerability for the industry and communities alike.”Hawaiʻi’s natural wonders contribute more than <a href="https://careforainanow.org/" target="_blank">US$ 6 billion</a> to the state’s economy each year, yet only 1 percent of the state’s annual budget goes to the environment.Conservation International helped spark the initiative more than six years ago, authoring an <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.frontiersin.org%2Fjournals%2Fecology-and-evolution%2Farticles%2F10.3389%2Ffevo.2022.1036132%2Ffull&data=05%7C02%7Cmmccoy%40conservation.org%7C3b1e8e4fdc9a4c661c6708dd931acf70%7Cc4de61a999b44c6a962ebd856602e8be%7C0%7C0%7C638828465565377957%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=sGHrbXCJszWaFig10tK9aPNbgAhWT3TElShYjICEChk%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank">analysis</a> of a green fee, based on successes in other places. A <a href="https://careforainanow.org/" target="_blank">recent study</a> from Care for ʻĀina Now, a coalition of nonprofits and local businesses that has worked to pass the bill, estimates that Hawai‘i has an annual conservation funding gap of at least US$ 560 million — but could be as high as US$ 1.7 billion.“We're not going to fill a US$ 560 million a year gap with one new law,” Kittinger, a co-author of the study, said. “But if we can generate US$ 100 million, that's a consequential amount that we can amplify through other conservation finance approaches such as a green bond. We're on the doorstep of achieving that.”From COVID delays to the deadly Lahaina wildfires, the effort faced many challenges along the way, he said. Yet each of these events deepened the drive to create a resilient, regenerative economy.“We have to do things that are commensurate to the scale of the challenges we face,” Kittinger said. “This is going to give us a fighting chance.”Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>urn:uuid:9bcb77ff-7b3f-47f9-ac3f-5a8c65f9c5d8https://www.conservation.org/blog/heal-our-planet-protecting-nature-for-climate Climate ChangeHeal our planet: Protecting nature for climate"Heal our planet, protect our future”: six words driving a global movement to protect nature. Conservation International is meeting the moment in an ambitious new campaign.Thu, 01 May 2025 15:52:52 ZEditor’s note: “Heal our planet, protect our future”: six words driving a global movement to protect nature. Conservation International and our supporters are meeting the moment in an ambitious new campaign. In recognition of this campaign, Conservation News is spotlighting some of our stories and successes from around the world. <a href="https://www.conservation.org/home">Click here to make a gift and support this critical work</a>.For years, Conservation International has sounded an urgent call to humanity: We can’t prevent the worst impacts of climate change if we don’t protect nature. With climate tipping points closer than ever before, we must work swiftly to secure a sustainable future for us all. To that end, Conservation International is moving faster than ever before, partnering with countries, companies and communities to expand natural climate solutions at a larger scale. In the past year, we’ve made remarkable progress. Here are some highlights.<a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/for-climate-fighting-farms-squeeze-in-some-trees-study">For climate-fighting farms, squeeze in some trees</a>Planting crops and grazing livestock often means cutting down trees. But are forests and farms really at odds? A groundbreaking study published last year by Conservation International says no. In fact, researchers found, farmland worldwide could stash away as much planet-warming carbon as the global emissions of all cars combined — just by adding some trees. Read more <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/for-climate-fighting-farms-squeeze-in-some-trees-study">here</a>.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_74318513_full.jpg?sfvrsn=6e535620_5" alt="" sf-size="23455905" />© Tory ReadA farm using agroforestry practices in Indonesia.<a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/in-bolivia-mosaic-of-conservation-gets-another-big-piece">In Bolivia, a ‘conservation mosaic’ gets another (big) piece</a>Last year, in the remote lowland forests of northwestern Bolivia, a small town took a big step to protect one of the Amazon’s most biodiverse regions. With support from Conservation International, the municipality of Sena has legally protected 450,000 hectares (1.1 million acres) of Amazon rainforest — the most recent piece in a massive, interconnected “conservation mosaic” created largely by local municipalities and Indigenous communities that are taking forest protection into their own hands. In the past 25 years, Bolivian towns have protected 10 million contiguous hectares (25 million acres) of the Amazon — an area nearly the size of Iceland. Read more <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/in-bolivia-mosaic-of-conservation-gets-another-big-piece">here</a>.<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/vault-images-s3/ci_44642503_full.jpg?sfvrsn=a877b572_1" alt="" sf-size="2562176" />© Gabriela Villanueva"Piece by piece, we are knitting together the fabric of conservation in the Amazon,” said Conservation International-Bolivia Vice President Eduardo Forno.<a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/amid-seismic-change-race-is-on-to-revive-earth-s-third-pole">Race is on to revive Earth’s ‘third pole’</a>The Eastern Himalayas — home to <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/new-conservation-effort-seeks-1-billion-for-eastern-himalayas#:~:text=This%20interconnected%20ecosystem%20of%20lands,percent%20of%20the%20world's%20biodiversity.">12 percent</a> of the world’s biodiversity and 1 billion people — is one of the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/20/asia/himalayan-glaciers-melt-climate-scn-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank">fastest-warming places</a> on Earth due to climate change. As glaciers recede and monsoon seasons shift, some rivers are drying up while others face more <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/28/world/asia/nepal-floods.html" target="_blank">frequent and severe floods</a>, all while the region’s forests continue to be chipped away. For the people who live in and around the world’s “third pole” — so-called because of the vast amount of ice stored in these mountains — these recent changes threaten farms, fisheries and access to clean water. Against this backdrop comes “Mountains to Mangroves,” a massive initiative led by Conservation International to accelerate conservation across some of the most rugged and mountainous regions on Earth.Find out more <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/amid-seismic-change-race-is-on-to-revive-earth-s-third-pole">here</a>.<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/vault-images-s3/ci_11207369.jpg?sfvrsn=a6e47061_9" alt="" sf-size="39982" />© Abhimanu Chehri Mist shrouds the mountains of West Bengal, India.urn:uuid:89ea56ee-cd43-4fce-9dc2-23a7db304a13https://www.conservation.org/blog/news-spotlight-got-climate-anxiety-write-a-letter-to-the-future Climate ChangeNews spotlight: Got climate anxiety? Write a letter to the futurePenning a message can ease fears, promote action, recent research indicates.Tue, 29 Apr 2025 17:26:44 Z<div>If you’re feeling a bit of climate doom — and who isn’t these days — a recent column in The Washington Post could offer some relief.Research suggests that writing letters to the future “may be one of the most powerful ways to inspire support for climate action — and among the few to work across the political divide,” Michael J. Coren <a href="https://wapo.st/3GuWVWN" target="_blank">writes in The Washington Post</a>.Coren chronicles the experience of Trisha Shrum, a PhD student who about a decade ago found herself writing a letter to her daughter in the future as a way to help herself grapple with climate dread. Something clicked.Inspired by her experience, she changed her PhD dissertation to find out if others could be similarly inspired — and, Coren writes, “help social scientists crack the code on what inspires people to take climate action”:To test her theories, Shrum asked nearly 2,000 people from all 50 states to write either an essay or letter to a family member in the future about the risks of climate change. A third control group wrote about their daily routines. Participants could then donate any amount from a potential $20 bonus to a tree-planting charity focused on global warming.The results, published in the peer-reviewed journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-021-03002-6" target="_blank">Climatic Change in 2021</a>, and supported in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272494423001226" target="_blank">follow-up experiments</a>, showed that while writing about climate risk didn’t change anyone’s perception of climate risk, it did change their willingness to act on it. Donations among letter and essay writers increased 11 percent relative to the control group, a relatively large effect in social sciences.Now, Shrum leads a nonprofit called <a href="https://www.deartomorrow.org/" target="_blank">DearTomorrow</a>, which has inspired thousands to create letters, poems and illustrations aimed at dealing with their anxiety and motivating them to take action.Environmentalists and eco-conscious people have long struggled with the weight of climate change and environmental destruction. Many prominent conservationists have acknowledged that it can be difficult to stay optimistic — and that, echoing Shrum, anxiety can be a powerful impulse to act.“I think that today’s current drive in environmentalism is really out of a sense of real despair — particularly among young people, because those young people will have to deal with the worst,” said Conservation International CEO M. Sanjayan, in a 2019 interview with C-SPAN. “The opportunities for doing something about [the problem] are rapidly shrinking.”While it’s difficult to stay optimistic, Sanjayan says, it’s imperative to not give in to despair.“Of course, there are times I feel despair, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/articles/q-a-dr-m-sanjayan-discusses-how-he-stays-optimistic-about-our-climate-future-our-role-in-climate-change-and-more" target="_blank">he told PBS</a> in 2023. “But despair did not eradicate the scourge of smallpox, and it did not develop a coronavirus vaccine in mere months. Despair did not build railroads that span entire continents, or harness electricity from the wind, the sun, and the water. Hope, ingenuity, and perseverance did those things. We know exactly what we need to do — the only thing that can hold us back is ourselves.Read more <a href="https://wapo.st/3GuWVWN" target="_blank">here</a>.Bruno Vander Velde is the managing director of storytelling at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>urn:uuid:e32e3a5e-752b-46cb-8df1-44a138f4ac07https://www.conservation.org/blog/news-spotlight-report-warns-of-growing-human-toll-as-planet-warms Climate ChangeNews spotlight: Report warns of growing human toll as planet warmsLast year was the hottest on record — sparking major climate disasters across the globe that left a trail of destruction, including lost lives, destroyed infrastructure and decimated crops.Mon, 31 Mar 2025 14:57:34 Z<div>Last year was the <a href="https://wmo.int/news/media-centre/wmo-confirms-2024-warmest-year-record-about-155degc-above-pre-industrial-level" target="_blank">hottest</a> on record — sparking major climate disasters across the globe.More than 150 “unprecedented” heatwaves, floods and storms left a trail of destruction that included lost lives, destroyed infrastructure and decimated crops, Damian Carrington reported for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/19/unprecedented-climate-disasters-extreme-weather-un-report" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.A record 800,000 people were displaced and left without a home as a result — the highest annual amount since record-keeping began in 2008, according to a report released by the UN’s <a href="https://wmo.int/publication-series/state-of-global-climate-2024" target="_blank">World Meteorological Organization (WMO)</a>.The report adds to a growing amount of evidence of an accelerating climate crisis. As global carbon emissions <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/13/no-sign-of-promised-fossil-fuel-transition-as-emissions-hit-new-high" target="_blank">persistently climb</a>, 10 of the hottest years on record have occurred in the past decade.WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo called the report a “wake-up call” to the increasing risks to lives, economies and the planet, the Guardian reported.“In response, WMO and the global community are intensifying efforts to strengthen early warning systems and climate services to help society be more resilient to extreme weather,” she said.According to Conservation International <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/as-climate-crisis-accelerates-who-bears-the-brunt">research</a>, the impacts of extreme weather are very unevenly distributed — in large part because of the lack of early warning systems and other needed resources.Although some developed and developing countries face a similar number of events, there are significant disparities in the impacts of those events, said Camila Donatti, the study’s lead author and a Conservation International expert on climate change adaptation.“People living in developing countries are suffering far more from the effects of climate change,” she told Conservation News last year. “It’s not because they face a greater number of extreme events — it’s because they have fewer resources to prevent or recover from them.”On average, about 45 percent of Africans are affected by climate disasters each year, compared to just 3 percent of Europeans, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420924002504?via%3Dihub" target="_blank">according to the study</a>.“Disasters like floods and wildfires can come almost out of nowhere if you don’t have warning systems in place,” Donatti said. “That’s what’s happening in many developing countries. They don’t know what’s coming, which can make it difficult — if not impossible — to evacuate.”To make matters worse, many of the people affected are dealing with repeat disasters, Donatti said.“The people most impacted by climate change are the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/11/12/climate/cop26-emissions-compensation.html" target="_blank">least responsible</a> for it,” she said. “Yet there continues to be a huge gap in the resources they are able to access to implement climate adaptation measures.”While there is an urgent need for global action to address this resource gap, nature is a proven ally in helping to reduce the worst impacts of the climate crisis.In <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/5/3/42" target="_blank">Nepal</a>, for example, protecting rainforests has helped prevent mudslides. In <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328964292_Local_Ecological_Knowledge_on_Climate_Change_and_Ecosystem-Based_Adaptation_Strategies_Promote_Resilience_in_the_Middle_Zambezi_Biosphere_Reserve_Zimbabwe" target="_blank">Kenya</a>, implementing sustainable livestock grazing practices has reduced soil erosion from droughts. And in the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340935249_Perceived_Ecosystem_Services_Towards_The_Conservation_Of_Agusan_Marsh_Wildlife_Sanctuary_In_Mindanao_Philippines" target="_blank">Philippines</a> protecting mangroves and marshes has decreased flooding from storms and sea-level rise.“We like to call nature-based solutions ‘no-regret options,’” Donatti said. “They’re often cheaper, effective and already available.”Further reading: <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/as-climate-crisis-accelerates-who-bears-the-brunt">As climate crisis accelerates, who bears the brunt?</a>Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>urn:uuid:41b39632-f7d2-49de-8b2d-831d1306e792https://www.conservation.org/blog/we-re-just-trying-to-adapt-coffee-farmers-face-down-climate-change Climate Change‘We’re just trying to adapt’: Coffee farmers face down climate changeFor one of the world’s most important crops, a project supported by Conservation International is grounds for optimism.Thu, 27 Mar 2025 13:14:42 ZSAN MARTIN JILOTEPEQUE, Guatemala — José Marcelino Estrada has spent his life tending coffee. He learned from his father how to nurture its seedlings — each sprout held the promise of a better future.And for decades, coffee delivered.It built Estrada’s home and put his seven children through school, even in lean years when he couldn’t pay for transportation and carried harvests to market on his back.“Land is life. For me, earth is a treasure,” he said, standing among coffee trees on his southern Guatemala farm. “I want to leave something for those who come after me, so my children can continue to live off the land.”<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/vault-images-s3/ci_11001170_full.jpg?sfvrsn=ec702dde_1" alt="" sf-size="1906972" />© Vanessa BauzaJosé Marcelino Estrada, a small coffee farm owner in Guatemala, has worked to make his farm more climate resilient in hopes of passing it on to his children. But climate change threatens to upend his livelihood and his legacy.For generations, farmers in Guatemala’s coffee-growing highlands have relied on nature’s steady rhythms to guide their planting and harvesting. Now, rains that once arrived like clockwork are increasingly erratic. Temperatures are rising. And punishing dry spells are punctuated by torrential downpours, disrupting the delicate timing needed for coffee to flower and bear fruit.Warmer, wetter conditions have also unleashed outbreaks of coffee leaf rust, a fungal disease that <a href="https://fews.net/latin-america-and-caribbean/special-report/may-2016" target="_blank">wiped out coffee farms</a> across Central America a decade ago, causing more than <a href="https://worldcoffeeresearch.org/news/2016/world-coffee-research-publishes-manual-for-coffee-leaf-rust" target="_blank">US$ 3 billion</a> in damages and leaving nearly <a href="https://worldcoffeeresearch.org/news/2016/world-coffee-research-publishes-manual-for-coffee-leaf-rust" target="_blank">2 million coffee workers</a> without a job.In a quest to combat coffee rust (la roya in Spanish), a <a href="https://www.conservation.org/stories/starbucks-100-million-trees-initiative" target="_blank">Starbucks 100 million trees</a> initiative supported by Conservation International has delivered climate-resilient coffee seedlings to more than 40,000 farmers across Guatemala, Mexico and El Salvador — and is now nearing its goal of donating 100 million trees in those three countries. At the heart of this effort is the Marsellesa, a hardy arabica varietal developed by scientists in France and Nicaragua to withstand a warming climate.Around the world, farmers are experimenting with new strategies to stay ahead of climate impacts, but few crops are as vulnerable to climate change as coffee. As growers rethink how — and even where — they cultivate their beans, the program is one in a series of innovations and adaptations aimed at blunting future climate threats.“No one has a playbook for how to deal with climate change; farmers are just trying to stay one step ahead of it,” said Raina Lang, who leads Conservation International’s coffee program. “They’re trying different strategies — from planting climate-resilient varieties, to reintroducing traditional methods of controlling rain and soil erosion.”In Central America, where coffee is deeply woven into the economy and cultural identity, the stakes are profound.