Swap Seeds at the Green Festival in Washington, D.C. by Tabitha Alterman via Mother Earth News
Archive for October, 2010
Trees for the Future Agroforestry Initiatives Benefit Endangered Cross River Gorillas in Cameroon
Oct 19
Silver Spring, MD – October 6, 2010 Trees for the Future, a leading nonprofit organization providing economic opportunity and improving livelihoods worldwide through seed distribution and agroforestry training, says its work in Southwest Cameroon is not only helping communities develop more sustainable agricultural practices, but it’s also helping protect Africa’s most critically endangered ape, the Cross River Gorilla.
“As far as we know, there are only about 300 of these types of gorillas left in the wild,” says Ethan Budiansky, head of Africa and Caribbean programs for Trees for the Future.
“Unsustainable farming practices and deforestation for basic needs like food and housing exploit the natural habitats of a gorilla on the verge of extinction,” he adds.
Trees for the Future concentrates its efforts in the Western Highlands of Cameroon where it works with rural farmers to develop sustainable land-use practices which not only improve the lives of people, but help protect the Cross River Gorilla and other endangered animals including the Cameroon-Nigeria chimpanzee. As of 2010, Trees for the Future is collaborating with 171 farming associations and working with over 3,000 farmers in 15 districts to plant over 2.2 million more trees by the end of this year.
Deforestation is a critical problem in Cameroon due to agricultural expansion and the ever growing need for construction material and fuel wood. By improving soil fertility and decreasing erosion through agroforestry extension, farmers increase their crop yields while also providing income-generating activities such as raising livestock and honey, snail, and fruit production. Trees for the Future continually works with farmers to develop sustainable agriculture methods that also provide alternative sources for construction material and fuel wood in the Lebialem Highlands, home to both the Cross River Gorilla and the Cameroon-Nigeria chimpanzee.
More than 50 percent of Cameroon’s 18 million people reside in rural areas and nearly 50 percent of the rural population is living in poverty. The majority of the people live in or around the country’s 22 million hectares of forest and are dependent on the forest’s resources for their livelihoods and to meet local energy needs.
“Through working with local farmers on more sustainable practices we are protecting forests by creating a buffer zone between the gorillas and local communities,” adds Budiansky. “Improving soil fertility to increase crop yields is the primary aspect of our work in Cameroon, but it has a broader impact on neighboring forests and the endangered animals that inhabit them.”
Trees for the Future also works with Peace Corps Cameroon helping to support programs and train volunteers in agroforestry.
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About Trees for the Future
Headquartered in Silver Spring, Md. and founded in 1989, Trees for the Future is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization helping communities around the world plant trees. Through seed distribution, sustainable management and agroforestry training, and in-country technical assistance, it empowers rural groups worldwide to restore tree cover to their lands, protect the environment and help to preserve traditional livelihoods and cultures for generations. Trees for the Future attend at 7th Annual WDC Green Festival October 23-24 in booth#229. The organization will provide newsletters, brochures, and free bumper stickers, and visitors will have the chance to meet members of the Trees for the Future team and hear their stories out in the field. To learn more about Trees for the Future, visit: http://www.plant-trees.org.
Washington D.C.- October 19, 2010 Two top officials from the Global South charged with fighting for an aggressive international agreement on climate change will speak to environmental activists, journalists and policymakers at the Green Festival in Washington, D.C. Claudia Salerno, Venezuela’s Presidential Envoy for Climate Change, and Pablo Solon, Bolivia’s Ambassador to the UN, will headline a panel discussion on October 24 at the festival, which is billed as the largest sustainability event in the U.S.
If there is one thing that ties Salerno and Solon to environmental activists in the U.S., it’s a serious concern that the world is not doing enough to stop climate change. At the Copenhagen Summit in December 2009, both Venezuela and Bolivia gave voice to worries held by many activists that the world’s developed countries were not ready to do what it takes to limit global temperature increases.
Those concerns led to the April 2010 World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, held in Cochabamba, Bolivia. In this event countries from the Global South and environmental activists and officials from more than 140 countries – including 400 from the U.S. – inclusively debated how best to combat climate change and promote environmental sustainability. The outcome of that debate will be taken by Venezuela and Bolivia to the next global summit on climate change, scheduled for Cancun, Mexico in December 2010.
Salerno and Solon will discuss the movement from the Global South to truly fight climate change, and they will exchange their thoughts and strategies with U.S.-based environmental activists as well as their proposed alternatives to the Copenhagen Accord.
The event will take place on Sunday, October 24 from 2-3 p.m. at the Center Stage of the Washington Convention Center. The Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Washington, D.C. has a limited number of complimentary tickets to be given. To get one, please email ogoumbri@venezuela-us.org
For more information on the Green Festival and the panel that will feature Salerno and Solon visit: http://www.greenfestivals.org/wdc/updates/
For more information about Venezuela’s policies on climate change, please visit: http://venezuela-us.org/live/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/10-08-2010-Venezuela-and-Climate-Change.pdf
Downey, CA – October 18, 2010 Founded in 2009 by Jeff Heister and Michael Martinez, DogWoodIDs.com was built to offer pet lovers an alternative to the “tin tag”. Their goal was to produce the most unique, Eco-Friendly line of pet tags that they could. Well, hundreds of designs and a truck-load of recycled lumber later, DogWoodIDs was born.
Launched in 2010, the site offers a number of unmistakable design options and is built on a framework capable of loading new ones on a daily basis. The final result is a user-friendly design center tied to a “green” workshop in Albuquerque, New Mexico. All DogWoodIDs tags are custom, hand-made creations carved out of sustainable birch wood and elegantly finished. Visitors to the site can see photographs of actual tags that were created for staff members and their favorite critters.
Customers can choose from countless combinations and build the perfect tag for pets, luggage, cell phones, keys or any other item that may require identification. Each DogWoodIDs tag is made to order: cut, engraved and finished to exact specifications. Tags are sold at very reasonable prices, are manufactured in the U.S.A and ship for free, no matter the location.
DogWoodIDs offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If for any reason customers are unhappy with their tag, they can simply return it for a replacement or an account credit.
DogWoodIDs.com is maintained by a group of pet people in Downey, CA. Orders are processed 7 days a week and are usually whipped-up in 2-3 business days. Live customer service representatives are available Monday through Friday from 7:30am to 4:30pm PST and can be reached at 1-800-523-7979 or customerservice@dogwoodids.com.
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