Mar Menor: cleaning Europe's largest saltwater lagoon

An Arizona farmer became the first organic regenerative certified farm in the southwest using practices that conserve water and improve soil health along the drought-stuck Gila River. His practices include growing arid-adapted crops, integrating livestock grazing, and planting cover crops.

A barley farm in southern Oregon transformed 70 of its 400 acres into a wetland sanctuary after it had spent years leaking phosphorus pollution into the Upper Klamath Lake. A team of scientists and advocates collaborated with the farmer to finance and construct the new natural ecosystem, which began to yield the farmer both environmental and financial benefits after only one year.

Eradicating invasive species requires enrolling a community effort. Although quarantines and chemical treatments have not proven effective in preventing the spread of Popilia japonica, or the Japanese beetle, to farms on the US’s Front Range, the Colorado community of Palisade succeeded in eradicating the species through collective action. By combining pest control methods with a community program of reducing water use, Palisade farmers were able to push the beetles out of their farmland over the course of several years in the early 2000s.

Several organizations in Vermont banded together to create the Bird-Friendly Maple Project. The program encourages maple syrup makers to safeguard their forest habitats for birds using agroecology practices like keeping a diverse variety of native trees. Operations that meet the requirements receive an official label for their products.

Scientists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, are propagating common species of mussels to restore the once-thick mussel beds in local waterways. The mussels work as filters that purify the water and improve the health of the ecosystem.

The Rwandan government bans fishing on Lake Kivu during August and September for what they call a “Biological Break.” They pause fishing when the climate is best for fish reproduction and growth to ensure the fish population remains stable.

After years of protesting, attending public grievance meetings, and appearing as plaintiffs in court cases, the residents of Kangeyam, India, gained enough attention to shut down the charcoal industries that were polluting the groundwater.

Low cost sonar helps teams of crabbers in the Great Bay Estuary locate abandoned traps, which they use hook lines to remove to protect wildlife and damage to fishing boats. Funded by three grants, teams have retrieved around 2,200 traps and crabbers are compensated for their efforts. The initiative is modeled after one in the Chesapeake Bay, where 34,408 ghost pots were removed over six years. Similar efforts have been implemented around the world, including the Ghost Trap Rodeo in Tampa Bay, which is styled like a fishing tournament but competitors collect abandoned traps instead of catching fish.

On Sanibel Island, Florida, residents know all too well the intensive steps necessary to clean up polluted water. Like many other bodies of water in Florida and across the country, the city has suffered from "nutrition pollution" that has threatened their environment, but comprehensive measures enacted over the past decades - including land use plans that severely restrict development and efforts to educate homeowners on pond management - are helping the area turn around and providing a playbook for other cities.

By using new technology and shared knowledge, the Dutch have become global leaders in agricultural innovation and solutions to fight famine. Work being done at Wageningen University & Research has allowed farmers in the Netherlands to grow crops year-round and in all kinds of weather, while eliminating the use of chemical pesticides and reducing the dependence on water by as much as 90 percent at some farms. Exporting these techniques to other countries has its challenges, but international graduate students are working to implement these programs in their home regions to help people experiencing hunger.