<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/vault-images-s3/ci_18188436_full.jpg?sfvrsn=69c1110a_1" alt="" sf-size="1270792" />© Vanessa BauzaA coffee worker weighs and bags coffee beans. Production has dropped in recent years as warmer and wetter conditions reduce the areas suitable for growing arabica coffee. <h2>Seeds of hope</h2>For Estrada, there’s little choice but to persevere. While he and his brother inherited his father’s land, he wanted a farm of his own to pass on to his children.Several years ago, he bought 10 hectares (25 acres) of cattle pasture in the hills outside his hometown. The land was little more than dust and grass. Some might have written it off as barren; Estrada saw potential.He poured himself into restoring it, loosening the compacted soil, enriching it with compost and planting shade trees. The Starbucks program supplied nearly 34,000 Marsellesa trees over seven years, cutting Estrada’s planting costs in half and helping his farm get up and running.<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/vault-images-s3/ci_27173524-(2)-copy-2.jpg?sfvrsn=5900dec7_1" alt="" sf-size="5402858" />© StarbucksA Guatemalan nursery grows Marsellesa trees, a climate-resilient arabica variety bred to resist the coffee rust fungus.Now, neat rows of Marsellesa trees stretch across his farm’s gentle slopes, their branches studded with clusters of ripe, red coffee cherries. Native oak and cedars create a protective canopy alongside banana trees, which Estrada planted for food and extra income.“Here is our future,” he said, surveying his work. “I know that with it, we will always put food on the table. That’s what it represents. It’s like an insurance policy."It’s not just Estrada’s future that is at stake.With more than 2 billion cups consumed daily, coffee is the world’s most traded agricultural commodity. In Central America alone, the sector directly employs <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.775716/full?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank">more than 1.2 million people</a>.But by 2050, rising temperatures could <a href="https://www.iadb.org/en/story/most-unexpected-effect-climate-change" target="_blank">shrink the global area </a>suitable for growing coffee by half. And at least <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aav3473" target="_blank">60 percent</a> of all coffee species — including arabica, the most popular bean — are at risk of going extinct in the wild due to climate change, deforestation and disease.“We could see a big shift in where coffee is grown, which could affect everything from the way it tastes, to how much can be produced and what ecosystems will be impacted, to who benefits from it,” Lang said.Coffee rust, which attacks older trees, exacerbates these impacts — the blight is both a symptom of climate change and a driver of future losses, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajae.12441" target="_blank">increasing deforestation</a> by forcing farmers to clear trees at higher altitudes to plant coffee.“Planting new, climate-resilient trees like the Marsellesa helps farmers renovate their farms, which is one of the best ways to keep farms healthy and productive,” Lang added. “It also protects forests by helping farmers stay within their existing footprints rather than expanding into new areas.”To qualify for the program, farmers must adhere to an <a href="https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/sourcing/coffee/" target="_blank">ethical sourcing program</a> developed by Starbucks and Conservation International to promote sustainable farming, fair wages and environmental protection. Upon deciding to enter the program, farmers agree not to plant donated coffee trees in forested areas, maintain existing native shade trees, and adopt practices that protect the soil and minimize erosion.Each year, Lang travels to Central America to visit dozens of coffee farms of all sizes, ensuring that healthy seedlings have arrived, program safeguards are upheld and mature Marsellesa trees are thriving. She also listens to farmers' feedback on the program.“Given the large-scale nature of this program, annual visits provide a moment of reflection to ensure it continues to fulfill its purpose,” she said. “Hearing from farmers on the challenges they are facing, and how these new seedlings are impacting production — and their families’ lives — not only helps us adjust the current program but informs future programs that support climate adaptation.”<h2>A forest that grows coffee</h2>At La Pastoria, a sprawling 633-hectare (1,564-acre) farm in southeastern Guatemala, operations manager Carlos Virula López guides Lang on a tour to check on the Marsellesa trees. La Pastoria received 200,000 hybrid seedlings last year — a game-changer that allowed the farm to replace old trees that were susceptible to coffee rust twice as quickly as planned.Enroute to the coffee grove, Virula López winds through tidy fields of mango trees in a muscular 4x4 golf cart. Rooted in sunbaked soil, the trees are planted in precise rows like lines on a ruled page — an efficient and orderly monoculture.By contrast, the terraced coffee grove feels alive. Fragrant cedar, sturdy oak and nitrogen-fixing Inga trees form a layered canopy, providing a wind break and the perfect amount of shade for coffee. Beneath their cover, the ground is soft and dark, blanketed with decomposing leaves that enrich the soil with nutrients.This shaded microclimate sustains more than just coffee. Virula López estimates the farm is home to about 80 species, including armadillos, agoutis, deer, toucans, owls and hawks. Workers keep a log, noting every new sighting.<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/vault-images-s3/ci_99248288_full.jpg?sfvrsn=39727455_1" alt="" sf-size="4381261" />© Vanessa BauzaCarlos Virula López, operations manager at a coffee farm in Guatemala, was able to replace old trees that were susceptible to coffee rust with Marsellesa trees thanks to Starbucks' 100 million trees initiative.“This is not a plantation, it’s a forest that produces coffee,” he said. “It contributes to the environment and to reducing the carbon footprint. What we want here on the farm is to protect our natural resources."Even with the infusion of new trees provided by the Starbucks 100 million trees initiative, keeping farms running requires a daily commitment, Virula López said.Despite <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/business/coffee-prices-climate-change.html" target="_blank">record coffee prices</a> on the global market, large farms like this one — and the forests they sustain — are being sold off as climate change and a persistent labor shortage make it increasingly difficult to keep them running. Their lands are being carved up into housing lots or divided into smaller parcels for hardier crops better suited to the changing conditions.“Some people no longer want to continue, because they believe it doesn’t give them what they want — profitability,” Virula López said. For ecosystems like this one to endure, “you have to truly care about the coffee. You have to love it, in the good times and the bad.”“Maintaining the environment, the flora and fauna, is not just for my generation,” he added. “It’s for the generations to come.”<h2>Old ways, new tools</h2>In lush, coffee-growing regions of Central America, when yields fall or prices fluctuate, entire communities feel the effects. In El Salvador, coffee used to drive the economy, making up <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/oct/03/el-salvador-coffee-producers-war-migration-climate-disease-construction-deforestation#:~:text=El%20Salvador%20no%20longer%20exports,producing%20more%20high%2Dquality%20coffee." target="_blank">40 percent</a> of export earnings in the 1990s. But over the past two decades, production has<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/oct/03/el-salvador-coffee-producers-war-migration-climate-disease-construction-deforestation#:~:text=El%20Salvador%20no%20longer%20exports,producing%20more%20high%2Dquality%20coffee." target="_blank"> dropped by more than half.</a>“When there is no production, there is no money to work the fields,” said José Contreras, an agronomist with the Salvadoran coffee export firm UNEX. “It’s not the same to have 20 people employed year-round as it is to have those same people employed only half the year — workers’ earnings are directly affected. And it’s hard for producers to pay for renovating farms on their own. That’s why programs like the one with Starbucks are so important.“All the plots, as long as they’re well-maintained, respond well. So this directly impacts production.”At the Aguas Calientes farm, tucked into the lush hills of central El Salvador, manager Danilo Jiménez said last year brought the biggest changes yet in weather patterns. After months of drought, heavy rains carved gullies into his coffee terraces, eroding soil and threatening to uproot trees. Jiménez turned to a local elder for advice.“‘Look,’ he told me, ‘why don’t you dig pits in the ground, in a zigzag pattern down the hill? It will catch the water and keep the soil from washing away,’” Jiménez recalled.<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/vault-images-s3/ci_88595835_full.jpg?sfvrsn=44eeaa5d_1" alt="" sf-size="1445428" />© Vanessa BauzaIn a quest to adapt to climate change, Salvadoran farm manager Danilo Jiménez has turned to new and old techniques.Jiménez followed the advice. He invested in digging the pits and added native Izote trees with deep taproots to stabilize the soil. The results were undeniable: less erosion, healthier trees and a more resilient farm.For Jiménez, climate adaptation means blending ancient methods with modern innovations, like the Marsellesa hybrids now bearing fruit in Aguas Calientes’ fields.“I would be lying if I said there’s an exact formula for what to do — there isn’t,” he said. “We’re just trying to adapt to what we’re living, day by day.”As climate change reshapes coffee-growing landscapes across the globe, Jiménez says it’s this fusion of tradition and science that may offer the best chance for survival — and success.“There has to be a balance, a symbiosis, between the old and the new,” he said. “That’s what we’re doing — using old cultivation practices with new varieties. Both approaches go hand in hand. It’s not just one or the other; there has to be a combination of the two.”Vanessa Bauzá is the senior communications director at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>. urn:uuid:220d1aa0-4c74-4308-bf72-07f34f5ce31ahttps://www.conservation.org/blog/climate-change-charts-a-dangerous-course-for-the-worlds-largest-fish OceansClimate ChangeClimate change charts a dangerous course for the world's largest fishA Conservation International scientist shares what can be done to prevent an ‘outright alarming’ future for whale sharks.Wed, 20 Nov 2024 16:38:59 ZWarmer oceans are putting two giants of the sea on a collision course. Even at the size of a school bus, whale sharks — the world’s largest fish — are no match for cargo ships in busy shipping lanes: When the two collide, the sharks always lose.And unfortunately, climate change will make deadly encounters more common, according to a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-024-02129-5#:~:text=Climate%2Ddriven%20global%20redistribution%20of,from%20shipping%20%7C%20Nature%20Climate%20Change" target="_blank">new study</a>.“Whale sharks' risk of being struck by these massive ships could increase dramatically if fossil fuel use continues to run wild — driving climate change and making our oceans <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01573-1">hotter than ever</a>,” said Conservation International marine biologist Mark Erdmann, a co-author of the study. “We already know these collisions are likely behind many whale shark deaths — these new findings are outright alarming for the future of the species.”Researchers used <a href="https://www.conservation.org/projects/whale-shark-tracker">satellite data</a> to track 348 whale sharks over 15 years. They then overlaid the sharks’ movements with global climate models and shipping routes to predict whether the gentle giants’ search for cooler waters would lead to more or fewer collisions.The study, published in Nature Climate Change, found that in every future climate scenario, the risk of fatal collisions rises: If greenhouse gas emissions surge unabated, that risk could increase by up to 43 percent by 2100. <img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/non-vault-images-s3/20230320-084309_dsc03229.jpg?sfvrsn=edef8f34_3" alt="" sf-size="62911583" />© Mark Erdmann The reasons behind whale sharks' dramatic decline stumped researchers for years.  Whale sharks are among the marine species <a href="https://www.scrippsnews.com/science-and-tech/animals-and-insects/climate-change-threatens-endangered-whale-sharks" target="_blank">most vulnerable</a> to climate change. They are currently found in tropical to temperate waters, but their range is expected to shift up to 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) toward the North and South Poles as they seek cooler waters. The study identified coastal areas near the western United States, Sierra Leone and the eastern China Sea as future collision hotspots, as whale sharks are likely to migrate to those waters — which are also some of the world’s busiest shipping routes. The study’s results offer other insights into whale sharks, whose populations have struggled in recent decades. Erdmann said the findings are helping scientists piece together what’s behind their decline — and what the future may hold for this endangered species. <h2>Where did all the whale sharks go? </h2>Over the past 75 years, whale shark populations have declined by more than <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/19488/2365291">50 percent</a>. Overfishing, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s, is largely to blame. Whale sharks were prized for their meat in some Asian countries, even nicknamed “<a href="https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Rhincodon_typus/" target="_blank">tofu shark</a>” because of their spongy white flesh. Yet by the early 2000s, many countries recognized whale sharks’ economic value in generating <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2012/02/07/whale-sharks#:~:text=Whale%20shark%20(Rhincodon%20typus)&text=In%20regions%20where%20whale%20sharks,%2447.5%20million%20worldwide%20each%20year.">ecotourism</a>, prompting many places to crack down on unsustainable fishing and create explicit protections for whale sharks. One study found that whale shark tourism in Ningaloo, Western Australia, was worth US$ 19 million per year, while another study valued whale shark tourism to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, at US$ 14 million annually. Today, whale sharks are protected in nearly every country within their range. Yet despite decades of protection, their populations continue to decline. “Scientists were scratching their heads wondering what the heck was going on,” Erdmann said. “That’s when we began to suspect that something more insidious was going on that we weren’t seeing.” A breakthrough came in 2022, when a <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2117440119">study</a> from Erdmann and his colleagues confirmed what other scientists had begun to suspect: Whale sharks were regularly crossing paths with ships — with deadly results. That study found a 92 percent overlap between whale shark routes and shipping lanes. It revealed that a quarter of the whale sharks tracked by satellites stopped transmitting signals when they entered the busiest shipping areas. “Satellite tags would be happily pinging on whale sharks — then they would swim into a shipping lane and suddenly they’re gone,” Erdmann said. “Those ships move at high speeds and can be the size of a football field. It’s likely they’re mowing over whale sharks without even knowing it.” Though collisions happen with other species, such as whales and dolphins, whale sharks are uniquely vulnerable, he said: They’re slow and they like to linger near the surface to feed on plankton.<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/non-vault-images-s3/20230319-080848_dsc01613.jpg?sfvrsn=52f79855_3" alt="" sf-size="35046385" />© Mark Erdmann Slow moving and surface feeders, whale sharks are uniquely vulnerable to collisions with large ships.<h2>A clear solution </h2>Thankfully, Erdmann said, there is a clear solution to the problem — and it’s already helping protect endangered whale species: Slow down. “If we can get industrial ships to slow down in areas with a high risk for collisions, we can make a big difference,” he said. “And we already have a template. It’s been done to protect whales for many years.” For example, in the United States, all vessels 65 feet or longer are required to slow down in some locations along the East Coast during certain times of year to lower the risk of collisions with the endangered <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/endangered-species-conservation/reducing-vessel-strikes-north-atlantic-right-whales#:~:text=PDF%2C%201197%20pages)-,Current%20Vessel%20Speed%20Restrictions,speed%20zone%2C%20and%20vessel%20type.">North Atlantic right whale</a>. The 2022 study found that restricting speeds to less than 10 knots (19 kilometers per hour) reduced the likelihood of whale shark fatalities by more than 50 percent. Researchers hope the findings from both studies will help enact similar policies to protect whale sharks, Erdmann said. Countries have the power to enforce speed limits in designated areas of their waters, Erdmann said. And in some cases, adjusting the location of the shipping lane by 10-15 kilometers (6-9 miles) could significantly reduce collisions. “This study is further proof that climate change can make human-caused problems even worse for wildlife,” he said. “We have the data and the tools to change the outcome. Now, we must act."<hr />Further reading:<ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/new-study-dives-into-whats-killing-the-worlds-largest-fish-and-more">New study dives into what's killing the world's largest fish</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/deep-dive-new-findings-from-our-whale-shark-watchers">Deep dive: New findings from our whale shark watchers</a></li></ul><hr />Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.urn:uuid:674ebca0-ca3c-4f10-8628-dc9d66c4d43bhttps://www.conservation.org/blog/can-tree-farms-save-a-forest-brazil-about-to-find-out BiodiversityClimate ChangeCan tree farms save a forest? Brazil is about to find outIn Brazil's s Mato Grosso do Sul, native species are reclaiming thousands of acres once heavily grazed by cattle. A bold initiative aims to protect and restore nature to an area twice the size of Manhattan — and find new ways to pay for it.Mon, 20 Nov 2023 14:50:42 ZEditor’s note: In April 2025, after this story was published, the project described in this story won Environmental Finance’s 2025 award for Sustainability-Linked Loan of the Year, in recognition of the project’s innovative financing model and its environmental outcomes. Conservation International was one of three implementing organizations honored. More details about the award can be found <a href="https://www.morningstar.com/news/business-wire/20250413867436/btg-pactual-tig-conservation-international-and-international-finance-corporation-win-environmental-finances-2025-sustainability-linked-loan-of-the-year" target="_blank">here</a>.<a href="https://www.conservation.org/pt/blog/as-fazendas-de-silvicultura-podem-salvar-uma-floresta-o-brasil-est%C3%A1-prestes-a-descobrir">Read this story in Portuguese here</a>.MATO GROSSO DO SUL, Brazil — On a blistering day in late August, Will Turner gazed across a dusty road, red as Mars, into the fringe of a dense forest — its canopy alive with the hum of insects and chattering birds. This forest in southern Brazil is an oasis — a remnant of a nearly forgotten ecosystem in a region now dominated by degraded cattle pastures.Behind him, on the opposite side of the road, lay something entirely different — a sea of eucalyptus, recently planted and already four feet tall. These trees, remarkable in their uniformity, are clones. Decades of tinkering have resulted in an intensively managed crop that supplies the world with an essential and sustainable source of wood.But nature has made its choice perfectly clear: Among the eucalyptus there are no insect chirps or bird songs — only silence. Yet the fate of these two distinct landscapes, the forest and the tree farm, are intertwined. What was an enormous tract of degraded pastureland just a few months ago is being rapidly transformed into tree farms and more than 2,000 hectares of newly restored natural forest.