The Swinomish tribe in Washington state is combining traditional knowledge and science to combat the effects of climate change and improve the health of its land, water, and people. In recent years, their salmon harvest has diminished due to warming waters, but they’ve instituted salmon recovery efforts by restoring tidelands and channels and planting trees along stream beds to cool the waters. Their focus on ecosystem and community health could be a model for other Indigenous tribes looking to create their own climate plans.

An innovative approach to combat climate change involves growing forests and resorting natural vegetation on degraded or barren land. Known as the Miyawaki technique, planting seedlings of indigenous trees close together could speed the growth of the trees and not only offset carbon emissions, but also increase biodiversity. While the technique can be challenging to do correctly, corporations, nonprofits, and even schools have planted 285 of these forests around the world in India, the Netherlands, France, and Pakistan.

Women “warriors” of the indigenous Guajajara people in Brazil use drones to patrol their territory of the Amazon rainforest in an effort to prevent deforestation. Because of their work, they have been able to cut deforestation down to just 63 hectares in 2018 compared with 2,000 hectares in 2016. While the work can be dangerous and difficult at times, the women are committed to protecting the forests as a way to combat climate change. “If we don’t act, there would be no forest standing,” says one of the women warriors.

Scientists from the Haida Nation, Parks Canada, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, researchers from academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and representatives from the commercial fishing sector, are all collaborating to help restore the two large reserves in Canada. This collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike is helping to create statistical models that target the most beneficial conservation efforts.

The Kara Solar Foundation is looking to connect indigenous communities in Achuar territory in Ecuador to learn about solar power as an alternative to oil. By building solar-powered canoes, they can replace vessels that burn fossil fuels into the atmosphere. While the two boats in operation have run into technical problems, the intercultural training programs are instructing Achuar people on how to fix the technology. “Sustained and truly intercultural collaborations can create technological solutions that serve indigenous communities, rather than destroying them,” says Oliver Utne, the foundation's founder.