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Our In-Depth Stories
- 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.
- China – Biogas – Millions of rural households in China have switched to homemade biogas for cooking, with far-reaching environmental and social benefits.
- Germany – Freiburg – Improving sustainability with transportation, energy, waste management, land conservation, and a green economy.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- India – East Calcutta – Making the Most of It: Wastewater, Fishponds, and Agriculture – Municipal wastewater feeds an integrated system of fish ponds and farms.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Kenya – The Green Belt Movement – Tree planting and other projects improve Kenya’s ecosystem and quality of life.
- 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.
- 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
- Mexico – Quintana Roo – Sustainable Agro-forestry in the Zona Maya – Mayan communities augmented their ecological security with a cooperative
- 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
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- USA – Green Business in America – U.S. businesses strive to become more eco-friendly.
- 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.
- USA – California/Oregon – Decline and Restoration in the Klamath River Basin: The Klamath Settlement Agreements
- 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.
- 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.”
- USA – California/Oregon – Decline and Restoration in the Klamath River Basin: The Klamath Settlement Agreements
- USA – Hawaii (Oahu) – Waiahole Ditch Water Restoration – Twenty years after their land struggle, the Waiahole-Waikane community achieves stream restoration as well.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- USA – Hawaii (Oahu) – EcoTipping Points at Hanauma Bay – An idyllic bay goes through two cycles of overuse and preservation.
- 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.
- USA – New York (New York City) – Green Guerillas: Community Gardens Revitalize Urban Neigborhoods – Community gardens transform decaying urban neighborhoods. **** 12-minute Video
- USA – Oregon (Portland) – Sustainable City – Participatory regional planning curtails sprawl and creates strategies for a sustainable future.
- USA – Oregon (Portland) – Flexcar: A Model of For-Profit Carsharing – Portland-based Flexcar cashes in on alternatives to car ownership.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Browse our short success stories
Short Success Stories
- Australia – A Sustainable House in the City – A small urban family remodels its 100-year-old house to achieve water and energy self-sufficiency.
- Austria – Vienna – Biowaste Collection – Curbside collection of compost takes pressure off the stressed landfill and provides fertilizer for local farms.
- Austria – Wienerburg – Greenbelt Project – A dumping ground becomes a pleasant green space.
- Belgium – Hasselt – The “Sensible Transportation” City – A Belgian city develops integrated alternatives to building more roads.
- Brazil – Curitiba – Planned “Eco-City” – A participatory master plan makes fast-growing Curitiba a model city.
- Brazil – Icapui – ‘Microcredit’ Schemes – “Microcredit schemes” serve as alternatives to lobster overharvesting by struggling fishers.
- Burkina Faso – Zabre – Women’s Agroecological Project – An integrated agricultural project improves the local economy and the status of rural women.
- Canada – British Columbia – Tsleil-Waututh Nation – A native tribe helps to restore a degraded watershed, with far-reaching ecological and economic benefits.
- Canada – British Columbia – Sustainable Oyster Farming – Oyster farming diversifies the economy and provides incentives for ecological protection.
- Canada – Northwest Territories – Inuvik Community Greenhouse – An innovative greenhouse increases food security and self-sufficiency in the Arctic.
- Canada – Nova Scotia – Zero-Waste 2005 Composting Project – Recycling organic waste saves landfill space and feeds the land.
- China – Leadership Training and Cooperation for Sustainable Community Development – The Harmony Foundation of Canada educates Chinese mayors and community residents for sustainable development.
- China – Sichuan Province – Reforestation – Reforestation with local access restores a degraded watershed.
- China – Gansu – Rainwater Harvesting – Rainwater harvesting in a dry region has multiple benefits for a drought-prone region.
- China – Southern Taklimakan Desert – Tamarix Trees – Drought-resistant trees stop sand dunes encroaching on agricultural land.
- China – Fuzhou – Ocean Arks Wastewater Restorers – An innovative wastewater treatment system restores the quality of polluted urban waterways.
- Costa Rica – Talamanca – The Talamanca Initiative – A multi-faceted community initiative simultaneously promotes the local economy and ecosystem conservation.
- Cuba – Rural Solar Power – Solar power brings numerous benefits to off-the-grid rural areas.
- Cuba – Organic and Urban Agriculture – Economic crisis leads to rapid development of food self-sufficiency.
- Dominican Republic – Solar Based Rural Electrification – Small-scale enterprises for rural electrification with solar panels begin in the Dominican Republic and spread through Latin America and other parts of the world.