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_96492827.jpg?sfvrsn=f8a8e436_5" alt="" />© Flavio FornerIn a landscape dominated by degraded cattle pasture, nature clings for survival in small, fragmented groves.This is “Project Alpha.” Located in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, it aims to protect and restore nature to an area roughly twice the size of Manhattan — and find new ways to pay for it. Designed by <a href="https://timberlandinvestmentgroup.com/" target="_blank">BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG)</a> with help from Conservation International, the project has brought together two groups often seen as natural adversaries: conservationists and timber operators.“It’s easy to form a snap judgment about planting non-native plantations anywhere outside their range, like eucalyptus from Australia,” said Turner, a scientist at Conservation International. “But snap judgment isn’t how we’re going to solve climate change and save biodiversity. We need to test what really works. This is a very serious commitment to improve the way we manage nature within private properties.”And this property is just the beginning. Over the next five years, TIG plans to secure US$ 1 billion from investors to plant, conserve and restore nearly 275,000 hectares (741,000 acres) of degraded land in Brazil, Uruguay and Chile. In doing so, they plan to capture some 32 million metric tons of climate-warming carbon over a 15-year period, the equivalent of taking 470,000 cars off the road.Half of the land acquired by TIG will be protected or restored back to its natural state and set aside for conservation, while the other half will be planted with commercial species, like eucalyptus. Not merely a trade-off, where commercial activities fund conservation, the plan represents a unified system where restoring nature provides added value to investors through the sale of carbon credits, while <a href="https://fsc.org/en" target="_blank">sustainably certified timber</a> revenue helps fund ongoing monitoring and protection of the native forest.“We’re standing on the line balancing economic production and environmental protection,” Turner said, gesturing down the middle of the road. “It’s a balancing act that could lead to positive outcomes for people and nature in this region — if we can get it right.”<h2>The cost of restoration</h2>The road to Project Alpha from Campo Grande winds northward through hundreds of miles of degraded cattle pasture. Erosion furrows the land, carving deep channels through red earth, the pasture’s vitality withered under the weight of overuse.It didn’t always look this way.Half a century ago, southwestern Brazil was a mosaic of closed-canopy forests, open savanna-like woodlands, vast grasslands and wetlands. This region, known as the Cerrado, boasts remarkable biodiversity, harboring <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/places/cerrado" target="_blank">5 percent of the world’s species</a>, including over 1,600 mammals, birds and reptiles, along with over 10,000 plant species — nearly half of which are unique to this region.“Many assume the Amazon rainforest is Brazil’s most threatened ecosystem, but in reality the Cerrado is even more threatened,” said Rachel Biderman, who leads Conservation International’s work in the Americas. “While <a href="https://www.maaproject.org/2022/amazon-tipping-point/" target="_blank">the Amazon has lost roughly 13 percent</a> of its area, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378112720316443" target="_blank">Cerrado’s total size has been halved</a>.”<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/img_2337.jpg?sfvrsn=b787337d_5" alt="" />© Will TurnerA giant anteater lopes along the forest’s edge, passing through a field of withered Brachiaria grass.Substantial portions of the Cerrado have been replaced with Brachiaria, an exotic African grass introduced for cattle grazing. And while Brachiaria has helped Brazil become the world’s leading beef producer, years of overgrazing have degraded the country’s land at a scale that’s difficult to comprehend: By some estimates, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/brachiaria" target="_blank">60 million hectares of Brazil’s Brachiaria pastures are suffering</a> from some degree of degradation — an area nearly half the size of neighboring Peru.“Very few crops will grow in this soil,” Biderman said. “And because of that, almost no one is willing to making investments to return this area to cropland — it’s just too expensive.”But restoring this degraded land back to the Cerrado is even pricier.In recent years, an avalanche of <a href="https://www.greenbiz.com/article/tree-planting-101-what-corporations-need-know" target="_blank">well-intentioned marketing campaigns</a> has popularized the idea that forest restoration can be achieved for as little as <a href="https://www.earthday.org/campaign/the-canopy-project/" target="_blank">US$ 1 per tree</a>, sometimes less.Restoration <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320719301934" target="_blank">requires</a> operating across an entire landscape and over decades: planting the right trees in the right place, working with local communities, monitoring conditions to ensure saplings survive. And then there’s the matter of conserving restored forests. The actual costs can amount to <a href="https://trilliontrees.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Trillion-Trees_Defining-the-real-cost-of-restoring-forests.pdf" target="_blank">thousands of dollars per hectare</a>.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/59edaf46-aeaa-4dc2-80f0-42091cc75d41.jpg?sfvrsn=7b431f01_5" alt="" />© Tatiana SouzaWill Turner listens as TIG’s Márcio Conceição and Mark Wishnie explain the eucalyptus planting process.The high cost of restoration reflects a broader challenge: There is nowhere near enough money available from traditional sources — governments, multilaterals and philanthropy — to <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/net-zero-coalition#:~:text=To%20keep%20global%20warming%20to,reach%20net%20zero%20by%202050." target="_blank">restore nature at the speed and scale needed</a> to make a dent in climate change.Climate scientists have demonstrated that <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/what-are-natural-climate-solutions" target="_blank">at least 30 percent of humanity’s climate targets can be met</a> by protecting and restoring nature — but meeting the target means restoring 200 million hectares (500 million acres) within the next seven years. That’s a monumental scale — roughly the area of all the timberland in the United States.But a surprising solution is on the horizon — one that could inject US$ 1 billion toward this goal.<h2>Speed and scale</h2>A year after the Timberland Investment Group — owned by the <a href="https://www.btgpactual.com/us/" target="_blank">biggest investment bank in Latin America</a> — acquired the land for Project Alpha, this severely degraded expanse of cattle pasture is now poised to include the largest Cerrado restoration project in history.The restoration area extends from an existing patch of Cerrado forest and follows the swale of the watershed. Here, the woodland is naturally regenerating, its canopy closing in as native species gradually reclaim the land. The vegetation is tenacious, with blooming layers peeking through yellowing Brachiaria grass, which still dominates the broader landscape.According to Brazilian law, private landowners in the Cerrado must set aside 20 percent of their property as a natural ecosystem. TIG, however, has committed to restoring and protecting 50 percent of the project area, thus opening up an additional revenue stream to fund the project and deliver greater impact, at scale: the sale of carbon credits.Carbon credits result from initiatives that remove or prevent greenhouse gas emissions and can be purchased by companies to strengthen their climate impact and balance out emissions in other areas. Polluters in developed countries can buy and trade credits, the idea goes, with the revenue being paid to landowners in developing countries as an incentive to regrow their forests and leave them standing.In June 2024, TIG announced a milestone for the project: they will provide Microsoft with 8 million nature-based carbon credits — <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/microsoft-buy-8-million-carbon-credits-btg-pactual-largest-ever-sale-2024-06-18/" target="_blank">the largest carbon dioxide removal deal of all time</a>.TIG aims to generate carbon credits from both the tree farm and the restoration effort.“The tree farm is able to help pay for the restoration because it’s really a reciprocal relationship,” said <a href="https://timberlandinvestmentgroup.com/about/mark-wishnie/" target="_blank">Mark Wishnie</a>, chief sustainability officer and head of impact investment at TIG. “An offset from a tree farm — which is eventually harvested and replanted — has a lower monetary value compared to one from restoration. Therefore, the inclusion of Cerrado restoration boosts the quality and quantity of carbon capture and storage in the project, making the carbon credits more valuable.”“Over the years, we’ve successfully executed hundreds of thousands of acres of reforestation projects,” Wishnie said. “That means that our operations are well understood and, therefore, investable by large institutional investors. We can get much more finance to restoration by combining it with timber production than we would on its own.”<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/1cb99977-2be8-44e7-86c0-37ae68e2cbbd.jpg?sfvrsn=c8d26f00_7" alt="" />© Will TurnerEucalyptus saplings can reach up to 70 feet in height in as little as seven years.Under legal agreements with those investors, TIG has a limited period in which to invest this money — meaning they are motivated to operate at a speed and scale that wouldn’t be possible with a restoration-only project.And now, they are putting their money where their mouth is. In degraded soil where so little else will grow, the eucalyptus is thriving — growing faster and taller here than in its native <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/forestsaustralia/australias-forests/profiles/eucalypt-2019" target="_blank">Australia</a>. This is the result of decades of purposeful cultivation, involving the careful selection of trees to ensure uniformity, rapid growth and outstanding wood quality.In just four months, TIG has put 1.9 million eucalyptus seedlings in the ground.The process is an assembly line of precision, with workers spread across the landscape, depositing identical saplings at exact intervals. By month two, the trees reach the height of a toddler; by six, a full-grown adult. In seven years, they’ll be ready to cut and then replanted — though TIG operates on a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0961953422002690" target="_blank">long-rotation growing cycle</a>, waiting up to 15 years to harvest them. Those extra years add up to a larger tree, which is not only a more versatile product, but one that stores more carbon — both while it’s alive and after it has been cut.“The extended growth period leads to larger logs suitable for solid wood products like furniture, which continue to store carbon for much longer than if we cut the trees earlier and used them for paper products,” Wishnie said.“This is bigger than generating carbon credits for us — we consider the entire production process part of the climate solution.”<h2>The return of the Cerrado</h2>Under a waning afternoon sun, Miguel Moraes watched the ongoing work at Project Alpha through the window of a truck.As a Conservation International plant ecologist, he has worked for the last 10 years to design restoration projects in Brazil — and is ensuring TIG’s work follows <a target="_blank" href="https://www.conservation.org/docs/default-source/publication-pdfs/policy_brief_natural_regeneration.pdf?sfvrsn=a15e9ca6_2">conservation science</a>.“We’re playing it extra safe to make sure we protect the upper areas of the watershed,” Moraes said, pointing toward a corridor of rapidly regenerating Cerrado. “By law, this river must have a 30-meter buffer of natural vegetation on either side, to prevent run-off. Instead, we’re putting in 200-meter buffers on each side, 400 meters from end to end — four football fields.”<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_75050909.jpg?sfvrsn=f0ba74fa_5" alt="" />© Flavio FornerThe restoration area is designed to keep the river free of contaminants and create a safe corridor for wildlife.This protected passage not only controls the sediment flow — keeping the river clear of contaminants — but creates a wildlife corridor between the forest and a state-protected reserve. And the wildlife is making a swift return to the area, with sightings of maned wolves, javelinas, giant anteaters, rheas, seriemas, and at least one elusive puma patrolling the forest.Consensus on how to restore, and where, has emerged through debate and discussion among Moraes, Wishnie — who started his career as a forest restoration scientist at the Smithsonian Institution — and other project leads. All acknowledge that Project Alpha is an experiment — one that will evolve over the 15 years it is expected to require to bring back this overlooked ecosystem.“You know, I would typically hesitate to advocate for natural regeneration as the primary method for Cerrado restoration,” Moraes said, leaning back in the car’s front seat to address Wishnie. “But this is really compelling — the rapid resurgence of vegetation is remarkable.”“Yeah, it can certainly be a part of it, right?” Wishnie replied. “When I first visited this property, I was thrilled because this isn’t a sight you come across everywhere. Nature is undeniably reclaiming this land.”“But we still have to deal with the Brachiaria,” Moraes added.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/img_2336.jpg?sfvrsn=195bad04_7" alt="" />© Will TurnerProject Alpha has become a haven for wildlife like Seriemas, a striking bird native to the Cerrado.Many of Moraes and Wishnie’s discussions center on this challenge. They have spent hours excitedly discussing a range of options to outsmart the grass — from cattle grazing to herbicides. Eliminating the Brachiaria infestation is crucial not only because it’s a non-native species but because it exerts an <a href="https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/care/weeds-and-invasive-plants/allelopathy.html" target="_blank">allelopathic</a> effect, inhibiting the germination of other species. It’s possible that seeds from native plants may be dormant in the ground, unable to bloom until the grass is eliminated.In addition to battling the Brachiaria, TIG has initiated a range of monitoring programs to closely track the property’s conditions. These include biannual wildlife camera traps during the dry and wet seasons, water quality measurements, soil sampling for a carbon assessment and ongoing efforts to launch bioacoustic monitoring — placing microphones to listen for wildlife.“Sometimes people will initiate a project and discuss monitoring as if it’s a future task,” Conservation International’s Will Turner said. “But here they’ve got monitoring programs already running and built into the budget before commencing the project.”TIG is also working to understand the living conditions for local people in the region — assessing their access to public transportation, health care, education and even cellphone service. Matto Grosso do Sul is a massive state — around the size of Germany — but has a relatively small population of 2.7 million people, with approximately 1 million residing in the capital, Campo Grande. Beyond the urban centers, communities primarily rely on cattle herding to make a living. Understanding the communities and their relationship with the land is critical to ensure that both the tree farm and restoration efforts benefit the people in the surrounding region.While only a few families live near the property, Moraes said he doesn’t rule out the possibility of other communities using the forest. The neighboring forest is home to the Quilombola, an Afro-descendant community of former slaves who resisted the centuries-long slavery regime in Brazil.“These communities might be using the area for seed collecting and other uses,” Moraes said. He points to the potential for developing a conservation agreement with Indigenous or local communities using the forest — enabling them to share in the benefits of the project, while preserving their traditional way of life.<h2>The future of forestry</h2>As dusk settles in, the truck follows the road to leave the property, flanked on one side by the regenerating Cerrado and on the other by the eucalyptus tree farm.“It’s natural that people should be skeptical and ask why — why do we need to plant eucalyptus trees on this old pasture?” Wishnie said, motioning toward the tree farm. “Why can’t we just restore forests?”“When most people see a field of corn or soy or wheat, they intuitively recognize the necessity of converting land into exotic monocultures to feed the population. However, a tree farm often evokes a more emotional response because the demand for these materials appears less immediate and less intertwined with our daily lives.”<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/img_2339.jpg?sfvrsn=4260d2e4_5" alt="" />© Will TurnerA rhea, a flightless bird known as the South American ostrich, moves through the stands of eucalyptus.But the world is using more wood than ever before. In the past 30 years, the <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/research-topics/forests/forest-economics/forest-economic-research/global-outlook-for-wood-markets" target="_blank">global trade of wood products increased 143 percent</a>, with no signs of slowing down. Meeting this demand will require new sources of sustainably grown wood.“Eucalyptus presents a viable alternative,” said Conservation International’s Biderman. “In Brazil, the alternative is wood illegally sourced from the Amazon rainforest. Today, we can no longer afford the luxury of prolonged debate. Eucalyptus does indeed have a role to play, when it’s grown responsibly.”To that end, the collaboration between Conservation International and TIG may offer a blueprint for how sustainable businesses can become integral to the conservation of nature.“We don’t claim this to be a universal solution,” Wishnie said. “But our commitment lies in making it succeed here. And we’ll never know what’s possible unless we take that step and give it a try.”Will McCarry is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.urn:uuid:18174a4e-fa1a-4c1d-8ba0-b3cc00f90676https://www.conservation.org/blog/news-spotlight-humanity-barreling-toward-irreversible-climate-tipping-points Climate ChangeNews spotlight: Humanity barreling toward ‘irreversible’ climate tipping pointsIn case you missed it: A new study suggests that the consequences of crossing critical climate thresholds could be more severe than previously thought — including the collapse of polar ice sheets and death of coral reefs.Thu, 22 Sep 2022 19:46:54 ZEditor's note: News about conservation and the environment is made every day, but some of it can fly under the radar. In a recurring feature, Conservation News shares a recent news story that you should know about.Our world is 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than it was at the dawn of the second Industrial Revolution. And without a rapid decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, the odds of exceeding the critical 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) threshold within the next five years are roughly 50/50.A new <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn7950" target="_blank">study</a> suggests that the consequences of crossing those limits could be more severe than previously thought — including the irreversible breakdown of foundational Earth systems, <a href="https://twitter.com/henryfountain" target="_blank">Henry Fountain</a> reported for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/08/climate/global-warming-climate-tipping-point.html?smid=tw-share" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.The study’s authors, including Johan Rockström, Conservation International’s chief scientist, assessed the risk of 16 different climate “tipping points” — events that, if triggered, could set in motion a self-perpetuating cycle of environmental collapse. Their research, published in <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn7950" target="_blank">Science</a>, identified three such tipping points that become likely at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming.