Helping nature help the climate

Editor’s note: April is Earth Month, when we honor humanity’s shared responsibility for nature and the climate. At Conservation International, this responsibility drives us — and in honor of Earth Month, Conservation News is highlighting stories of our impact. We hope that this inspires you to carry the spirit of Earth Month throughout the year. In honor of this campaign in the coming weeks, Conservation News is spotlighting some recent stories and successes from around the world. We hope you consider supporting our work.

For years, Conservation International was one of few voices clamoring for action on one crucial issue: To prevent the worst impacts of climate change, humanity must protect nature. Our efforts have paid off: Nature is now front and center in the global climate conversation. Around the world at all levels — from countries to companies to communities — the protection of nature is taken seriously as a way to curb climate change while also adapting to changes that have already occurred. For Earth Month, here are a few recent impacts and findings from Conservation International.

Planting crops and grazing livestock often means cutting down trees. But are forests and farms really at odds? A groundbreaking study published last year by Conservation International says no. In fact, researchers found, farmland worldwide could stash away as much planet-warming carbon as the global emissions of all cars combined — just by adding some trees.

Read more here.

© Tory Read

A farm using agroforestry practices in Indonesia.

Let it grow: For the first time, researchers last year mapped out a global area roughly the size of Greenland where tropical forests have the greatest potential to grow back on their own. If restored, these forests could sequester an amount of carbon equivalent to nearly half the world’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. “Natural regeneration is one of our best strategies to quickly and effectively restore forests,” said Starry Sprenkle-Hyppolite, study co-author and Conservation International restoration scientist. “This research for the first time allows countries to pinpoint exactly where they should focus their efforts for maximum impact.”

Read more here.

© Abhimanu Chehri

Mist shrouds the mountains of West Bengal, India.

The Eastern Himalayas — home to 12 percent of the world’s biodiversity and 1 billion people — is one of the fastest-warming places on Earth due to climate change. As glaciers recede and monsoon seasons shift, some rivers are drying up while others face more frequent and severe floods, all while the region’s forests continue to be chipped away. For the people who live in and around the world’s “third pole” — so-called because of the vast amount of ice stored in these mountains — these recent changes threaten farms, fisheries and access to clean water. Against this backdrop comes “Mountains to Mangroves,” a massive initiative led by Conservation International to accelerate conservation across some of the most rugged and mountainous regions on Earth.

Find out more here.

Bruno Vander Velde is the managing director of storytelling at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? Sign up for email updates. Also, please consider supporting our critical work.