Sustainable Biz - Magazine - Page 11
Tree climbing contractors gather cones that have been dropped by climbers in the Eldorado National Forest.
Credit: Andrew Studer /American Forest
and the world’s largest mangrove forest. But
deforestation is significantly reducing green
cover in the region and residents are among
the most impacted by climate change,
frequently facing threats like severe storms
and flooding.
“Rainfall would strip away the soil, making
it harder to farm and build a future for our
children,” Prabhat said. “Before, we had no
idea how to protect our land from erosion.”
Today Prabhat uses terrace farming, a solarpowered irrigation system and follows water
management practices thanks to an initiative
launched in 2024 by Conservation
International, with funding from TCCF,
Inditex and other partners.
The project is a joint effort with the
people of the Eastern Himalayas to restore
degraded forests, riverbanks and mangroves
across India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.
Guided by a scientific framework, the goal
of the initiative, according to Conservation
International, is to plant one billion trees
and restore one million hectares of forest by
2030, indirectly benefiting one billion people
who depend on this ecosystem. “I no longer
feel helpless when it rains,” said Prabhat.
“We are restoring what we lost…and
safeguarding our homeland for generations
to come.”
Replanting California’s fire-ravaged
forests
Since 1985, there’s been an eightfold increase
in high severity wildfires in the western
United States. Without human intervention,
it could take decades for nature to recover
from these catastrophic events.
Last year, TCCF and American Forests
formed a three-year partnership to reforest
more than 1,700 acres ravaged by the
2021 Caldor Fire in California’s Eldorado
National Forest. The fire destroyed
vegetation and roots, causing loose soil and
debris to wash into two watersheds that
serve over 175,000 people downstream.
To repair the soil and reduce erosion, the
Water is local, so every project is
rooted in restoring ecosystems
and helping communities where it
matters most.
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