<hr /><ul><li>Further reading: <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/in-new-film-top-scientists-urge-action-to-avoid-earths-tipping-point">In new film, top scientists urge action to avoid Earth’s ‘tipping point’</a></li></ul><hr />First, enormous ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica could collapse. As these structures lose mass to melting, they also lose height, which means the surface is exposed to warmer, lower-lying air. Shrinking, in essence, begets more shrinking. Losing this much ice would translate to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/antarctic-ice-shelves-are-shattering-how-fast-will-seas-rise" target="_blank">multi-foot sea-level rise</a> around the world.Second, Arctic permafrost would rapidly thaw. These frozen soils and sediments store more than <a href="https://climate.mit.edu/explainers/permafrost" target="_blank">1,000 gigatons of carbon</a> — equivalent to a century of human emissions at current levels. Thawing would release this gas back into the atmosphere, accelerating atmospheric warming. Moreover, the loss of reflective ice would <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50381328" target="_blank">increase the amount of solar radiation</a> absorbed by Arctic landmasses, further hastening melting.Third, coral reefs, which support <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/rising-sea-surface-temperatures-driving-loss-14-percent-corals-2009" target="_blank">a quarter</a> of the world’s marine species, could face mass bleaching. When corals are exposed to sufficiently warm waters, they expel the symbiotic microbes that keep them alive. The loss of coral cover would have disastrous effects on marine food webs, potentially jeopardizing <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/rising-sea-surface-temperatures-driving-loss-14-percent-corals-2009" target="_blank">hundreds of millions of people</a> around the world who depend on them for food, livelihoods and storm protection.Authors identified even greater risks at 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), including the rapid loss of mountain glaciers that feed into freshwater rivers, as well as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/08/05/change-ocean-collapse-atlantic-meridional/" target="_blank">the collapse of deep-sea systems</a> in the North Atlantic that regulate weather in Europe. These tipping points, if triggered, would be catastrophic for climate, biodiversity and human well-being. Researchers could not rule out the possibility that some of these processes are already underway.“Every tenth of a degree counts,” Rockström told The New York Times.When the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015, 196 countries committed to limiting global warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and “preferably” lower. To achieve those targets, Rockström <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aah3443" target="_blank">found</a> that humanity must cut fossil fuel emissions in half every decade. Presently, few countries are on track to achieve this, and estimates <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04553-z.epdf?sharing_token=BF5JASg-KCochcGpsujCTdRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0M300RSN_AgLPC24xTg-EsjBHT--C2URS0u7zmcqcM_N6COE7KwhXTOCC7QyC226wLsFKGqUfbWPcVf0v2MEX9BY12mKTUrA1Xfs4pATBkvP8dkL5o95_appfrMsSoKOuiGZDlGDFJyHhhjqhHwQF6CycuUR97UYetICGLsMqyACjdUMvXbP6HD8TjMR6DzFZ4%3D&tracking_referrer=abcnews.go.com" target="_blank">suggest</a> that existing climate policies could result in net warming of 2.6 degrees Celsius (4.7 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100.In November, world leaders will gather in Egypt for the United Nations climate conference, known as COP27. Last year, negotiators overcame years of stalemate to agree on rules for international carbon trading. Delegates will now turn to implementation of the Paris Agreement — and experts expect negotiations will be <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-21/un-leaders-skip-past-climate-change-focus-just-weeks-before-cop27?sref=9yJg7hIn" target="_blank">complicated</a> by ongoing energy shortages, even as the effects of climate change become increasingly visible.“This report by Johan Rockström and colleagues is a sobering reminder that +1.5 degrees Celsius is not a prescription, it is a threshold — the point at which the fabric of life starts to come apart at the seams,” <a href="https://twitter.com/msanjayan/status/1569370736749338630?s=20&t=vDQy3-t-BRDsY9-3YKuvvg" target="_blank">wrote</a> Conservation International CEO M. Sanjayan. “We cannot afford gridlock at COP27: It’s time to fully deliver on the Paris Agreement.” Read the full article <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/08/climate/global-warming-climate-tipping-point.html?smid=tw-share" target="_blank">here</a>.Matthew Ribel is the executive writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.urn:uuid:97168180-7c85-4acd-ad21-01fc2d3e5b85https://www.conservation.org/blog/that-un-climate-report-wasnt-all-bad-news ScienceClimate ChangeThat UN climate report wasn’t all bad newsThe recent IPCC climate report was bleak, but there are silver linings. Our expert weighs in.Thu, 07 Apr 2022 18:29:19 Z<div>So — there was another climate report? Yes. Specifically, the “<a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/" target="_blank">Working Group III contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report of the IPCC</a>.” Trips right off the tongue, doesn’t it?</div><div>Not at all. Remind me who the ‘IPCC’ is?</div><div>The <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/" target="_blank">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a>, a body of the United Nations. Thousands of scientists contribute to their reports. Collectively, the IPCC is the global science nerd authority on climate change. </div><div>So why are there so many of these reports?</div><div>Because climate change is a BIG topic. Different groups of scientists contribute their research and expertise on various climate-related topics. This latest report is about how we are performing in mitigating climate change, and what we can do to up our game.</div><div>OK. I saw <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/ipcc-report-countries-miss-the-mark-on-climate-action-but-nature-could-help-get-us-back-on-track">some news</a> about it. What did it say? </div><div>It said plenty of things, but the news that you may have seen was that humanity is not on track to keep climate change within the 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) “safe zone” — and that to change course to get there, well, we’re just about out of time. <hr /></div><div>FURTHER READING:<ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/ipcc-report-countries-miss-the-mark-on-climate-action-but-nature-could-help-get-us-back-on-track">Countries miss the mark on climate action</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/stories/ipcc-reports-on-climate-change">What exactly is an “IPCC report”?</a></li></ul><hr /></div><div>What I read makes it sound like we’re all doomed. </div><div>That’s understandable — the gloom was on full display in the news and social media. One prominent climate activist called the report “<a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateHuman/status/1511005207764738056" target="_blank">absolutely harrowing</a>.” One scientist reported having a “<a href="https://twitter.com/ssteingraber1/status/1511012870548561920" target="_blank">full-blown panic attack</a>” during the IPCC’s press conference. And the UN Secretary General himself — with almost artless candor — took aim at world leaders, calling the report a “<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-un-report-governments-business-lying-efforts/" target="_blank">file of shame</a>” full of “empty promises.”</div><div>Sheesh. That’s really depressing! </div><div>You’re not alone in feeling that way. </div><div>“Yeah, it is definitely depressing,” says Bronson Griscom, a climate scientist at Conservation International who contributed to the latest IPCC report. “We have not been anywhere close to the trajectory we needed to be on.” </div><div>“And guess what? We’re still not. Not only are countries not achieving their commitments to the Paris Agreement — even if they were, those commitments aren’t even sufficient to solve our problem.” </div><div>Great … now I feel even worse.</div><div>Sorry. There’s no sense in denying the gravity of the problem, though.</div><div>I’m not denying it. I accept that climate change is happening. It just makes me sad.</div><div>Yes, it is saddening. And it’s actually really important to acknowledge our feelings about it. As we wrote a few years back, climate change can elicit “a kind of dread that makes you just want to stop thinking about it.” So, it’s commendable that you’re confronting these feelings. </div><div>And now that that’s out of the way, we can start talking about more exciting stuff.</div><div>‘Exciting stuff’?</div><div>“It’s high time we get past the denial stage of accepting depressing news,” Griscom says. “Once we work through that, that’s where we get to the exciting side of the story.”</div><div>That — once you get past the legitimately terrible news — is what this new IPCC report gets at.</div><div>All right, I’m listening. What else does the report say?</div><div>The report affirms something we’ve long known: that nature remains among the most effective (and cost-effective!) climate solutions. </div><div>And <a href="https://www.conservation.org/stories/ipcc-reports-on-climate-change">the report</a> also reaches a new level of consensus on the numbers, and the set of actions we can take. </div><div>Like what?</div><div>One graph in the report lists 43 different options for cutting greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030 — options in the energy sector, transport, land use, industry and more. If all the actions are taken to the extent possible, the report indicates, we would reverse the climate crisis — and likely stabilize well below 2C (3.7F) of warming, beyond which life on Earth starts to get ugly. </div><div>Here’s that graphic, by the way: <img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/graphics.jpg?sfvrsn=1c1a6635_3" alt="" sf-size="219118" /></div><div>What it shows is that three actions — reducing the destruction of forests and other ecosystems; restoring those ecosystems; and improving the management of working lands, such as farms — are among the top five most effective strategies for cutting carbon pollution. Simply not cutting down forests is the second-most effective action we can take to curb emissions (scaling up solar energy is No. 1, in case you were wondering). </div><div>That’s good, I guess? </div><div>Are you kidding? It’s extremely heartening. This says that not only is large-scale protection and restoration of nature an option that we can still take, but if we do it, we will see a major effect on our climate. </div><div>And the benefits wouldn’t stop there. </div><div>What do you mean?</div><div>Because protecting nature comes with a whole host of side effects. Look no further than the Sustainable Development Goals. </div><div>What are those?</div><div>The <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals" target="_blank">Sustainable Development Goals</a> (SDGs) are a series of 17 global goals established in 2015 to essentially make the world a better and more just place. They cover things like reducing poverty, hunger and inequality; improving education, health and access to clean water, and so on. </div><div>As it happens, protecting and restoring nature is necessary to achieve most of the SDGs, a <a href="https://ecoevorxiv.org/593q7/" target="_blank">2021 study by Conservation International found</a>. In other words, nature conservation can directly and materially improve the lives of billions of people around the world.</div><div>“When we protect and restore nature to stabilize our climate, we’re also supporting <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/new-map-pinpoints-where-people-depend-on-nature-the-most">communities that rely on nature daily</a>,” Griscom says. “This is critical because those communities are disproportionately impacted by climate change, yet bear the least responsibility for it. So there’s a justice aspect to all this.”</div><div>“If we do this,” he says, “we are not just solving an emerging problem actually can make the world a lot better than it is.”</div><div>I didn’t know that. </div><div>Not surprising — it’s not getting talked about a lot! That is, unless you listen to our scientists, who are pretty excited at the possibilities in spite of the gloomy nature of this work: </div><div>“It’s just really exciting that scientifically speaking, there are all kinds of these ‘win-win’ alignments between the SDGs, which are about social justice and development, and climate solutions,” Griscom says. “Leaning into climate mitigation will actually deliver a bunch of additional benefits that will help make a healthier and more just world for all. It’s really freaking exciting.” </div><div>(Can you tell he’s excited?)</div><div>Indeed. So — how do we do this, then? How do we protect nature on a big enough scale?</div><div>Whoa. We don’t have time to go too deep into that. But the most effective methods of nature conservation — that is, methods that you can scale up and replicate elsewhere — generally include: </div><div><ol><li>Create and expand protected areas (e.g. national parks) — and <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/protected-areas-see-recent-rise-in-legal-rollbacks-study">don’t roll them back</a>.</li><li>Support Indigenous peoples to have their traditional lands legally titled to them — there are no better stewards of healthy high-carbon ecosystems, and <a href="https://www.cifor.org/knowledge/publication/3461/?pub=3461&pub=3461" target="_blank">here’s why</a>. (Oh, also — it’s their land anyway.) </li><li>Support farmers, ranchers and loggers with incentives, training and regulations to better manage their lands. Most of these land stewards want to do the right thing, but they need help doing it.</li><li>Demonstrate the <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/what-on-earth-is-natural-capital" target="_blank">value of the benefits that nature provides</a>, thus encouraging people to take better care of it.</li><li>Make <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/a-scientists-view-critics-of-carbon-markets-miss-the-mark">carbon markets </a>work better to protect forests, which can reduce carbon that is emitted elsewhere. </li></ol></div><div>Carbon markets, as in offsets? I’ve heard about those. </div><div>Yes, we’ve <a href="https://www.conservation.org/projects/what-are-carbon-credits" target="_blank">talked </a><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/new-report-on-carbon-markets-what-you-need-to-know">about</a> <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/forest-carbon-credits-worse-than-nothing-theres-more-to-this-story">those </a><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/a-scientists-view-critics-of-carbon-markets-miss-the-mark">before</a>. Carbon offsets are one mechanism that can move quickly to reduce — and, ultimately, remove — carbon from the atmosphere, something that the IPCC report says we need to do as soon as possible. </div><div>I think I know how offsets work, but maybe you can remind me.</div><div>Sure. Forests absorb climate-warming carbon from the atmosphere — carbon that humans have been dumping into the air at an ever-faster pace. The idea behind offsets is that by paying to protect forests, you can help to balance out carbon emissions made somewhere else. </div><div>Got it. But not in a way that allows people to just keep polluting, right?</div><div>Precisely — done right, offsets make emissions reductions this decade much less expensive.  </div><div>“We’re not going to stop flying airplanes,” Griscom says. “We all know people are still going to fly. We all know that there is not an electric airplane available. So: How do you deal with that? You deploy things that are feasible and that we can actually afford, such as asking folks who fly to pay for restoration of ecosystems to remove more carbon than the airplanes emit.” </div><div>I read that some people are really against offsets.</div><div>“People need to get over their puritanical hang-ups with offsetting,” Griscom says. “Are we going to develop some massive machine that sucks carbon out of the air in a way that anyone can afford? I hope so. But guess what? We don’t have one of those right now,” he says. “But we do have trees now. The largest and only mature form of carbon dioxide removal is nature. This is clear in the IPCC report.”</div><div>So speaking of things we can afford: How much is all this nature protection going to cost? </div><div>We’re glad you asked: The report finds that protecting nature to help limit global warming to less than 2°C (3.6°F) would cost up to US$ 400 billion a year by 2050.</div><div>That seems like a lot of money. </div><div>It’s not, really. </div><div>But won’t that, like, hurt the economy?</div><div>On the contrary, it will <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-action-economic-benefit-study-finds/" target="_blank">help the economy</a>, because climate change will cost more if we stand by and do nothing. And besides, as Griscom points out, it’s less than the current subsidies provided to agriculture and forestry — many of which are pushing farmers, ranchers and loggers in the wrong direction. </div><div>In any case, it’s a case of pay up now, or pay more later: “Overall, the global economic benefits of limiting warming to 2°C likely exceed the mitigation costs,” Griscom says. “And that’s not even factoring in loads of economic benefits of protecting and restoring nature, like clean water, flood control and healthy fisheries.”</div><div>Wait — you said earlier that the ‘safe zone’ was 1.5C, and now we’re talking about 2C. Does that mean that 1.5C is not going to happen? </div><div>Let’s bring in the scientist for this one.</div><div>“In 1968, if you had asked me if we would get to the moon, I would have said, no freaking way,” Griscom says. “And we got to the moon.” </div><div>“Is it reasonable to predict changing society to get to 1.5 based on the way things are going now? People would say no, it seems kind of crazy. But do I think that societies can transform at the rate required to get there? Yes!” </div><div>So … can we do this?</div><div>As a species, our backs are up against the wall, Griscom says: “If we don’t turn the corner in this decade, it will be physically impossible to do later.” </div><div>“It will require a major transformation of society,” he says. “We’ve reached a critical point in the conversation … this report is not speaking politely — it’s shaking us by the collar. And when a bunch of nerds start shouting, it’s time to listen, take a deep breath and act.” </div><div>“It’s game time. We need to do everything we can, right now.”