- Ecuador – The Battle Against Chevron Texaco – An unprecedented community-driven legal battle fights for justice after what has been called one of the most catastrophic environmental disasters in history.
- England – Mud Between Your Toes – The Eden Project offers programs to reconnect kids with nature.
- Fiji & Cook Islands – Coastal Fishery Restoration – Traditional no-take reserves and seasonal taboos restore troubled coastal fisheries.
- Guam – The Humåtak Project – A community-based project works to restore Guam’s watersheds, coral reefs, and fisheries.
- Germany – Bavaria – Neumarkter Lammsbrau – A brewery employs a holistic, farmer-to-consumer approach, enabling it to thrive in a climate of small-brewery closures.
- Germany – Feldheim – Energy independent community. A community becomes completely energy independent with wind, biogas, and solar.
- Germany – Freiburg-Vauban – Eco-Neighborhood – Participatory urban planning creates an eco-friendly neighborhood.
- India – Auroville – Planned “Eco-City” – Reforestation and other projects create an eco-friendly community, transforming a barren landscape to health and productivity.
- India – Chipko Anti-Logging Resistance – Grassroots action limits logging and its destructive consequences.
- India – Haryana Province – Forest Management – Communal forest management improves erosion control and productivity.
- India – West Bengal – Makaibari Tea Estate – Makaibari Tea Estate simulates a natural ecosystem to enhance sustainability of production.
- India – Rajasthan (and other states) – Ranbathore Craft Center – A vibrant artisan community revives local traditions and creates alternative employment for women in depressed rural regions.
- India – Rajasthan – “Barefoot College” – A village-based program revives traditional wisdom, self-sufficiency and holistic rural development.
- India – Mumbai – Industrial Greenbelt – Reforestation in an industrial area restores soil, water, wildlife and aesthetics.
- India – West Bengal – Joint Forest Management – Cooperation between government and villages prevents overexploitation of their shared resources.
- Indonesia – Bunaken National Park – Coastal Resource Management – Mangrove restoration and bamboo cultivation provide alternative livelihoods and wastewater treatment.
- Indonesia – Borneo – Restoring a Rainforest – An orangutan rescue project provides valuable lessons for re-creating a rainforest.
- Iraq – Mesopotamian Marshlands – Formerly desiccated marshlands are brought back to life.
- Ireland – Green Tax on Plastic Bags – A small charge for plastic bags has a big impact on consumption and improves the appearance of the countryside.
- Mexico – Sonora – Seri’s Sustainable Fisheries – The Seri Indians made full use of their traditional territorial rights in the Gulf of California to develop sustainable fisheries and scallop harvesting.
- Mexico – Jalisco – Ayuquila River Restoration – Communities in the Ayuquila River Basin confronted deforestation and river pollution to set the watershed on a course of ecological health.
- Mexico – Michoacán – The Patsari Stove – The Interdisciplinary Group for Appropriate Rural Technologies designed and distributed a low-pollution wood stove.
- Mexico – Veracruz and Tabasco – Chinampa System – An ancient cultivation system is revived to provide sustainable wetland agriculture for landless farmers.
- Mexico – Michoacán – Forest Reserve – A forest reserve famed for Monarch butterflies enlists active participation from local residents formerly skeptical of conservation projects.
- Mozambique – Ecological Sanitation – Using music to promote low cost, environmentally sustainable “ecological sanitation,” a process to transform human waste into nutrient-rich agricultural fertilizer.
- Netherlands – Groningen – The “Cycle City” – A bicycle-friendly city revives the economy and improves quality of life for its residents.
- Niger – Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration – Farmers use a simple, natural way to regrow trees and stop desertification.
- Peru – Micro-Hydro Power – Isolated communities on the eastern slopes of the Andes achieve electrification with small hydroelectric generators in rivers and streams.
- Peru – Amazon – Forest Product Farming – Raising poison dart frogs provides an economic incentive to preserve threatened rainforests.
- Philippines – Marikina City – Urban Revival – A new mayor’s master plan restores the livability and pride of an impoverished industrial city.
- Russia – Lake Baikal – Staving off Uranium Pollution – Protecting the world’s oldest and deepest lake from a planned petroleum pipeline and uranium enrichment facility.
- South Africa – Working for Water – Removing exotic trees from watersheds brings streams back to life, increases the nation’s water supply, and creates jobs for the unemployed.
- South Africa – Thlolengo EcoVillage – An African “eco-village” is a model of rural sustainability in a time of rural decline.
- South Africa – Walkerstroom Wetlands – Ecotourism – Nature tourism to protect grasslands and wetlands stimulates the local economy.
