Nuts for coco de mer: islanders rally to save world's biggest seed

The government of the Philippines is working with the Masungi Georeserve Foundation to restore wildlife and forests in a 2,700 hectares area of degraded land. They use a technique that focuses on the nurturing of native trees through natural practices. While the method takes longer to reforest an area than traditional ways, the initiative has planted 60,000 trees and employed 100 park rangers from the local communities that help protect the reserve.

Under an innovative scheme in the Democratic Republic of Congo, indigenous communities are obtaining the legal right to own and manage the forests where they reside. This ownership has shown success in slowing deforestation of the Congo rainforest and creating new economic opportunities for residents in these villages. “Rather than just being an add-on, community forestry is now being considered as a mainstream model for forest management,” says a coordinator for the Rainforest Foundation UK.

Malawi ranks fourth in the world for deforestation rates, but the country is on a pathway to making a dent in recovery thanks to community and government efforts. In just one rainy season alone, running from December to April, the country has managed to plant 60 million tree seedlings and is showing no signs of slowing down. Designated as forestry season by the government, this initiative has helped spur a national planting movement from various entities including a hydroelectric power plant and singular individuals.

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.

Organizations like the Detroit Audubon’s Bird City habitat restoration initiative are planting native flowers, grasses, and trees in vacant, underused lots and parks to restore the habitat for wildlife in the city.

Sacred groves in India protected by religious practices, culture, and communities are helping country-wide conservation efforts for greenery and endangered species.

Glyphosate is herbicide that kills deciduous trees, weeds, and shrubs and it is one of the most used herbicides in Canada. However, the World Health Organization stated that the herbicide is probably carcinogenic. Indigenous groups have linked it to the deaths of plants and animals. Across Canada, various groups and organizations are trying to end the use of the herbicide, from indigenous groups, to timber companies, and grassroots activists.

Tofino, a popular tourist destination in Clayoquot Sound, a region on the west coast of Vancouver Island, attracts about 600,000 annual visitors. The Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and other Nuu-chah-nulth nations have created an eco-based tourism market. They are trying to restore the area after it was decimated by decades of logging in the area. The five central Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations took over tree-farm licenses and created Guardian programs, as well as restoration and monitoring projects. Tofino's tourism generated $250 million in profits, setting up a model that could be used by other First Nations.

In the 1990s, Guatemala established the Maya Bisphere Reserve to stop the burgeoning rates of deforestation. However, some communities lived within this region. The organization tasked with overseeing the MBP decided to let the communities stay in the area as long as they agreed to a tight supervision of how they used the forest. The arrangement is known as a forestry concessions. Community-owned concessions must follow strict guidelines or face eviction. It worked. Deforestation rates are low, wildlife is thriving, and communities earn an income without depleting the forest.

The Miyawaki method of planting miniature natural forests in cities as a way to reduce air pollution and cool down temperatures is gaining ground throughout the world. The process involves planting a variety of trees in a particular way that allows for them to grow rapidly. While this method is very labor intensive and can be difficult to scale, there are more than 1,500 of these types of forests in Japan, India, and Pakistan.