</div><div>Bronson Griscom is the senior director of natural climate solutions at Conservation International. Bruno Vander Velde is the managing director of content at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? Sign up for email updates <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">here.</a> Donate to Conservation International <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">here</a>.Cover image: Sunrise in Peru (© Benjamin Drummond)</div>urn:uuid:73b81eec-c885-4e10-a3fc-d49fd5bb1a13https://www.conservation.org/blog/these-ecosystems-could-determine-our-climate-future-study ScienceClimate ChangeThese ecosystems could determine our climate future: studyNature’s stashes of climate-warming carbon is packed into a small percentage of Earth’s lands, finds a new study that pinpoints the ecosystems humanity must protect to avert a climate disaster.Thu, 18 Nov 2021 16:32:05 Z<div>Nature’s stashes of climate-warming carbon are packed into a small percentage of Earth’s lands, finds a new study that pinpoints the ecosystems humanity must protect to avert a climate disaster. The study, published today in the<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-021-00803-6" target="_blank"> journal Nature Sustainability</a>, found that half of Earth’s  “irrecoverable carbon” — defined as carbon that, if emitted into the atmosphere, could not be restored by 2050 — is located in just 3.3 percent of Earth’s land area. The carbon in these reserves is equivalent to 15 times the global fossil fuel emissions released in 2020.Most of this carbon is found in peatlands, mangroves and old-growth forests across six continents, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.conservation.org/projects/irrecoverable-carbon">study found</a>. Were these ecosystems to be degraded or destroyed due to human activity, their carbon would be emitted into the atmosphere, effectively preventing humanity from limiting global warming to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit), the benchmark for a “safe” climate set by the 2015 Paris Agreement. </div><div>Last year, the study’s authors introduced the concept of irrecoverable carbon in a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-0738-8.epdf?author_access_token=poj3Fn4fkhP7_SK-yFKaTNRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0OGVcM5jAVKvW5GyId6F2q0ve6uY5HlQ2nGzEyTtPTSUIuTOykc5x3bM9HdnsqyTZdAL_YY02dyngC4HUYA6LeqaLA-r26jCXCx1eABw5d_FQ%3D%3D" target="_blank">groundbreaking paper</a>; this new research takes their findings a step further by mapping exactly where this carbon is located around the world — and providing policymakers with the clearest view yet on the areas that most need to be protected. </div><div>Released just days after the UN climate talks (COP26), the study is well-timed for helping countries ensure that they can meet the climate commitments made in Glasgow.</div><div>“We are at a pivotal moment for climate action — the science and the solutions are here, and so is the urgency,” said Monica Noon, a scientist at Conservation International and the study’s lead author.</div><div>Small investments, big returns </div><div>As world leaders rally around a common goal to<a href="https://www.hacfornatureandpeople.org/home" target="_blank"> protect 30 percent of the planet by 2030</a>, the new irrecoverable carbon map could help governments focus their efforts on the ecosystems that are critical to maintaining a stable climate, Noon says.</div><div>The good news: Nearly a quarter of the world’s irrecoverable carbon is already located within protected areas.</div><div>Even better: Increasing the amount of land under protection in key areas by just 5.4 percent would keep a whopping 75 percent of Earth’s irrecoverable carbon from being released into the atmosphere, according to the study.  </div><div>Many of the world’s irrecoverable carbon reserves overlap with places containing high concentrations of biodiversity, which would also benefit from stronger protections. </div><div>“Our research shows that protecting a relatively small portion of land can secure the majority of irrecoverable carbon,” Noon said. “Mobilizing resources to conserve these areas can have huge returns for the climate, biodiversity and human well-being. Governments need to be strategic when creating new protected areas, while also strengthening legal protections in existing ones.” </div><div><h3>Where is the world’s irrecoverable carbon?  </h3></div><div><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/ic-map-with-border.jpg?sfvrsn=80c9cd39_2" alt="IC map with border" sf-size="14708499" /><div>Scientists used the latest data — including an analysis of more than 10,000 forest carbon samples — to understand how soil and biomass can recover greenhouse gases after changes in land use.</div><div>They found that irrecoverable carbon spans six of the seven continents, including vast stores in the Amazon, the Congo Basin, the islands of Southeast Asia, Northwestern North America, Southern Chile, Southeastern Australia and New Zealand.</div><div>THE AMAZON RAINFOREST</div><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/amazon-map-border.jpg?sfvrsn=e6173f9d_2" alt="Amazon map-border" sf-size="677975" /><div>The Amazon is home to 30 million people, including 350 Indigenous and ethnic groups. This rainforest provides habitat for <a href="https://www.conservation.org/places/amazonia">one in 10 known species</a> on the planet and produces nearly a quarter of the world’s freshwater.</div><div>It also stores more than 20 percent of all irrecoverable carbon within its trees and soil — more than any other region on Earth. </div><div>“Old-growth forests in the Amazon are an extremely high-carbon ecosystems because they’ve been able to sequester carbon over decades or even centuries — and they grow all year round,” said Juan Carlos Ledezma, a Conservation International technical specialist for the Americas programs and co-author on the study.</div><div>Some of the Amazon’s largest irrecoverable carbon reserves are located in the Igapó — seasonally flooded forests along the banks of the Amazon River. For up to six months each year, these forests are submerged under several meters of water, which traps carbon in the soil, where it can build up over time. </div><div>The problem: A surge in deforestation in recent years is pushing the Amazon closer to a<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/05/amazon-near-tipping-point-of-switching-from-rainforest-to-savannah-study" target="_blank"> tipping point</a> after which it will lose the ability to generate rainfall, gradually transforming into a dry savanna. </div><div>Roughly 15 percent of the Amazon has been deforested so far; the tipping point could occur if a quarter of the forest is lost. At current deforestation rates, that could happen in 10 to 15 years, scientists predict. </div><div>“Increased deforestation will accelerate climate change, fueling higher temperatures and lower humidity in the Amazon. This could dry up this rainforest — and release the carbon it holds,” Ledezma explained. “Additionally, dry forests are more likely to catch fire, which would release even more carbon. It’s a dangerous feedback loop, which we must avoid.”</div><div>NIGER DELTA MANGROVES </div><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/niger_delta.jpg?sfvrsn=a46d47f5_2" alt="Niger_Delta" sf-size="2547429" /><div>Africa’s Niger Delta boasts the most contiguous stretch of mangroves in the world, rich with wildlife and marine species. However, the real treasure is buried deep in the soil of these swamps. </div><div>“A lot of the muck in mangrove forests hasn’t seen the light of day in decades or even centuries. If left undisturbed, the carbon in soil sediments is locked in,” says Conservation International scientist Allie Goldstein, a co-author of the paper. “Mangroves only cover a fraction of Earth’s surface, but what they lack in quantity, they make up for in quality — holding the highest density of irrecoverable carbon of any other ecosystem.” </div><div>In the Niger Delta alone, 240 million tons of irrecoverable carbon lie within the dense tangle of trees and soil that make up this coastal forest. Along with these climate benefits, mangroves provide crucial habitats for marine species and can act as a buffer for coastal communities, protecting them from storm surges and rising sea levels. </div><div>Despite their importance, mangroves along the Niger Delta face mounting pressure from the extractive industry, which exports <a href="https://www.cfr.org/blog/primer-nigerias-oil-bunkering" target="_blank">1.41 million barrels of oil</a> from this region each day. In addition to deforestation from the rigs, camps, roads and other infrastructure related to extractive production, oil frequently spills into the mangrove forest, polluting the coastlines and harming the trees.</div><div>PAPUA NEW GUINEA PEATLANDS</div><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/papuanewguinea_ic.jpg?sfvrsn=f6cc5ec0_2" alt="PapuaNewGuinea_IC" sf-size="2158198" /> <div>Located in the southwest Pacific, Papua New Guinea holds 3.9 billion metric tons of irrecoverable carbon — making it a “wall-to-wall carbon reserve,” according to Noon. </div><div>“The majority of the country’s carbon is stored in its peatlands,” she says. “These wetland ecosystems are made up of decaying waterlogged plants that have accumulated carbon over centuries.” </div><div>Globally, peatlands contain more than 39 billion metric tons of irrecoverable carbon, which is built up and locked away in soils. However, just like the flooded forests of the Amazon, these wetlands are extremely vulnerable to changes in moisture. </div><div>“Peatlands are climate superstars, but they face a variety of threats that could release the carbon they have stored,” Noon says. “In most cases, peatlands are either drained to transform the land into fertile farming area for oil palm production or extracted as a source of fuel.” </div><div><h3>How do we protect irrecoverable carbon? </h3></div><div>At least 4 billion metric tons of irrecoverable carbon have been lost due to disturbances such as agriculture or wildfires over the past decade — and <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/data-and-research/global-tree-cover-loss-data-2020/" target="_blank">deforestation rates continue to rise</a> worldwide. </div><div>In addition to creating new protected areas, it is essential to recognize the land rights of Indigenous peoples, Noon says. </div><div>“Globally, Indigenous peoples <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/comments?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0245110" target="_blank">are proven</a> to be some of the best stewards of nature; their lands show less species decline and pollution, and more well-managed resources,” she says. “Strengthening Indigenous land rights is a critical step toward protecting the world’s ecosystems and the carbon they store.”</div><div>Currently, 47 billion metric tons of irrecoverable carbon — more than a third of the total — are located within government-recognized lands of Indigenous peoples and local communities. The authors say that there is likely even more irrecoverable carbon located on Indigenous and community lands without legal status.</div><div>However, being located on Indigenous lands does not always guarantee that irrecoverable carbon is conserved, Ledezma says. </div><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/iplc-map.jpg?sfvrsn=5cd9b51a_2" alt="IPLC map" sf-size="405982" /><div><h6>Map based on Indigenous peoples' and local communities’ lands that are formally recognized by national governments. Areas lacking data do not necessarily indicate the absence of Indigenous peoples and local communities. </h6></div><div>“In the Amazon alone, <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/nearly-half-the-amazons-intact-forest-on-indigenous-held-lands-report/" target="_blank">nearly half of intact forests</a> are located within Indigenous territories, making Indigenous peoples crucial partners in the effort to protect irrecoverable carbon,” he says. </div><div>“However, many communities lack the resources and incentives they need to fend off the pressure to turn forests into farms or mining areas. Governments must provide more support for Indigenous communities, strengthen the legal recognition of their lands and formally recognize the crucial role Indigenous peoples play in helping to fight climate change.” </div><div>And expanding protection for lands with high concentrations of irrecoverable carbon, as well as supporting Indigenous and community-led conservation measures, is crucial for countries to meet their climate and biodiversity goals, Goldstein adds.</div><div>“This is a rare scenario in which we have time to prevent environmental disaster before it happens,” she said. </div><div>“This is our generation’s carbon to save, and how we choose to move forward as a global community will determine our climate fate."</div><div> <div>Kiley Price is the staff writer and news editor at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates.</a> <a href="https://www.conservation.org/donate">Donate to Conservation International.</a></div>Cover image: The Amazon (© Johnny Lye)<hr />Further reading: <ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/study-protect-these-places-or-face-climate-doom">Study: Protect these places — or face climate doom</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/why-indigenous-rights-matter">Why Indigenous rights matter</a></li></ul></div><div></div></div>urn:uuid:bff3ff45-4ad1-466f-83bb-fb92dbf06a63https://www.conservation.org/blog/notes-from-the-field-forest-drones-gorilla-germs-and-more Climate ChangeOceansFinance and TechNotes from the field: Forest drones, gorilla germs and moreHere are three recent conservation success stories you should know about.Thu, 21 Oct 2021 13:54:33 Z<div>Though news headlines about the state of the planet may seem bleak, they don’t always capture the whole story. Around the world, the work of protecting nature and the climate is happening in the field — and achieving triumphs that don’t always make the news. Here are three recent conservation success stories you should know about. </div><div><h3>1. Drone tech busts illegal logging in Madagascar </h3></div><div>Nearly half of Madagascar’s forests have fallen victim to slash-and-burn agriculture, illegal logging and unrestricted charcoal production in the last 60 years, according to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320718301125" target="_blank">recent research</a>. </div><div>But illegal loggers can be hard to spot amid the dense tangle of trees — and patrollers can only cover so much ground each day. </div><div>Fortunately, a new initiative is offering eyes in the sky. </div><div>With support from the University of Adelaide and authorization from the Malagasy Civil Aviation Association, Conservation International has trained six staff members to fly aerial drones through the Ankeniheni-Zahamena and Ambositra-Vondrozo forest corridors in eastern Madagascar. In 2020 and 2021, the drone program identified more than 51 points of illegal forest clearing, which has helped patrollers target where to increase enforcement and prioritize conservation efforts.</div><div>“The drones are ideal companions for traditional forest patrols because they allow us to spot areas where illegal loggers have operated, which are usually too remote and hard to reach on foot,” said Clarck Rabenandrasana, a remote-sensing manager and chief drone pilot at Conservation International. </div><div>Along with locating illegally cleared land, this program helps monitor restoration projects, provide employment for local communities and track crop yields for farmers.</div><div>“Drones are an increasingly popular tool for conservationists, giving us a greater range and better data-collection capabilities than even what was available a few years ago,” Rabenandrasana said. “They are helping us to protect the forests of Madagascar, which are crucial for supporting local communities and iconic wildlife such as lemurs and fossas.”</div><div>This project was supported by the Sustainable Landscapes Program in Eastern Madagascar and the Green Climate Fund project.</div><div><h3>2. Mountain gorilla protection protocol in Africa </h3></div><div>Sharing <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tiny-genetic-differences-between-humans-and-other-primates-pervade-the-genome/" target="_blank">98 percent </a>of human DNA, mountain gorillas are some of our closest genetic relatives.</div><div>Unfortunately, this leaves them susceptible to many of the same diseases that affect humans, including <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/first-great-apes-at-us-zoo-receive-coronavirus-vaccine-made-for-animals" target="_blank">COVID-19</a>. Even a common cold can be deadly for gorillas. </div><div>To help minimize the risk of transmitting diseases from humans to gorillas, the International Gorilla Conservation Program (IGCP) — a partnership led by the Conservation International, the World Wildlife Fund, and Flora and Fauna International — has helped develop tourism protocols that minimize contact between tourists and these great apes.</div><div>“Mountain gorilla trekking has proven to be one of the most effective ways of generating revenue to conserve gorillas, with tourists paying for what is often a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view our nearest relative in the wild,” explained Matthew Lewis, a wildlife scientist at Conservation International.  “But the emergence of COVID-19 serves as a reminder that any disease that risks human health most likely also puts gorillas in danger. This new protocol aims to prevent that.”</div><div>Currently, gorilla trekking protocols require visitors to be checked for fever or signs of illness prior to the trek, to wear masks and maintain at least 7 meters (23 feet) of distance from gorillas. Visitors are told to never initiate physical contact with a gorilla, but if a curious young gorilla does approach, guests are advised to sit quietly until the gorilla moves on.</div><div>IGCP has developed a “Gorilla Friendly Pledge” for guests to sign as a commitment to adhere to the protocols of safe gorilla tourism, which Lewis hopes will improve tourism practices even beyond the pandemic. </div><div>“IGCP’s efforts have helped mountain gorilla populations recover in recent years, surpassing 1,000 individuals for the first time in half a century, and efforts like this new protocol will help continue that trend,” he said. “If done sustainably, gorilla tourism helps protect this great ape and support local economies. It’s a win-win.” </div><div><h3>3. A million corals for Colombia </h3></div><div>Battered by overfishing, climate change and pollution, the world’s coral reefs are struggling to survive. But in Colombia, reefs are getting a lifeline.</div><div>With support from Conservation International, Colombian President Iván Duque and the country’s environment minister Eduardo Correa, in June announced the "One Million Corals for Colombia” program to rehabilitate and restore 200 hectares (494 acres) of coral reef. The total investment for this project over the next two years will be US$ 422,000. </div><div>“Along with providing habitat for an array of marine life, coral reefs protect coastal communities by buffering against storm surges and sea-level rise,” says Julian Sotelo, a communications coordinator for Conservation International in Colombia. “That means this project could help improve ocean health and human well-being.” </div><div>The "One Million Corals for Colombia" initiative will use multiple coral gardening strategies to increase overall coral cover on reefs. One of these techniques involves creating a coral nursery by attaching pieces of broken coral to ropes and tables underwater so that they can grow and reproduce.</div><div>In the other strategy, known as "microfragmentation," corals are intentionally cut into small pieces and attached to cement bases in underwater nurseries. This process can accelerate coral growth 25 times.