Nepali women's bid to use international carbon money to rejuvenate land, water and economy

An abandoned, flooded mine in Bishrampur, India, is now an eco-tourism site where visitors can take a boat ride to a floating restaurant and locals breed fish. The new facilities offer employment for some of the residents who were left out of work when the mine closed.

Women crab farmers in coastal Maharashtra are earning substantial incomes by raising crabs in mangrove forests, creating a financial incentive that protects these critical ecosystems while building climate resilience and women's economic independence.

A local energy cooperative in Colorado, Delta Montrose Electric Association, is spurring economic development through renewable energy. The program has allowed Delta County to diversify energy sources, and has become a tool for economic revitalization.

Environmental refugees in Ethiopia flee their country because there are no jobs without healthy land. A group of former refugees have returned to Ethiopia with a business venture in Gergera to improve the land by regreening efforts, foresting, and building water conservation systems. The new businesses demonstrated such positive effects that the region is now on the brink of resettlement due to improved environmental conditions.

The Port of Skagit Commission invested $7.5 million in a public-private partnership to build grain infrastructure (including a $1.2 million mill, granary, and research center) that enabled local farmers to shift from unprofitable commodity wheat to specialty grains.

Point-of-sale-based agency banking helps make digital finance more accessible and inclusive, allowing small businesses to act as banking agents, offering services like cash withdrawals and bill payments through fintech platforms. This integration has been particularly impactful in regions without bank branches. The integration of fintech throughout Nigeria has not only led to more autonomy in personal finance but has also created significant employment opportunities.

Since 2015, the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship, with support by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), has worked to help dairy farmers transfer skills and opportunities to a new generation. Thus far, slmost 70 apprentices have graduated from the program as independent journeyworkers, and 59 farmer-apprentice pairs are currently active across the country.

Facing sky-high utility costs and accessibility challenges, the community of Molokaʻi, Hawaii, took their energy security into their own hands and developed an energy-resilience-focused action plan. Backed by the primary state utility, the community is installing solar arrays and batteries, some of which are collectively owned and subscription-based. At the same time, the solar cooperative is cultivating a local workforce specialized in solar infrastructure.

The nonprofit Africa Research Association Managing Development teaches communities in Obanliku, Nigeria, to run their own businesses in things like gardening, soap making, and marketing, and helps establish cocoa cooperatives to keep them from depending on deforestation for income. The program also requires communities to designate parts of the forest for conservation and trains members to protect those areas.

Members of the B’laan ethnic group in a community in the Philippines are improving their livelihoods by foraging for coffee beans excreted by wild palm civets. They can sell the beans at a premium price because they are used to make a luxury coffee brew. And the practice encourages the locals to protect the wild animals, which benefits the ecosystem, too.