Benjamin Felser

Preventing human-wildlife conflict to protect ecosystems - A network of volunteers from Nepal and India has successfully reduced human-elephant conflict along their shared border. My experience living in Nepal, along with recent reporting on rhinos that I mentioned in a previous issue, has shown that this type of conflict has increased alongside wildlife protection campaigns and the Covid-caused economic crisis. Still, there are success stories in places that respond by educating communities and monitoring wildlife movement in critical corridors. Shankar Luitel, a farmer from Bahundangi in southeast Nepal, leads the "wild elephant movement management team" in that region, even employing warning sirens when the elephants approach villages. Similar efforts exist where tiger or rhino conflict is prevalent. Elephant-caused mortalities and resultant elephant poaching used to occur around once a year in Bahundangi. The last elephant-caused death in the area was six years ago, and now despite occasional problems caused by their presence, community members typically seek to protect the endangered Asian elephants.

 Amy Boyer

Cover cropping as climate solution - In Texas, farmers are experimenting with cover crops in the hot, unpredictable Rio Grande Valley, which has been roasting this year in a heat dome that is engulfing most of the southern U.S. this week. Cover crops are your grandparents' way of farming, utilized by the ancient Greeks and Romans and many indigenous peoples worldwide. They sequester carbon, make soil nutrients more available, provide food for animals and people, and reduce or prevent erosion. Cover crops improve farms and also help wetlands by reducing fertilizer and sediment pollution. With the rise of synthetic fertilizers, recent generations of farmers have lost cover crop management skills, but as reported recently in this Canadian policy journal there is a growing movement to bring back cover crops, supported with funding and training. Home gardeners can also benefit. Fava beans are a winter cover cropping favorite of mine-- they add nitrogen to the soil, slow down annual weeds, and attract pollinators with their fragrant flowers.  In spring you can grill and eat the young pods whole, and into the summer fava bean salad is a culinary ritual.

 Claire Krummenacher

Cleveland's thriving food ecosystem - Community organization Rid-All Green Partnership has transformed a former illegal dumping ground in a low-income neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio into a thriving food ecosystem demonstrating a number of regenerative design strategies.  The site includes 18 acres of farmland, a commercial composting system, a rain catchment pond and a self-sustaining hydroponics system that supports a 7,200 square foot fish farm. The circular economy created by the organization has resulted in myriad benefits for the city, including compost generated from the farm's food waste, specialized programs that serve veterans and youth, paid apprenticeships for community members, a community kitchen that hosts cooking and nutrition classes and a farmer's market set up in Maple Heights (a suburb considered a food desert). In addition, Rid-All was designated as the official tree nursery site of the Cleveland Tree coalition and will grow and sell over 5,000 trees as part of the city's reforestation efforts.

 Jonathan Hawken

Female-led acroecology takes root in Guatemala - Large-scale agriculture has transformed Guatemala's ancestral lands into a mono-crop wasteland. A network comprising more than 40 indigenous communities and farmer associations is pushing back by establishing agroecology schools in Guatemala to promote ancestral practices. The Utz Che' Community Forestry Association asserts that it has improved the livelihoods of 33,000 families who engage in organic farming while collectively safeguarding 74,000 hectares of forests throughout Guatemala.

Within each school, predominantly female farmers engage in discussions about their challenges and desired skills. Attendance is free under the condition that former students assist in supporting the subsequent cohort of farmers. One farmer highlights their success in developing natural insecticides using garlic, chiles, horsetail, and other weeds. Additionally, they employ the bokashi fertilizer production method, which entails fermenting organic manure—a highly effective technique for potato cultivation. For more information, check out our own Agroecology Nexus and Degraded Land Restoration Nexus. 

 Juliana Birnbaum

Five nations leading the way to net zero - Many countries have set the goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but how many have taken actionable steps toward implementation that would achieve it? World Resources Institute released new research recently identifying five countries that have taken the steps necessary to successfully decarbonize their economies: Costa Rica, Chile, South Africa, Denmark and France. The report, “Realizing Net-Zero Emissions: Good Practices in Countries,” discusses the ingredients for a just transition, that is, how to make this shift in a way that improves the lives and livelihoods of those most impacted. It highlights the key national actions required to reach these targets as foundational decision-making, good governance, stakeholder engagement, investment, and sectoral policy interventions. The case studies show how some countries have managed to overcome challenges and make real progress toward their net-zero commitments, serving as models for the rest of the world to follow.

Want the Waggle coming to your inbox instead? Click Here to Subscribe!