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He lost his best friend in a mudslide. Now he's using coconuts to fight deforestation in West Africa.

Danielle Paquette

December 03, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Sierra Leone, Freetown

Alhaji Siraj Bah created Rugsal Trading to decrease deforestation in Sierra Leone. One of the reasons people clear forests is to make wood-based charcoal for fuel. In order to address that need while enouraging sustainability, Bah's company makes a charcoal substitute out of coconut scraps. They've made $11,000 in revenue and produced 100 tons of coconut briquettes.

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Hundreds of Companies Promised to Help Save Forests. Did They?

Lucy Tompkins

December 02, 2021 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

About 80 percent of tropical deforestation in South America and Southeast Asia is caused by large corporations clear-cutting natural forests to graze cattle or grow crops like cocoa, palm oil, and soybeans that are turned into chocolate, processed food and cosmetics, and animal feed. Ten years ago, some of the largest offenders, including Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, Walmart, and Mars, vowed to clean up their act. With a few exceptions, however, their efforts have failed. This article explores what's worked, what hasn't, and why.

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The U.S. Government Is Wasting Billions on Ineffective Wildfire Policy

Aaron Labaree

November 30, 2021 |

Slate |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The U.S. Forest Service and the state of California's Cal Fire pour billions of dollars into waging all-out war on massive wildfires. Huge camps for firefighters, heavy equipment, and elaborate airborne resources make up the arsenal thrown at a problem that is growing thanks in part to climate change. But the efforts are largely wasteful and ineffective because of the scope of the problem and the lack of focus on aspects of the problem that can be controlled better, such as fires at the "wildland-urban interface" where human habitation meets the forest.

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When the Ice Stops Singing

Sasha Gallick

November 14, 2021 |

Pioneers Post |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Finland, Saarijärvi

Snowchange is a co-operative formed by a network of villages across Finland. The co-op formed after fishermen found all the fish in the river dead due to pollution. They decided to take action. They began "rewilding," a process of restoring ecosystems to the point that they can take care of themselves. They did this by buying peat production sites and rewilding them to wetlands. A decade ago there was merely three to four bird species in the first rewilding site the co-op bought, now there's close to 200.

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In Southeast Alaska, a new type of conservation

Meghan Sullivan

October 18, 2021 |

Indian Country Today |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Alaska

Collaboration amongst scientists, hunters, park rangers, former timber harvesters, and members of the Indigenous community is leading to new solutions for persistent problems. The Sustainable Southeast Partnership has been secured to “center indigenous-led stewardship” for sustainable solutions to conflicts that once pitted the unsustainable Alaskan logging industry with locals who were directly impacted.

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'Community Ownership' Might Be the Best Way to Fight Deforestation

Peter Yeung

October 15, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Evidence shows that "community-run forests," or forests that are owned and managed by the people that live in the community are better for the environment. In a village in the Democratic Republic of Congo 300 people manage 5,000 hectares of forest. Data shows that the rate of deforestation in 57 community concessions like the one in the village was 23 percent lower than the national average. Community-run forests also provide financial means for the people In Guatemala a community-run generated 9,000 jobs and $6 million in revenue.

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How decades of stopping forest fires made them worse

Kimberly Mas

September 22, 2021 |

Vox |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States

Prescribed burning or controlled burning is an ancestral indigenous practice in which specific sections of a forest are burned. Controlled burning also happens naturally like when lightning strikes a forest. Controlled burning is good for a forest, it gets rid of dead areas, leads to healthier soil by clearing the ground, and minimizes the strength of large fires. However, due to U.S. laws that criminalized controlled burns the practice was discouraged in the U.S. Now, due to climate change and larger fires, prescribed burning is making a come back.

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The lost generation of ancient trees

Katherine Latham

September 08, 2021 |

BBC |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

Ancient trees like the Big Belly Oak, which grows to be hundreds of years old, provide substance to thousands of invertebrate species, and hundreds of species of lichen and fungi. However, due to changes in forest management and agriculture, many of the ancient trees are not surviving long enough to age. It's crucial for them to age because that's when many species of fungi and insects begin to move into their core. In order to speed up the aging process scientists are trying two methods, veteranisation and inserting fungi into trees.

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How one town put politics aside to save itself from fire

Nathanael Johnson

September 01, 2021 |

Grist |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Ashland, Oregon

The Ashland Watershed Protection Project is a collaboration between the community, the Forest Service, and environmental activists. The community leads the process, with input from local Native American leaders, to clear brush and cut down trees for fire maintenance while minimizing forest destruction and preventing logging companies from profiting. Instead, a is in charge of determining which areas, trees, and brush should be cleared for fire safety.

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How Clayoquot Sound's War in the Woods transformed a region

Stephanie Wood

August 28, 2021 |

The Narwhal |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, British Columbia

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.

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