In Ethiopia, model drought defenses are put to the test

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.

As locust swarms threaten crops in Pakistan, a pilot program offers farmers a way to get rid of the pests without using insecticides that harm the environment, while also earning money. Once farmers trap the locusts at night, the creatures are turned into high-protein chicken feed for animal feed mills. During the pilot project, farmers netted up to $125 for one night’s work and the community hauled an average of seven tonnes a night. While harvesting locusts works for some farming areas, it might not be as easy for farmers in desert areas who have to rely on chemical sprays offered by the government.

As climate change intensifies, militaries around the world have start adopting new equipment, practices, and processes. The United States has developed the International Military Council on Climate and Security, intended to better understand how the effects of climate change can and do fuel conflict. Globally, NATO members are testing new equipment, like diesel-solar powered systems, to increase their efficiency and reduce their fuel consumption.

TARU, an Indian thinktank, has found that Indians cities have combined decentralized action and "multi-stakeholder engagement" in public policy to respond to problems of scarcity in water and power as well as climate change-related natural disasters. Municipalities are putting responsibility for improving local lives at the grassroots level; integrating disruptive technologies from the private sector; and fostering collaboration between government and citizens.

In many rural villages in Northern India and Nepal, long-standing cultural norms have relegated women to subordinate positions in marriage and minimal educational opportunities, stifling the social, agricultural and economic development of entire communities. But with the NGO World Neighbors' work to increase female literacy and help initiate locally-controlled savings and credit groups, these areas' female residents have become a more empowered component of local development and progressive change.

A collaborative effort among the United Nations' District Energy in Cities Initiative, the Malaysian government, and private partners has facilitated planning in Malaysia's rapidly developing southern state of Johor for a "District Energy System": a single heating and cooling network which decreases energy consumption by converting waste heat from large power stations. Because of this intervention, Iskandar is projected to decrease its energy use by almost 40% -- all while saving money on energy costs, recycling heat energy, and contributing to the nation's goals under the international Paris Accord.

The Virginia Fire Chiefs Association's Rural Apparatus Support Program has donated essential used firefighting equipment (including ambulances, fire engines, and tanker trucks) to 14 rural fire departments over two years, enabling departments with minimal budgets to replace broken or outdated equipment they could never afford to purchase new.

Farmers in Zing, Nigeria, are covering yam ridges with dried grasses to shield seedlings from extreme heat, a technique that can reduce soil temperatures by up to 15°C, which farmers say has helped protect crops that previously rotted before they could germinate.

Silvopasture—combining native trees with rotational grazing on cattle pastures in the Peruvian Amazon—has more than doubled the number of cattle able to graze per hectare. Within a year, significant carbon has been sequestered and cattle health has improved.

The Perinjanam Solar Initiative successfully combined government subsidies, cooperative bank financing, and a community-governed consumer committee to bring rooftop solar to over 1,000 households. Altogether, this cut monthly electricity bills by up to 80% and reduced carbon emissions by 192,000 kilograms, however such initiatives have failed elsewhere in Kerala due to the absence of government mandates, standardized financing frameworks, and the political will needed to scale the model statewide.