Flagship Success Stories

All of Our In-Depth Stories

1. Canada – British Columbia (Whistler) – Community Engagement in Planning for a Sustainable Future – A community comes together to manage uncontrolled growth and creates a groundbreaking plan for sustainable resort development.
2. China – Biogas – Millions of rural households in China have switched to homemade biogas for cooking, with far-reaching environmental and social benefits.
3. Germany – Freiburg – Improving sustainability with transportation, energy, waste management, land conservation, and a green economy.
4. Honduras – The Monte Verde Story: Community Eradication of Aedes aegypti (the mosquito responsible for Zika, dengue, and chikungunya) – A humble community uses biological control to free itself from the mosquito and the diseases.
5. India – New Delhi – Urban Rainwater Harvesting – Rainwater harvesting at Shri Ram School makes it a key player in a widespread movement to address Delhi’s water shortages.
6. India – Andhra Pradesh – “Non-Pesticide Management” for Agricultural Pests: Escaping the Pesticide Trap – Controlling pests without chemical pesticides catapults farmers from chronic poisoning and debt to health and hope.
7. India – Rajasthan – Water Warriors: Restoring Traditional Earthen Dams for Rainwater Harvesting and Groundwater Replenishment – Revival of traditional rainwater harvesting dams recharges the aquifer, transforming a drought-ridden landscape. *** 11-minute video
8. India – East Calcutta – Making the Most of It: Wastewater, Fishponds, and Agriculture – Municipal wastewater feeds an integrated system of fish ponds and farms.
9. India – Bangalore – Upscale Eco-Friendly Housing – A small, upscale neighborhood shows how eco-friendly living is a viable alternative to housing india’s high-tech affluent in unsustainable subdivisions.
10. India – Karnataka – A Growing Network of Seed Banks and Organic Farms – A network of seed banks and organic farming projects helps farmers reverse the trend toward extinction of local crop varieties.
11. Israel/Palestine/Jordan – EcoPeace/Friends of the Earth Middle East and the Good Water Neighbors Project – EcoPeace/Friends of the Earth Middle East restores the environment and improves international relations at the same time.
12. Japan – How Japan Saved its Forests: The Birth of Silviculture and Community Forest Management – Villagers devise silviculture and community forest management to save the nation’s forests.
13. Kenya – The Green Belt Movement – Tree planting and other projects improve Kenya’s ecosystem and quality of life.
14. Mexico – Oaxaca – Community Reforestation in the Mixteca Region – The Center for Integrated Farmer Development recently won the Goldman prize for reforesting highly eroded lands and rescuing the traditional sustainable agriculture of the region.
15. Mexico – Quintana Roo – The Vigía Chico Fishing Cooperative – A remote fishing village devises community management to protect its lobster fishery and ensure a high quality of life for everyone
16. Mexico – Quintana Roo – Sustainable Agro-forestry in the Zona Maya – Mayan communities augmented their ecological security with a cooperative
17. Philippines – Apo Island – Marine Sanctuary: Restoring a Coral-Reef Fishery – A marine sanctuary rescues a fishery and coral-reef ecosystem headed for collapse. * 7-minute Video
18. Thailand – Trang Province – Taking Back the Mangroves with Community Management – Standing up to powerful interests to protect a commonly managed resource triggers a regeneration of society, economy and fishery.
19. Thailand – Nakhon Sawan Province – Watershed Restoration with Agroforestry and Community Forest Management – Agroforestry farming and community-managed forests empower impoverished villagers to optimize their resources, both natural and human, while showing how to reduce greenhouse gases by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. **14-minute Video
20. Thailand – Nonthaburi Province – Temple Reuses and Recycles, Refurbishes and Resells with Great Benefits for the Poor – A temple combines creative reuse and recycling, sustainable agriculture, and social programs.
21. USA – Green Business in America – U.S. businesses strive to become more eco-friendly.
22. USA – California (Arcata) – Constructed Wetland: A Cost-Effective Alternative for Wastewater Treatment – Shunning a costly regional sewage treatment plant, a town converts derelict industrial land into a marsh that purifies its municipal wastewater.
23. USA – California/Oregon – Decline and Restoration in the Klamath River Basin: The Klamath Settlement Agreements
24. USA – California (Berkeley) – Edible Schoolyards: Connecting Kids to the Earth and Encouraging Healthy Eating Habits – Replacing a parking lot with a school garden and kitchen, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle school creates tools for education and social change.
25. USA – California (Oakland) – The People’s Grocery: Bringing Healthy Food to Low-Income Neighborhoods – A mobile grocery brings fresh food to a low-income “food desert.”
26. USA – California/Oregon – Decline and Restoration in the Klamath River Basin: The Klamath Settlement Agreements
27. USA – Hawaii (Oahu) – Waiahole Ditch Water Restoration – Twenty years after their land struggle, the Waiahole-Waikane community achieves stream restoration as well.
28. USA – Hawaii (Oahu) – He‘eia Fishpond and Watershed – Ecosystem restoration at He‘eia, Hawai‘i spans the watershed from the coastal fishpond to the upper valley.
29. USA – Hawaii – Restoring the Life of the Land: Taro Patches in Hawai’i – Ancient irrigation systems are being restored to cultivate Hawai’i’s staple crop.
30. USA – Hawaii (Oahu) – MA‘O Organic Farm: Growing Food and Empowering Youth – Agriculture and education improves food security and the social situation in a marginalized community.
31. USA – Hawaii (Oahu) – EcoTipping Points at Hanauma Bay – An idyllic bay goes through two cycles of overuse and preservation.
32. USA – Hawaii (Big Island) – The West Hawai‘i Fisheries Council: A Forum for Coral Reef Stakeholders – Stakeholder dialog reduces conflict and improves management of a coral reef.
33. USA – New York (New York City) – Green Guerillas: Community Gardens Revitalize Urban Neigborhoods – Community gardens transform decaying urban neighborhoods. **** 12-minute Video
34. USA – Oregon (Portland) – Sustainable City – Participatory regional planning curtails sprawl and creates strategies for a sustainable future.
35. USA – Oregon (Portland) – Flexcar: A Model of For-Profit Carsharing – Portland-based Flexcar cashes in on alternatives to car ownership.
36. USA – Utah (Salt Lake City) – Regional Planning through Community Participation: Learning from Envision Utah – The community turned urban growth in a healthier direction with structured, map-based workshops for thousands of citizens.
37. USA/Canada – The Organic Farming Movement in North America: Moving towards Sustainable Agriculture – How the current mainstreaming of organics is just one stage in a larger EcoTipping Point towards sustainable agriculture in North America and beyond.
38. Vietnam – Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, Copepods, and Biological Control of Mosquitoes – Community participation enlists a tiny predator of mosquito larvae to eradicate the dengue-fever mosquito, liberating a million people from the disease.

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