</div><div>“By using the most cutting-edge coral restoration techniques, the program aims to achieve its goal by 2022,” Sotelo says. “But it’s going to take the entire global community to help conserve coral reefs in the face of climate change — and we hope this initiative with inspire others to take action.” </div><div>Kiley Price is the staff writer and news editor at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates.</a> <a href="https://www.conservation.org/donate">Donate to Conservation International.</a>Cover image: A mountain gorilla in Rwanda (© Conservation International/photo by John Martin)<hr />Further reading: <ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/notes-from-the-field-protecting-panamas-waters-conserving-lemurs-in-madagascar-and-more">Notes from the field: Protecting Panama’s waters, conserving Malagasy lemurs and more</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/new-map-pinpoints-where-people-depend-on-nature-the-most">New map pinpoints where people depend on nature the most</a></li></ul></div><div> </div>urn:uuid:f3037daf-88f3-4961-9b1a-c74b1f7cc21dhttps://www.conservation.org/blog/new-map-pinpoints-where-people-depend-on-nature-the-most ScienceClimate ChangeCommunitiesNew map pinpoints where people depend on nature the mostA new study is the first to quantify people’s dependence on nature, and underscores the extent of the threat that climate change and the destruction of nature pose to human life.Mon, 04 Oct 2021 17:10:09 Z<div>More than two-thirds of the population of the tropics — about 2.7 billion people — directly depend on nature for at least one of their most basic needs, according to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378021001473" target="_blank">new research</a>. The study, published today in the journal Global Environmental Change, is the first to quantify people’s dependence on nature, and underscores the extent of the threat that climate change and the destruction of nature pose to human life.</div><div>Conservation News spoke to the study’s lead author, Conservation International scientist Giacomo Fedele, about the many ways humans are nurtured by nature, the biggest threats tropical ecosystems face and how countries can promote climate justice for the world’s most “nature-dependent” people.</div><div>Question: Who is considered “nature-dependent,” and where are these communities located?</div><div>Answer: We define nature-dependent people as those who use natural resources to meet at least one of the four basic human needs: drinking water, housing materials, energy for cooking, or livelihoods. Taking it one step further, we found that 1.2 billion people are “highly nature-dependent,” meaning that they rely on natural resources for at least three out of four of those needs. </div><div>After analyzing interviews with more than 5 million households in 85 tropical countries, we found that the greatest proportion of highly nature-dependent people in the world is located in the tropics of Africa, making up nearly half of the population — 478 million people — in that region. Concentrated in the Congo Basin and East Africa, most of these people rely on nature for all four of their basic needs, but have a particular reliance on wood and charcoal as fuel for cooking. </div><div>On the other side of the globe in the Asia-Pacific region, 278 million people —more than a quarter of the population — can be considered highly nature-dependent, with the highest proportion in New Guinea, the lower Mekong basin and the Ganges River basin. In these areas, ecosystems are critical for providing energy and housing materials. </div><div>In tropical countries throughout the Americas, 9 percent of the population — 48 million people — depend deeply on nature for their livelihoods, practicing agriculture, harvesting forest products or fishing. The majority of nature-dependent people in this region live in the upper Amazon plains, Guyana and Central America. </div><div><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/ndp_map_ci-style.jpg?sfvrsn=89fa08d9_2" alt="NDP_map_CI style" /></div><div>Q: What makes your research unique? </div><div>A: It is well-established that ecosystems — and their ability to store carbon — play a huge part in helping to fight climate change. In fact, research shows that they can provide <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/what-are-natural-climate-solutions">30 percent</a> of the emissions reductions necessary to stabilize the climate.  </div><div>However, what we’ve been missing is quantitative data on where the most important places are to protect nature for the climate and for people.</div><div>This information — which our map can now help provide — is crucial because climate change poses a huge threat for nature-dependent people in the tropics. At its core, this is a climate justice issue: Nature-dependent communities often contribute the least to global greenhouse gas emissions, yet they often feel the most severe impacts of the climate crisis — from rising sea levels to severe heat waves.  </div><div>Q: How can this map help inform policies to address this climate justice issue? </div><div>A: Knowing where nature-dependent people live can help governments and decision-makers implement effective conservation and sustainable development strategies based on what resources these communities rely on the most. And it’s not just climate change we have to worry about: Even small changes to the environment can have an enormous impact nature-dependent people. Depending on where you are in the tropics, threats include logging, unsustainable farming practices and mining — all of which can reduce access to food and clean water, building materials and endanger livelihoods.  </div><div>This is why policies and conservation interventions are going to vary from place to place — and why it is crucial to take into consideration the needs and aspirations of local people when designing and implementing conservation strategies.</div><div>For example, creating protected areas that limits human activity may be appropriate in some areas in countries like Suriname or Guyana, which have intact ecosystems and fewer nature-dependent people. But that same strategy may be less effective in areas with a high number of nature-dependent people, in countries such as Cambodia or the Democratic Republic of Congo. There, communities could benefit more from implementing sustainable techniques to manage their land, like community-based natural resource management or climate-smart farming.</div><div>Our study outlines how nature-based strategies that protect, restore or sustainably manage ecosystems can be carefully designed to promote inclusive human development and environmental benefits. </div><div>Q: Conservation International is implementing a project in southern Africa that addresses some of these issues. Can you tell us a bit about that?</div><div>A: Local and Indigenous communities such as the Mnisi peoples near Kruger National Park in South Africa and communities in the Limpopo National Park of Mozambique have raised cattle for generations, but unsustainable practices such as overgrazing have degraded their grassland ecosystems over time. </div><div>Conservation International’s Herding 4 Health program is helping farmers across six African countries — and more than 1.5 million hectares (3.7 million acres) of rangeland — implement wildlife-friendly and climate-smart farming techniques to restore the nature that they depend on. Through the program, rural communities are supported by trained herders to voluntarily implement planned grazing of their livestock to minimize overgrazing, remove invasive vegetation that hamper grass growth and water availability, and adopt human-wildlife conflict mitigation practices. In return, they receive support to improve the quality and health of their livestock, reduce animal losses from wildlife predators and access to  livestock markets.</div><div>One of the most critical components of this project is that it takes into account the priorities and needs of the nature-dependent farmers, who stand to lose the most if grasslands continue to deteriorate. Putting nature at the heart of sustainable development is the best way to benefit the climate, wildlife and people.  </div><div> Kiley Price is the staff writer and news editor at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates.</a> <a href="https://www.conservation.org/donate">Donate to Conservation International.</a>Cover image: Children play in a tributary of the Volta River near Nabogu, Ghana (© Benjamin Drummond) <hr /> Further reading: <ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/climate-breakdown-is-here-its-time-to-adapt-but-how">Climate breakdown is here. It's time to adapt. But how?</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/climate-week-action-must-match-urgency-of-the-crisis">Climate Week: Action must match 'urgency of the crisis'</a></li></ul></div><div> </div>urn:uuid:59373389-58fb-4071-9b8a-db70fdd68987https://www.conservation.org/blog/report-coffee-companies-pledge-to-tackle-the-bitter-consequences-of-climate-change Climate ChangeReport: Coffee companies pledge to tackle the bitter consequences of climate changeFreshly brewed, a new report on the future of sustainable coffee offers grounds for optimism.Mon, 01 Feb 2021 21:02:12 ZFreshly brewed, a <a href="https://www.sustaincoffee.org/hub-report" target="_blank">new report</a> on the future of sustainable coffee offers grounds for optimism.Released by the <a href="https://www.sustaincoffee.org/" target="_blank">Sustainable Coffee Challenge</a> — a Conservation International-led coalition of 160 partners — the report finds that a growing number of companies, non-governmental organizations and research institutions are dedicated to improving sustainability in the coffee industry.The report shows that Challenge partners made 38 new commitments to sustainability last year — that represents nearly 40 percent of the total 106 public commitments, which address some of the most urgent issues facing the coffee sector. Made by major coffee companies such as Dunkin’ and Starbucks, these commitments are aimed at tackling climate change, restoring forests and improving supply chains to protect nature.“It’s no secret that encouraging marketwide change takes time and consistency,” said Raina Lang, senior director of sustainable coffee markets at Conservation International. “The Sustainable Coffee Challenge continues to strive toward the goal of making coffee the world’s first sustainable agricultural product.”In addition to climate threats — which could shrink suitable coffee-growing areas by half within three decades — the coffee industry has also suffered from increased <a href="https://www.ifpri.org/publication/volatile-coffee-prices-covid-19-and-market-fundamentals" target="_blank">market volatility</a> in recent years, made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is pushing trade prices below the cost of production in countries such as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-peru-coffee-exclus/exclusive-covid-19-low-prices-push-peru-coffee-output-down-10-idUSKBN274190" target="_blank">Peru</a> and <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2020/05/covid-19-causes-supply-chain-headaches-for-coffee-growers/" target="_blank">Guatemala</a>. This directly threatens the incomes of farming communities, which are already vulnerable to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/mar/02/nestle-admits-slave-labour-risk-on-brazil-coffee-plantations" target="_blank">poverty, poor health conditions</a> and child labor violations. “To protect coffee, the industry must also protect those who grow and harvest it,” Lang said. “The more players working toward and advocating for sustainable practices, the better.”In 2020, Challenge partners united around a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.conservation.org/press-releases">2050 goal to avoid 1.5 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions by increasing production on existing coffee lands</a>. To help companies reach this goal, the report also offers opportunities for improvement in 2021 — including better collaboration between stakeholders and more public communication about the progress of goals and targets.“Transparent collaboration will continue to lead toward improved livelihoods and progress toward global climate and biodiversity commitments,” Lang said. “Companies must meet their goals to secure the future of coffee — and the jobs of millions of people who depend on it.”<a href="https://www.sustaincoffee.org/hub-report" target="_blank">Read the full report here.</a><hr /><h2>Further reading:</h2><ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog">What on Earth is 'sustainable' coffee?</a></li></ul><hr />Kiley Price is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.Cover image: Coffee beans (© Wikimedia Commons/jmacarthur0417)urn:uuid:75bc6dcb-ca40-4be9-9cf7-d3c4c303a54ahttps://www.conservation.org/blog/what-does-covid-19-have-to-do-with-nature-these-5-articles-explain Climate ChangeWhat does COVID-19 have to do with nature? These 5 articles explainProtecting nature will be critical to preventing future pandemics, some scientists say. With that in mind, here are five articles that explore the connection between nature and human health.Wed, 01 Apr 2020 17:43:57 ZThis post was updated May 19, 2020.Editor’s note: The COVID-19 pandemic has spread around the world at lightning speed, <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports" target="_blank">infecting more than 4.8 million people and killing more than 319,000 people to date</a>. Protecting nature will be critical to preventing future pandemics, some scientists say. With that in mind, here are five articles that explore the connection between nature and human health.<h2><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/climate/climate-change-coronavirus-lessons.html" target="_blank">1. Climate change has lessons for fighting the coronavirus</a></h2>There are parallels between the lagging global efforts to address both the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis, experts assert.The Story: Experts agree that political pushback and a psychological inability for people to fully grasp the long-term impacts of crises contribute to ineffective global efforts to address both the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, reported <a href="https://twitter.com/SominiSengupta?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank">Somini Sengupta</a> for The New York Times. For example, the current U.S. administration has made <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00719-4" target="_blank">deep cuts to federal funding</a> for scientific research in recent years — particularly <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/trumps-cuts-in-climate-change-research-spark-a-global-scramble-for-funds" target="_blank">climate research</a> — which has disrupted efforts to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus, according to chemist <a href="https://www.science.org/news/2019/03/trump-once-again-requests-deep-cuts-us-science-spending" target="_blank">Holden Thorp</a>. In addition, several <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/climate/climate-change-coronavirus-lessons.html" target="_blank">behavioral scientists concur</a> that people have trouble processing the consequences of both the current pandemic and the climate crisis because many of the negative impacts are on a longer timescale.The Big Picture: “Both [COVID-19 and climate change] demand early aggressive action to minimize loss,” said climate scientist Kim Cobb. “Only in hindsight will we really understand what we gambled on and what we lost by not acting early enough.” From the bushfires that raged through Australia in 2019 to<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0964569116300278" target="_blank"> increased flooding in coastal cities</a>, the impacts of the climate crisis are already affecting populations around the world. By 2100, however, researchers project that climate breakdown could <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/climate/climate-change-coronavirus-lessons.html" target="_blank">kill approximately as many people</a> as the number of individuals who die of cancer and infectious diseases today if global warming is not limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/climate/climate-change-coronavirus-lessons.html" target="_blank">Read the full story here.</a><h2><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/poaching-deforestation-reportedly-on-the-rise-since-covid-19-lockdowns">2. Poaching, deforestation on the rise since COVID-19 lockdowns</a></h2>The destruction of nature could cause future animal-borne disease outbreaks, experts say.The Story: Poaching and deforestation have increased since COVID-19 restrictions went into effect, according to recent reports from Conservation International field offices. While bushmeat and ivory poaching incidents have become more frequent in Africa, Amazonian deforestation in Brazil has reached a nine-year high since the pandemic began in 2019, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-14/brazil-to-boost-amazon-forest-oversight-as-deforestation-jumps" target="_blank">reports show</a>. Evidence suggests that the majority of these activities were enabled by weakened enforcement efforts that people exploited — some driven by desperation, others by profit.The Big Picture: “Poaching and deforestation are unfortunate and disturbing, as our health — and the health of our economies — are inextricably linked to the health of our planet,” said Conservation International’s CEO M. Sanjayan in a recent statement. “Now, by accelerating the destruction of nature, we are only increasing the risk of future pandemics.” To minimize poaching and land degradation in Africa, Conservation International is working with governments to help provide alternative livelihoods. Through a community-based approach, Conservation International’s Herding 4 Health program will work with farmers to help degraded rangelands recover, while improving cattle health and providing a steady stream of income — even during uncertain times.<a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/poaching-deforestation-reportedly-on-the-rise-since-covid-19-lockdowns">Read the full story here.</a> Further reading: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/29/science/coronavirus-disrupts-illegal-wildlife-trafficking-for-now.html" target="_blank">Coronavirus disrupts illegal wildlife trafficking, for now</a>Though poaching is on the rise in Africa, a <a href="https://wildlifejustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/WJC_Impact-of-COVID19-on-wildlife-trafficking_April2020.pdf" target="_blank">new report</a> suggests the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted illegal wildlife trafficking in Southeast Asia. This could have a lasting impact on the industry — if countries enforce stricter bans on the global trade of wild animals.Further reading: <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200518-why-lockdown-is-harming-the-amazon-rainforest" target="_blank">The hidden toll of lockdown on rainforests</a>“This narrative of nature having been given a break during COVID, it’s not entirely accurate,” said Sebastian Troeng, executive vice-president of Conservation International, in response to the recent surge in deforestation. From endangering indigenous peoples to exacerbating forest fires in the Amazon, this destruction of nature could have long-term impacts on the world’s biggest rainforest, experts say.<h2><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-coronavirus-pandemic-is-affecting-co2-emissions/" target="_blank">3. How the coronavirus pandemic is affecting CO2 emissions</a></h2>Individual greenhouse gas emissions are fluctuating in response to the recent coronavirus pandemic.The Story: As people around the world <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-social-distancing-and-self-quarantine" target="_blank">self-isolate to curb the spread of COVID-19</a>, they could be impacting their carbon footprint — both positively and negatively, reported <a href="https://twitter.com/chelseaeharvey?