- Sudan – Hydrocarbon Removal from Oilfield Produced Water – Reed beds decontaminate wastewater from oilfields.
- Sweden – Ecological Tax Reform – A tax shift creates broad-based, sweeping incentives for sustainability.
- Thailand – Pak Mun Dam – Experimental Dam Opening – Experimental reopening of the Pak Mun Dam gates reveals the social and ecological costs of megadams, and the benefits of rivers to the multiple communities who depend on them.
- Uganda – Ryan’s Well – A six-year-old Canadian boy starts a movement for safe drinking water in Africa.
- Uganda – AIDS control – A holistic approach makes Ugandan AIDS control efforts exemplary.
- USA – Community-Supported Fisheries – Modeled after community-supported agriculture, community-supported fisheries benefit fishermen, consumers, and the environment.
- USA – Power to the People – Thanks to a new online platform, small investors can join together to fund solar energy projects.
- USA – Alabama (Hale County) – The Rural Studio – Architecture students combine their studies with the design and creation of ecological housing for low-income clients.
- USA – Alaska – Denali BioTechnologies – Valuable wild blueberries are harvested on deforested land, providing good nutrition and an economic boost to remote villages.
- USA – California – Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District – Napa County works with the “living rivers” principle for its flood management plan.
- USA – California (San Francisco) – The Garden Project – Organic farming by prison inmates restores their connection to the land and addresses recidivism.
- USA – California (Morgan Hill) – Women’s Action to Gain Economic Security – Women’s cooperatives create much-needed living-wage and eco-friendly jobs.
- USA – California (Los Angeles) – Natural Urban Park – The Augustus F. Hawkins Natural Park turns an urban brownfield into a natural ecosystem that connects local residents to nature and revitalizes their community.
- USA – Colorado (Boulder) – Namaste Solar Electric – A photovoltaics company offers renewable energy and a socially conscious business model.
- USA – Hawaii (Big Island) – Sustainable Forest Management – The Forest Service, Nature Conservancy, and private companies cooperate in a sustainable forestry venture.
- USA – Hawaii (Oahu) – Sustainable Saunders Initiative – College students lead the effort to make the University of Hawai’i more sustainable.
- USA – Hawaii (Oahu) – Kokua Kalihi Valley: A Holistic Approach to Health – Kokua Kalihi Valley community health center integrates the health of the people and the health of the land.
- USA – Kansas – Land Institute – Restoring shrinking prairie habitats with sustainable agriculture.
- USA – Louisiana – Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program – A cooperative regional management program turns the tide of environmental degradation in the nation’s largest estuary.
- USA – Maine – Alewife Restoration – Extraordinary measures are taken to restore Maine’s river herring population, a keystone species in the ecosystem.
- USA – Maine – Maine Lobsters – Co-management in the Maine lobster fishery helps promote sustainability.
- USA – Massachusetts (Boston) – Nira Rock – An old quarry is transformed into a sanctuary for wildlife and people alike.
- USA – Minnesota – Red Lake Restoration – Native Americans restore wild rice and walleye fish on their reservation.
- USA – New York (New York City) – Melrose Commons – Local residents resist eviction and gentrification with alternative urban development.
- USA – New York (New York City) – Watershed Protection – Watershed protection is a cost-effective alternative to a costly treatment plant to improve the region’s deteriorating water quality.
- USA – Oregon (Portland) – The Rebuilding Center – A building materials recycling business thrives in a formerly economically depressed neighbourhood.
- USA – Texas (Austin) – People Organized in the Defense of Earth and Her Resources (PODER) – A low-income neighborhood starts a successful environmental/economic justice movement.
- USA – Texas (Austin) – Green Building and Green Choice Programs – Housing projects opt for sustainability in building materials and energy supply.
- USA – Texas (Austin) – Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Program – Austin incorporates natural habitats in city planning to protect it from sprawl.
- USA – Washington State – Lummi Nation Marine Aquaculture – Native Americans save their reservation with eco-development.
- USA – Various locations – Phytoremediation – Plants and microbes use natural processes to purify contaminated wastewater.
- Vanuatu – Coconut Oil as an Alternative Fuel – In a time of decreasing copra prices and increasing petroleum prices, coconut oil holds promise as a “biodiesel” fuel.
- Zambia – Transforming Communities through Sustainable Development – A wildlife conservation and community development program protects biodiversity while simultaneously improving village life in the region.
- Zimbabwe – Microhydropower – Microhydropower brings low-impact energy to rural villages.
- Zimbabwe – Water Farming – Through “water farming” Phiri Maseko’s farm is a paradise that resists droughts for several years.
