Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 43 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

In Borneo, healthy people equals healthy forests

Adam Wernick

November 12, 2019 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Indonesia, Borneo

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

Read More
Go to Original Story
An (Even More) Inconvenient Truth: Why Carbon Credits For Forest Preservation May Be Worse Than Nothing

Lisa Song

May 22, 2019 |

ProPublica |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Brazil, Rio Branco, Acre

This story examines the well-publicized climate-change strategy of carbon credits: the idea that a CO₂-emitting company could offset its emissions by funding anti-logging efforts, effectively "saving" the equivalent amount of carbon. However, as it turns out, despite its popularity, most carbon credit programs do not actually work or, worse, may do more harm than good. This article details the shortcomings of this attempted solution to the effects of global warming.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Where the Rainforest Meets the Road

Kate Schimel

January 08, 2019 |

bioGraphic |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Papua New Guinea

In northeastern Papua New Guinea, community leaders and the government set aside 360,000 hectares of the Managalas Plateau as a protected conservation area in 2017. The project has strong local support. But facing destructive resource extraction and land use, conservation's longevity hangs on whether the community can create markets for sustainable agriculture, as well as workable infrastructure.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Eavesdrop on forest sounds to effectively monitor biodiversity, researchers say

Shreya Dasgupta

January 03, 2019 |

Mongabay |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Indonesia, Bontang, East Kalimantan

Bioacoustics, a method for studying sound in forests, has some powerful implications for conservation. For example, the U.S.-based non-profit Rainforest Connection used a remote smartphone network to discover logging and poaching in rainforests. The science is ongoing, but some promising applications are clear.

Read More
Go to Original Story
PNG farmers use agroforestry to fight crop diseases and reduce labor

Camilo Mejia Giraldo

December 19, 2018 |

Mongabay |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Papua New Guinea, Lae, Morobe

Across Papua New Guinea, growers are turning to agroforestry, pairing crops like cocoa and nuts to closely mimic forest ecosystems. The benefits are numerous--diverse income streams for growers, new habitat for wildlife, combatting crop diseases, and carbon sequestration, among others. But success hinges, in part, on growers' ability to balance long-term and short-term goals.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Agroforestry supports food security and conservation in Papua New Guinea

Camilo Mejia Giraldo

November 26, 2018 |

Mongabay |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Papua New Guinea

In Papua New Guinea, agroforestry--an old method of farming that more closely mimics natural ecosystems--has provided the Gildipasi community with diverse crops and greater food security. And in a boom for wildlife, the practice has allowed the community to set aside 4,940 protected acres of forestland, as well as a marine protected area, over the past two decades.

Read More
Go to Original Story
If we want our food to be truly sustainable, we need to be able to tell where it comes from

Chris West

November 09, 2018 |

Ensia |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Brazil

Certification schemes, which track international supply chains of commodities like soy or palm oil, can help consumers avoid products that contribute to deforestation. Some such schemes are showing promising results. But in order to save global forests, transparency systems need to be scaled up, with more input from stakeholders.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Indigenous tribes are the last best hope for the Amazon

Sam Eaton

October 04, 2018 |

Public Radio International |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Brazil, Maranhão

Illegal logging and land clearing are destroying much of the Amazon forest which is impacting the livelihood of the indigenous people living there. The Guajajara tribe is taking an active stand against these activities by joining forces to stand guard against intruders.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Making Gum in the Mayan Rainforest

Martha Pskowski

January 11, 2018 |

Sierra Club |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Tres Garantías, Quintana Roo

Despite the Yucatan Peninsula being known as a hotspot for deforestation, the Tres Garantías cooperative has found a way to source sap from the forest's trees that doesn’t permanently damage the tree. The sap is used to create organic gum – the only of its kind – and is then shipped out around the world. This practice is not only sustainable for the rainforest, but it also sustains the livelihoods of the indigenous communities that are doing the work.

Read More
Go to Original Story
First Nations Fight to Protect the Rare Spirit Bear from Hunters

Krista Langlois

October 26, 2017 |

National Geographic |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, British Columbia

In British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest, the Kitasoo/Xai’Xais First Nations have been striving for decades to save the spirit bear, also known as Kemode bears, from trophy hunters. Since 1999, the indigenous community has started an ecotourism industry that benefits the tribe and wildlife, have worked with Canadian government to preserve 85% of the rainforest, and have most recently been advocating to ban trophy hunting across the rainforest.

Read More
Go to Original Story