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank">Chelsea Harvey</a> for Scientific American. Depending on weather conditions, geography and lifestyle, people that are spending more time at home could be using more energy — and releasing more individual emissions over time. For example, residents of colder regions of the world may need to use individual heaters to stay warm while working from home, which is a <a href="https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2019/01/15/heat-pumps-home-heating/" target="_blank">significant part</a> of the average individual’s carbon footprint. The Big Picture: “The biggest potential impact of this virus is the effect on the economy,” said climate policy expert Christopher Jones. “So if it affects the entire economy, then that’s going to affect economic output, consumption and emissions.” To support the economy without increasing global emissions, companies must invest in sustainable funds — those screened for environmental, ethical and social practices — which have outperformed traditional funds during the recent <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-crash-financial-crisis-coronavirus-bottom-not-in-rbc-2020-3" target="_blank">stock market collapse</a>.<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-coronavirus-pandemic-is-affecting-co2-emissions/" target="_blank">Read the full story here.</a><h2><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/expert-to-prevent-pandemics-like-COVID-19-take-care-of-nature">4. Expert: To prevent pandemics like COVID-19, ‘take care of nature’</a></h2>Giving nature space could help curb future disease outbreaks, according to a renowned ecologist.The Story: As the global wildlife trade persists and development projects expand deeper into tropical forests, humans are increasing their exposure to wild animals — and the diseases they may carry, said Lee Hannah in a <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/expert-to-prevent-pandemics-like-COVID-19-take-care-of-nature">recent interview</a> with Conservation News. When human activities such as mining and logging degrade wildlife habitats, animals are forced together and are more likely to become stressed or sick, Hannah explained, which drives the transmission of disease between human and wildlife populations. The Big Picture: “Ecosystems in nature function similarly to the human body: When they are robust and healthy — which means they have diverse species and space for healthy animal populations — they are more resistant to disease,” said Hannah. “We must take care of nature to take care of ourselves.” To protect nature while preventing future pandemics, governments can implement protected areas, national parks, community conservancies and indigenous-managed conservation areas, according to Hannah. <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/expert-to-prevent-pandemics-like-COVID-19-take-care-of-nature">Read the full story here.</a> <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-08/want-to-stop-the-next-pandemic-start-protecting-wildlife-habitats" target="_blank">Read Bloomberg coverage here.</a>Further reading: <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/conservationist-protecting-nature-an-investment-in-our-health">Conservationist: Protecting nature an ‘investment’ in our health</a>In a recent video, Conservation International’s CEO M. Sanjayan calls for renewed efforts to stop deforestation and to clamp down on the illegal trade of wild animals, particularly in the tropics, where many recent infectious disease outbreaks have originated.<h2>5. 2020 was supposed to be the ‘super year for nature.’ What now?</h2>The coronavirus pandemic has derailed several major global climate conferences, but experts agree that climate action must continue.The Story: Following the postponement of several major global climate conferences due to COVID-19, Conservation International climate experts argue that there are still critical steps that countries can take to tackle the climate crisis in 2020. From engaging local communities to implementing national climate policies, governments can continue to tackle climate change despite lockdown restrictions, said Maggie Comstock, Conservation International’s senior director of climate policy. On an individual level, Shyla Raghav, the vice president of climate strategy at Conservation International, urged people to learn from the world’s rapid and definitive responses to the coronavirus.The Big Picture: “Crises like this pandemic demonstrate the incredible capacity of societies to come together in the face of unprecedented, insurmountable challenges and adapt,” said Raghav. “This is exactly what we need to tackle climate change.” According to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/10/08/world-has-only-years-get-climate-change-under-control-un-scientists-say/" target="_blank">2018 UN report</a>, humanity only has about a decade left to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis by reducing greenhouse gas emissions — and the <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/coronavirus-causing-carbon-emissions-to-fall-but-not-for-long/" target="_blank">recent decline</a> in global emissions illustrates that changes in human behavior can show tangible results for climate action. “Countries must find ways to make their emissions reductions goals a reality and increase the ambition, conferences or no conferences,” added Comstock.<hr /><h2>Further reading:</h2><ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/study-protecting-tropics-could-save-half-of-species-on-brink">Study: Protecting tropics could save half of species on brink</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/study-protect-these-places-or-face-climate-doom">Study: Protect these places — or face climate doom</a></li></ul><hr />Kiley Price is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.Cover image: The Alto Mayo Protected Forest, Peru (© Conservation International/photo by Bailey Evans)urn:uuid:c723619d-76a9-43e8-a450-8201a20ae4a4https://www.conservation.org/blog/study-protect-these-places-or-face-climate-doom ScienceClimate ChangeStudy: Protect these places — or face climate doomTo stop climate catastrophe, there are certain places on Earth that we simply cannot afford to destroy, according to new research by Conservation International scientists.Tue, 31 Mar 2020 16:10:40 ZTo stop climate catastrophe, there are certain places on Earth that we simply cannot afford to destroy, according to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-0738-8" target="_blank">new research</a> by Conservation International scientists.Compiling carbon data from forests, grasslands and wetlands, the scientists determined how much carbon is stored in ecosystems across the globe and measured how long it would take to get it back if it is lost — and what that loss would mean for humanity.The result: A blueprint for where — and how — to focus efforts to protect Earth’s living carbon reserves.<h3>‘A generation’s worth of carbon’ </h3>The scientists identified pockets of “irrecoverable carbon” — vast stores of carbon that are potentially vulnerable to release from human activity and, if lost, could not be restored by 2050. (Why 2050? It’s the year by which humans need to reach net-zero emissions to avoid a climate catastrophe.)Irrecoverable carbon spans six of the seven continents, including vast stores in the Amazon, the Congo Basin, Indonesia, Northwestern North America, Southern Chile, Southeastern Australia and New Zealand. These ecosystems contain more than 260 billion tons of irrecoverable carbon, most of which is stored in mangroves, peatlands, old-growth forests and marshes. This amount of carbon is equivalent to 26 years of fossil fuel emissions at current rates.“We are talking about a generation’s worth of carbon contained in these critical ecosystems,” explained Allie Goldstein, a climate scientist at Conservation International and the paper’s lead author. “The good news is that we now know where this irrecoverable carbon can be found — and it is largely within our control to protect it.”Carbon is constantly flowing in and out of ecosystems, added Conservation International scientist Will Turner, also an author on the paper.But as humans destroy city-size swaths of forests at an increasing rate, the scale is tipping heavily toward “out.”“We already know that fossil fuels release massive amounts of emissions and that we need to keep them in the ground,” Turner said. “We now know that when particular ecosystems are destroyed or degraded, they release massive amounts of carbon that we simply can’t get back in time to avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate change. We have to make protecting these places a top priority of this decade.”<h3>Defining ‘irrecoverable’ </h3>In the paper, scientists analyzed the carbon stocks stored across the world’s major ecosystems through three dimensions: whether humans can influence that stock of carbon, the amount of carbon likely to be released if the ecosystem was disturbed or converted, and how quickly the stock could be recovered if lost.With these criteria, the researchers were able to pinpoint which ecosystems are most crucial to prioritize for climate action — and where humans can actually have an impact.“There are some carbon stocks in ecosystems such as tundra, where permafrost will release carbon as it thaws due to global warming itself,” Turner said. “Unfortunately, at this point there is little we can do directly in those places to keep the carbon from releasing. But other carbon stocks that we studied are being released due to human activities such as clearing forests — which means that humans can also make a difference by protecting them.”Driven by agriculture and logging, tropical deforestation rates have soared across the globe. In the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, forest destruction has surged a staggering 85 percent since 2018. Mangroves continue to be destroyed, with more than 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) lost from 2000 to 2012. Peatlands are suffering a similar fate, drained and cleared, mostly to make room for oil palm plantations.<h3>We’ve still got time </h3>According to Goldstein, however, there is still time to protect these critical ecosystems.“We are right in the sweet spot of where the carbon stocks in most of these ecosystems are still manageable,” Goldstein said. “Our land-use decisions still matter right now. If temperatures increase by more than 2 degrees Celsius, then there will be more ecosystems that are going to shift into that unmanageable category.”Although not every ecosystem that stores irrecoverable carbon is under threat at the moment, past does not always equal future when it comes to risk, Turner says.Take Borneo: A few decades ago, the island was filled with peatlands and forests teeming with wildlife, he explained. Now, Borneo has a staggeringly high rate of deforestation, with <a href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/11/asia/borneo-climate-bomb-intl-hnk/" target="_blank">more than a quarter million hectares of old-growth forests and peat destroyed every year</a>, much of it converted to oil palm plantations.As agricultural production and development intensify across the globe, countries must act both reactively and proactively to protect these crucial ecosystems, Turner advised.“Preventing deforestation only in places where it is happening right now is like having a health-care system made up only of emergency rooms. We need to be proactive about protecting these living carbon reserves while we still can.”<h3>Protect nature, protect carbon </h3>The bad news: If we lose a third of this irrecoverable carbon, that alone would put us over our carbon budget to stay within a 1.5-degree Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) temperature rise —the limit that scientists say is necessary to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.The good news: There are a number of activities that humans can do to protect it, says Bronson Griscom, who leads Conservation International’s work on natural climate solutions and was also a co-author of the new study.To stop climate breakdown, he explained, we need to do two things: emit less carbon and remove excess carbon from the atmosphere.“Irrecoverable carbon stocks are an essential piece of the natural climate solutions story,” Griscom said.“We need to start designing the next generation of protected area networks that span across a number of these critical ecosystems with high irrecoverable carbon stocks, and prioritize protection for the ones that are most at risk. These ecosystems are not only critical for our climate, they are also hotspots for other essential ecosystem services like flood control, water filtration and biodiversity.”<h3>Next step: a ‘treasure map’ </h3>Now that these scientists know which ecosystems hold the most irrecoverable carbon, they are determining where exactly they can be found.“By locating irrecoverable carbon stocks at a global scale, we can provide countries with a treasure map of the places we can least afford to lose and the places where we have to halt deforestation the fastest,” explained Goldstein.“This will help us actually plan irrecoverable carbon protection and where to allocate funding at the local, national and global scale.” What sets this map apart: It will show how much irrecoverable carbon is in existing protected areas and under indigenous management, and where — as well as the pockets that are currently unprotected.Conservation International is also using this research to undertake an ambitious initiative to protect tens of millions of hectares of ecosystems high in irrecoverable carbon.But to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change, protecting irrecoverable carbon must be a priority across industries and stakeholders — from the private sector to governments.“We have growing evidence that the final battle ground whether we fail or succeed in delivering the Paris Climate Agreement of holding the 1.5 degrees Celsius global warming line, is not only whether we are able to get off fossil fuels, it is also whether we are able to safeguard the carbon sinks in nature,” said Johan Rockström, Conservation International’s chief scientist. “Here, we provide the first global assessment of the ecosystems that hold our future in their hands.”<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2n615S145xI" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture">&nbsp;</iframe>Kiley Price is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">Sign up for email updates.</a> <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">Donate to Conservation International.</a>Cover image: Mangroves in Guyana (© Pete Oxford/iCLP)<hr />Further reading:<ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/study-protecting-tropics-could-save-half-of-species-on-brink">Study: Protecting tropics could save half of species on brink</a></li></ul>urn:uuid:3ed8c13b-2744-43a1-9a89-5a1873d68679https://www.conservation.org/blog/france-backs-bold-new-pact-to-save-amazon Climate ChangeFrance backs bold new pact to save AmazonFrance has committed US$ 100 million to a new South American-led initiative to protect the Amazon rainforest, with Conservation International pledging an additional US$ 20 million.Mon, 23 Sep 2019 16:59:12 ZEditor's Note: Climate Week is taking place from September 23 to September 29. Check <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog">Conservation News</a> for ongoing coverage of this global forum. A groundbreaking effort to protect the Amazon rainforest just got a massive boost. France has committed US$ 100 million to a new South American-led initiative, it was announced at a side event to the UN Climate Action Summit in New York on Monday, with Conservation International pledging an additional US$ 20 million. The actor Harrison Ford, a Conservation International board member, made the announcement during brief remarks at Monday’s meeting at the United Nations. The funding is aimed at supporting the Leticia Pact, an agreement signed earlier this month at a summit of seven of the nine Amazonian countries to address deforestation, fires and sustainable development in the world’s largest rainforest. The summit, convened Sept. 6 in the Amazonian city of Leticia, Colombia, by Colombian President Ivan Duque, represents a rare and high-level collective effort to protect the Amazon, where deforestation has been on the rise again after years of decline, and which has been <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/the-amazon-is-on-fire-5-things-you-need-to-know">plagued by fires</a> in recent months. The pact lists 16 points on which the countries intend to collaborate, including reforestation initiatives, actions against illegal mining and the creation of a natural disaster network, among others. “With the Leticia Pact, a framework for recognizing and protecting this valuable forest and its peoples … there is a way forward,” Ford said to the gathering, which included the presidents of Colombia, Chile and France. “But this initiative must have funding. It must have teeth. It must have legislative legitimacy.” Ford left no doubts about where the funding should be directed. “This money must go directly to indigenous peoples and civil society,” he said to cheers from some in the audience. “The people on the front lines, the people on the ground, the people with their feet in the mud.” Scientists say that deforestation in the Amazon is pushing the region to <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/08/01/deathwatch-for-the-amazon" target="_blank">a tipping point</a> at which the forest will gradually turn into dry savanna — and which humans will be unable to reverse. Once sufficiently degraded, the forest will lose its ability to <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/2/eaat2340" target="_blank">generate its own rainfall</a>, thereby preventing the rainforest ecosystem from being able to exist at all — with catastrophic implications for the global climate. “Without the Amazon, without the largest standing tropical forest in the world, we cannot achieve a climate solution,” Ford said. The actor closed his remarks with a stern reminder to the gathering of whom they were fighting for. “There is a new force of nature at hand, stirring all over the world. They are the <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/nature-now-in-new-film-climate-heavyweights-make-plea-for-the-planet">young people</a> whom, frankly, we have failed. Who are angry. Who are organized. Who are capable of making a difference.” “The most important thing we can do for them is to get the hell out of their way.” Bruno Vander Velde is the senior communications director for Conservation International Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">Sign up for email updates.</a> <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">Donate to Conservation International.