How to stitch a massive wildlife corridor through the Rocky Mountains

In rural communities, firewood extraction hurts both human health and wildlife habitat. In India, a group of conservationists are helping villages switch from wood-burning to liquified petroleum gas. While logistics around refills are still being ironed out, the program has already produced noticeable results.

KRAPAVIS has restored 249 sacred groves in Rajasthan through a community-led model where villages share restoration costs and appoint local custodians. They've successfully reviving water sources, wells, and biodiversity while securing a 2024 Supreme Court ruling that protects these community-conserved ecosystems across India.

The Corridors of Life project, led by IPÊ and driven by land reform settler families in Brazil's Pontal do Paranapanema region, has restored over 6,000 hectares of Atlantic Forest through community nurseries, rural startups, and agroforestry systems. Since 2002, they have brought back 174 bird species, 29 mammal species, and economic opportunity to hundreds of families.

Rewilding Romania, in partnership with WWF Romania and the EU's LIFE Programme, has reintroduced over 100 European bison into the Southern Carpathian Mountains since 2012. Since then, a self-sustaining wild population of 250+ animals has grown, leading to measurable ecological and economic benefits for surrounding communities.

El pueblo Awá creó las reservas comunitarias La Nutria y Monte Loro, que mediante restauración pasiva, educación intergeneracional y ecoturismo han recuperado bosques degradados y especies amenazadas durante más de 25 años.

The Wall of Trees initiative in Nigeria's Makoda village created a four-tiered barrier of windbreak, orchard, woodlot, and economic trees that tripled crop yields and provided income opportunities for 200 women, successfully reversing desertification on 15 hectares over two decades.

A community-led conservation project spurred by traditional knowledge allowed the residents of Khonoma, India, to become self-sustaining and earn additional income from ecotourism, as opposed to relying on hunting and logging.

A blue carbon credit scheme in Kenya is not only restoring mangrove forests, but it’s also reducing environmental crimes and providing a way for residents to make money. The Mikoko Pamoja carbon project is a partnership that encourages the protection of mangroves in exchange for selling carbon credits. Since the project launched 2013, each year it traps the equivalent carbon emissions of about 650 cars. While it’s not a perfect system, it has inspired other blue carbon programs in other villages.

Women's conservation collectives in Nigerian villages surrounding Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary use community patrols, enforcement of bylaws, and collaboration with traditional leaders to reduce illegal logging, river pollution, and wildlife crimes. Their approach has reduced river poisoning in some communities, fostered the return of chimpanzee calls, and delivered forest regeneration.

Moldova's National Reforestation Project, launched in 2023 with a €739 million budget, has planted over 10,000 hectares of new forest (36+ million trees) with a 67% survival rate, demonstrating early success in restoring degraded land and supporting rural communities, though it's currently achieving only half of its annual planting targets due to personnel shortages, supply chain issues, and weather challenges.