</a> Cover image: A cloud forest in the Ecuadorian Amazon. (© Katrine Olson)   <hr /> Further Reading <ul> <li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/climate-week-economics-forests-take-center-stage">Climate Week: Economics, forests take center stage</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/what-is-climate-week-3-things-you-need-to-know">What is Climate Week? 3 things you need to know</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/nature-now-in-new-film-climate-heavyweights-make-plea-for-the-planet">‘Nature Now’: In new film, climate heavyweights make plea for the planet</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/the-amazon-is-on-fire-5-things-you-need-to-know">The Amazon is on fire: 5 things you need to know</a></li> </ul> <hr />urn:uuid:7665f310-00d5-4a1e-984e-9b2eec4fd77fhttps://www.conservation.org/blog/what-does-gender-have-to-do-with-conservation Climate ChangeCommunitiesWhat does gender have to do with conservation?Human Nature talked to Conservation International field staff about their perspectives on why gender matters in conservation.Fri, 19 Jul 2019 02:09:44 ZIn a remote, arid region of southwest Madagascar, the main source of local income is women’s work.In this case, it’s octopus fishing.Each day, as the men of the community set sail at dawn to fish in deep waters, women wait for the tide to recede. Joined by their children and armed with well-used spears, the women venture out to the reef flats. Octopus hide in burrows or dens in the reef flat, and these women are experts at catching them, jabbing their spears into a den, twisting the spear slowly around until the octopus’ tentacles wrap together, and carefully pulling out the prize.For years now, communities in this region have closed off certain areas of their reef flats — where reef and shoreline meet — for several months at a time to allow the fishery to recover. Yet women weren’t being included in community discussions about closing the octopus fishery, even though the closure was going to directly affect them.“What we learned from talking to these women is that they weren’t included in the decision-making about the octopus fishery closures because of time and logistical constraints, and in many cases, they didn’t feel comfortable engaging in community decision-making,” says Kame Westerman, gender adviser at Conservation International, who was working in Madagascar at the time. “But the women had more intimate knowledge of octopus fishing, and any decisions about managing it were going to affect their ability to make money for their families and put food on the table.”In working with these communities, Westerman says, men and women began to recognize the need to actively incorporate the women octopus fishers in meetings. The women decided they felt more comfortable meeting separately to agree on a unified plan about fishery closures, which they then presented to the larger group. Five years later, the fisheries are thriving, and the women have a say in their livelihoods.It’s a situation that is lived out daily around the globe: Women and men experience environmental issues differently, and too often, women are excluded from decision-making processes that affect the environments they depend on — including conservation efforts aimed at helping communities adapt to climate change and resource scarcity. Change is slow to come, especially in the face of longstanding laws and social mores.In honor of International Women’s Day, March 8, Human Nature talked to Conservation International field staff about their perspectives on why gender matters in conservation.Question: First of all, what does gender have to do with the conservation of nature?Dianne Balraj, Policy Manager, Guyana: Incorporating gender means understanding the needs and priorities of the entire community we work with — men and women, people of different ages and political affiliations — to help bring benefits to everyone. Gender isn’t just about women; for instance, there are girls and boys and elderly men who are also excluded from decision-making in their communities.Candido Pastor, Technical Manager, Bolivia: It’s about efficiency — if we work with both women and men, we’ll get better conservation results. In the same way, a soccer coach must work with all the players on a team to win a game, not just the goalkeeper. At the end of the day, taking an inclusive approach — meaning women and men are included in the process equally, and their priorities are given equal weight — moves us towards a more democratic society.Nolu Kwayimani, One Health-WASH Program Manager, South Africa: People are part of the nature that surrounds them — you can’t remove the human element and expect to have effective conservation. For instance, Conservation International’s One Health-<a href="https://www.conservation.org/projects/wash-in-watersheds-connecting-people-and-nature-through-water" rel="noopener" target="_blank">WASH project</a> in South Africa focuses on protecting freshwater sources as part of improving the health of people, livestock and nature. Since women traditionally fetch water for domestic use and crops, they know more about local water supplies and the conditions of their water resources. Men, on the other hand, use water primarily for their livestock. These two specific roles in the community relate to one resource that everyone needs: water.Montserrat Alban, Environmental Services Manager, Ecuador: Incorporating gender into conservation is as essential as knowing English or computer science — it’s essential for our work and it’s the right thing to do.Q: What are the challenges you face in advancing gender-inclusive conservation? Whitney Anderson, Coral Triangle Initiative Program Manager, United States: Unfortunately, there are so many misconceptions about gender, and intimidating stereotypes can often prevent us from getting anywhere. When people hear the word “gender,” they assume we’re only talking about women’s empowerment.Kwayimani, South Africa: For so long, conservationists have focused on natural science without considering how projects can benefit from including social science at the start. We want to measure the amount of land we’ve cleared from invasive species or the quality of water we’ve improved, but we also need to think about social equality and working with communities to care for nature and improve their livelihoods. Even something as simple as holding community engagement meetings at a time that is convenient for women to attend can make a big difference in encouraging participation.Milagros Sandoval, Environmental Policy Senior Manager, Peru: While gender and conservation are closely linked, it can be a challenge for people to realize that incorporating gender isn’t additional work — it’s fundamental to understanding the communities we’re partnering with.Pastor, Bolivia: In all cultures, there are imbalances in relationships between women and men. We must be conscious of this and commit to change. While it’s hard for people to alter the way they think, we must take the risk of envisioning a new way forward.Conservation International is working with women in Indonesia’s Fam Islands. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-xOJnPL-ok&feature=youtu.be">This is their story.</a><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/f-xOJnPL-ok" width="600" height="337.5" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin">&amp;nbsp;</iframe>Q: So what does gender equity look like in the communities you work with?Sandoval, Peru: We’re working with Awajun indigenous communities in Peru to support the distinct roles of men and women related to agricultural livelihoods. We’re helping the men grow sustainable coffee and cacao, while the women came to us with the idea of creating a women’s forest where they could grow medicinal plants and preserve the forest along with their traditional knowledge. We’re also exploring creating herbal teas for sale from these medicinal plants so that the women will have extra income for their families.Anderson, United States: One of our community partners in Papua New Guinea, Marida Ginisi, is the matriarch of her clan. She initiated a protected area around her island, which has grown an impressive giant clam garden — these clams provide food for villagers and can be <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/g/giant-clam/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">four feet long</a>! As word spread to neighboring islands, people started seeking her advice, and she is now sharing baby clams to help other islands start their own clam gardens. Though this work, Marida is inspiring neighboring communities to protect their oceans.Balraj, Guyana: After creating a “green” loan fund for sustainable agriculture, we noticed that more men than women were accessing the fund and getting bigger loans from the bank. To find out why, we interviewed community members and discovered that some women felt intimidated because they lacked financial literacy, while others weren’t allowed to travel to the bank on their own. As a result, we’re now working with the bank — the second-largest in Guyana — to improve women’s access to the loan program.Alban, Ecuador: In Ecuador, we’re helping women create associations for mangrove conservation, which are usually run by men. Before, when husbands came home after attending a meeting about mangroves, their wives would pepper them with questions about what they were learning. Now, men invite their wives to come to meetings. We’ve also helped start a women’s <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/these-women-protect-the-trees-that-protect-ecuador" target="_blank">crab meat processing business</a> and are working on commercializing other products that come from mangroves, such as handmade earrings and decorative containers.Leah Bevin Duran is a development writer at Conservation International.Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates.</a> <a href="https://www.conservation.org/donate">Donate to Conservation International.</a><hr />Further reading<ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/women-scientists-describe-challenges-of-careers-in-conservation" target="_blank">Women scientists describe challenges of careers in conservation</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/womens-work-fighting-for-nature">Women’s work: Fighting for nature</a></li></ul><hr />urn:uuid:7845edaf-0868-4d66-b118-c3f576672f02https://www.conservation.org/blog/massive-reforestation-effort-puts-down-roots-in-brazilian-amazon Climate ChangeMassive reforestation effort puts down roots in Brazilian AmazonA new project seeks to kickstart a revival for the world’s largest rainforest by planting tens of millions new trees.Sat, 09 Mar 2019 20:22:55 ZA new project seeks to kickstart a revival for the world’s largest rainforest by planting new trees — tens of millions of them.The project, announced Friday at the “Rock in Rio” music fest in Brazil, aims to restore 73 million trees in the Brazilian Amazon by 2023. Spanning 30,000 hectares of land (about 74,000 acres), the project is the largest tropical forest restoration in the world and helps Brazil move towards its Paris Agreement target of reforesting 12 million hectares of land by 2030.“This is a breathtakingly audacious project,” said M. Sanjayan, CEO of Conservation International (CI), one of the partners behind the effort. “The fate of the Amazon depends on getting this right — as do the region’s 25 million residents, its countless species and the climate of our planet.”The Amazon forest is home to the richest biodiversity of any ecosystem on the planet — a <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2017-08-31/nearly-400-new-species-discovered-in-the-amazon-rainforest" target="_blank">recent report</a> described some 400 new species discovered in the Amazon between 2014 and 2015 alone — yet is rapidly vanishing with increasing global demand for resources. The economy, essentially focused on the exploitation of natural resources, minerals and agribusiness, has already led to about 15 percent of original forest cover to be replaced by pastures and agricultural crops, without securing the well-being of the local population. The reforestation project fills an urgent need to develop the region’s economy without destroying its forests and ensuring the well-being of its people.“A new chapter is being written for the Brazilian Amazon with this initiative,” said Rodrigo Medeiros, vice president of CI’s Brazil office. “Protecting the Amazon is not something we should think in the future — we have to do it now.” The project is a partnership between Conservation International, the Brazilian Ministry of Environment, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the World Bank, the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (Funbio) and Rock in Rio’s environmental arm “Amazonia Live.” The reforestation effort is part of a broader regional initiative, the Amazonia Sustainable Landscapes Project. This project aims to increase the area of forest ecosystems, promote the connectivity of protected areas within the Amazon, and further develop local productive activities and value chains derived from the sustainable use of Amazonian biodiversity, including production of native species of seeds and seedlings.Priority areas for the restoration effort include southern Amazonas, Rondônia, Acre, Pará and the Xingu watershed. Restoration activities will include the enrichment of existing secondary forest areas, sowing of selected native species, and, when necessary, direct planting of native species, Medeiros said.<hr /><h2>Further reading</h2><ul><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/these-7-maps-shed-light-on-most-crucial-areas-of-amazon-rainforest">These 7 maps shed light on most crucial areas of Amazon Rainforest</a></li></ul><hr />Bruno Vander Velde is CI’s editorial director. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.urn:uuid:2de1d92c-f1cd-4f4f-9ec6-ad6ce0500caahttps://www.conservation.org/blog/why-indigenous-rights-matter Climate ChangeCommunitiesWhy Indigenous rights matterIndigenous Peoples’ interest in conservation is profound — but often overlooked.Sat, 09 Mar 2019 20:22:40 ZEditor’s note: Recent years have brought a growing acknowledgment of Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge, rights and roles in protecting nature. Yet this recognition has remained slower to gain traction outside of conservation and development circles. In this interview, originally published in 2016, Minnie Degawan, the former director of Conservation International’s Indigenous and Traditional Peoples Program, sheds some light on the challenges that Indigenous Peoples face with respect to nature conservation.Question: In an increasingly globalized world where national boundaries are less important, why do Indigenous groups deserve special treatment or recognition?Answer: Let’s be clear: Indigenous Peoples do not ask for special rights or treatment. Rather, they seek recognition of their contributions in sustainably managing their territories for generations — a recognition of the fact that they have been subjected and continue to be subjected to the worst forms of oppression through land dispossession. This then destroys the basis of their knowledge systems, which can be sources of knowledge for dealing with challenges related to climate change.Indigenous Peoples are victims of climate change, and yet <a target="_blank" href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/indigenous-leaders-traditional-knowledge-can-save-the-planet">they have knowledge developed from years of interacting with the environment</a> that could benefit humanity; they want to partner with others in finding solutions, but it has to be a just partnership.Q: What is perhaps the biggest challenge facing Indigenous Peoples throughout the world?A: Indigenous Peoples face a number of challenges. I’d say the biggest might be the loss of their lands, either because of natural causes such as sea-level rise or because of encroachment due to aggressive development. Globally, Indigenous Peoples call for the recognition and respect of their land rights over their territories because their lands define them — without the land, they cease to be Indigenous. Their knowledge systems, cultures and governance systems are all rooted on their lands. This is why expanding protected areas can be problematic — really, the only possible areas where protected areas can be established are in Indigenous territories, so there is that threat of land dispossession. When Indigenous Peoples say they want access to policymakers and resources, it is all geared at gaining legal recognition for their rights.Climate change is another major challenge for Indigenous Peoples. In fact, they often feel that they are being doubly victimized — they have contributed little to the causes of climate change and yet they bear the brunt of the impacts.Even efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change tend to victimize Indigenous Peoples, as is the case in the building of alternative energy sources. For instance, the building of windmills in Indigenous territories without their consent results in the communities being deprived of land which they can use to produce food, as was the case of a proposed project in the Cordillera region of the Philippines, where the communities rejected the plan. Projects like these are especially damaging if the electricity to be generated does not benefit the community.Q: Why is it better for forested or largely undeveloped natural areas to be controlled by Indigenous People?A: The argument being posed by Indigenous Peoples is that since they have managed these areas for generations, they are in a better position than outsiders to continue to do so. Additionally, because of the relationship of Indigenous Peoples and the land, its conservation is better ensured if they have rights over it. If they know they will not be evicted, they will endeavor to make it more productive for their children.And we have evidence that this approach works: Studies have shown that <a href="http://www.cifor.org/library/3461/community-managed-forests-and-forest-protected-areas-an-assessment-of-their-conservation-effectiveness-across-the-tropics/?pub=3461" target="_blank">forested areas managed by local communities see less deforestation</a> than protected forests.Q: What hopes do you have for global policy processes (such as the Paris Agreement or the Sustainable Development Goals) to positively impact Indigenous Peoples in the future?A: International agreements and treaties become relevant to Indigenous Peoples if the Indigenous groups know about them and can have a say in their implementation.Often, Indigenous communities have no knowledge of these agreements, and some do not desire to participate in international processes, finding it too detached from their realities. In many cases, Indigenous Peoples would know about such processes only when they are negatively impacted. For instance, in the desire to establish more protected areas, Indigenous Peoples are impacted because it is their lands that will be targeted. So unless there is a systematic effort to disseminate this information to the communities, Indigenous Peoples will not be able to benefit from them.Q: How does your organization promote Indigenous rights?A: Conservation International recognizes the contributions of Indigenous communities to conservation efforts and works in partnership with communities. We were one of the first organizations to develop a policy for partnering with Indigenous Peoples, and we build respect for Indigenous Peoples’ rights in all of our work.One of the ways we do this is through an Indigenous fellowship program that provides a unique opportunity for emerging Indigenous leaders to strengthen their leadership potential. It enables them to do research that is respectful of the traditions of their communities yet equips them with the tools to navigate the complex world of international policy making processes, such as through direct participation in international meetings.<hr /><h2>Further reading:</h2><ul><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/indigenous-leaders-traditional-knowledge-can-save-the-planet">Indigenous leaders: Traditional knowledge can save the planet</a></li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/murders-of-environmental-activists-reflect-chronic-clashes-over-resource-use">Murders of environmental activists reflect chronic clashes over resource use</a></li></ul><hr />Minnie Degawan is the former director of Conservation International’s Indigenous and Traditional Peoples Program, whose <a target="_blank" href="https://www.conservation.org/about/fellowships/indigenous-leaders-conservation-fellowship">Indigenous Leaders Conservation Fellowship</a> is now accepting applications. Bruno Vander Velde is Conservation International’s editorial director.Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.