Taking Root: Our Work

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The Challenge: Tropical Deforestation

Tropical deforestation is a major contributor to climate change. This is because trees are made up of 50% carbon. When trees are cut down, that carbon is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary contributor to climate change. Through this process, deforestation releases more CO2 than the global contribution of all the world’s cars, planes and trains combined.

The root cause of deforestation is people clearing land to grow food or earn an income, usually in the poorest parts of the world. Local poverty drives local deforestation and local deforestation drives global climate change.

As a result, the solution to the problem is not as simple as planting new trees. Planting new trees without addressing people’s need to earn an income will not work. Unfortunately, because this is commonly overlooked, hundreds of millions of dollars are wasted on tree planting projects that rarely survive after the first year.

The Solution: Reforestation that Provides an Income

Taking Root works in partnership with farmers in some of the poorest parts of the world to reforest their own land in a way that provides them with an income.

This is done by providing them with:

  1. access to markets for the goods and services produced by their trees (e.g. carbon sequestration services)
  2. training on how to grow productive and healthy trees
  3. cash payments over time based on the growth of their trees.

Every participating farmer selects from several carefully crafted pre-approved planting designs based on the unique circumstances of their family and farm. Each design consists of a variety of native tree species that mitigate climate change, improve livelihoods and restores ecosystems. Each farm is mapped out to make sure that trees never displace agricultural production.

Taking Root guarantees that every farm reforested stays reforested. The exact location of each farm reforested is pinpointed using GPS technology and made visible on Google Maps where you can see which farmer planted how many trees. The work is independently third party certified by the Plan Vivo Standard. Taking Root then monitors the reforested farms annually to make sure that the trees are growing according to schedule. Using this information, payments to farmers are calculated and any tree mortality is replanted. The results of all the monitoring and payments to farmers made publicly available in Taking Root’s annual reports. Furthermore, social and environmental impact indicators are updated and made public every three months.

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There Could Be Tiny Bits of Plastic in Your Sea Salt

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Some environmentalists warn the plastic pollution threat now “rivals climate change.”

Author: Jessica Glenza, The Guardian | Published: September 12, 2017

Sea salt around the world has been contaminated by plastic pollution, adding to experts’ fears that microplastics are becoming ubiquitous in the environment and finding their way into the food chain via the salt in our diets.

Following recent revelations in the Guardian about levels of plastic contamination in tap water, new studies have shown that tiny particles have been found in sea salt in the UK, France and Spain, as well as China and now the U.S.

Researchers believe the majority of the contamination comes from microfibers and single-use plastics such as water bottles, items that comprise the majority of plastic waste. Up to 12.7m metric tons of plastic enters the world’s oceans every year, equivalent to dumping one garbage truck of plastic per minute into the world’s oceans, according to the United Nations.

“Not only are plastics pervasive in our society in terms of daily use, but they are pervasive in the environment,” said Sherri Mason, a professor at the State University of New York at Fredonia, who led the latest research into plastic contamination in salt. Plastics are “ubiquitous, in the air, water, the seafood we eat, the beer we drink, the salt we use—plastics are just everywhere”.

Mason collaborated with researchers at the University of Minnesota to examine microplastics in salt, beer and drinking water. Her research looked at 12 different kinds of salt (including 10 sea salts) bought from US grocery stores around the world. The Guardian received an exclusive look at the forthcoming study.

Mason found Americans could be ingesting upwards of 660 particles of plastic each year, if they follow health officials’ advice to eat 2.3 grammes of salt per day. However, most Americans could be ingesting far more, as health officials believe 90 percent of Americans eat too much salt.

The health impact of ingesting plastic is not known. Scientists have struggled to research the impact of plastic on the human body, because they cannot find a control group of humans who have not been exposed.

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2nd RI General Assembly Agenda September 22-24, 2017

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September 22 | Day 1

Time/Location

Agenda

Panelists

9:00AM-9:30AM
Casa Vía Orgánica

REGISTRATION

9:30AM-9:45AM

Plenary Tent

WELCOME

Ronnie Cummins (Organic Consumers Association/RI Steering Committee)      

9:45AM-11:45AM

Plenary Tent

STATE OF THE GLOBAL REGENERATION MOVEMENT: STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, AND NEXT STEPS

In this session we’ll hear from nine panelists followed by 30 minutes of discussion and questions.

Panelists: Andre Leu (RI Steering Committee/IFOAM Organics International), Daniela Howell (Savory Institute), Ercilia Sahores (RI Staff), Hans Herren (RI Steering Committee/Biovision Foundation), John Fagan (HRI Labs), Precious Phiri (RI Steering Committee/Earthwisdom Consulting), Ruchi Shroff (Navdanya), Ronnie Cummins (Organic Consumers Association/RI Steering Committee), Tom Newmark (the Carbon Underground).

Moderator: Ercilia Sahores (RI Team)

11:45AM-12:00PM
Casa Vía Orgánica

COFFEE BREAK

12:00PM-1:30PM

Plenary Tent     

INTRODUCTIONS

Each participant will be invited to share a one minute introduction.

Moderator: Mercedes Lopez Martinez (Asociación de Consumidores Orgánicos)

1:30PM-3:00PM

Casa Vía Orgánica

LUNCH          

Enjoy an organic mexican meal prepared onsite by local chefs using fresh local ingredients.

3:00PM – 3:30PM

Plenary Tent

DEFENDING ECOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE IN THE YUCATAN  

Presentation from MA OGM, a collective defending smallholder farmers, communities and the environment in the Yucatan, Mexico.

 

Alicia Poot Tucuch, Gustavo Huchín Cauich, Luis Arturo Carrillo Sánchez (Colectivo Ma OGM)

3:30PM-4:30PM

Plenary Tent

BREAKOUT GROUPS: STATE OF THE GLOBAL REGENERATION MOVEMENT: STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, NEXT STEPS

Participants will be divided into six breakout groups to discuss and identify strengths, weaknesses, and next steps for the global regeneration movement. How do we scale up regenerative agriculture? What resources, tools, or advancements could turn your most common weaknesses into strengths? What are the next steps in your region or area of work for advancing the regeneration movement?

Moderators: Andre Leu (RI Steering Committee/IFOAM Organics International) and Ronnie Cummins (Organic Consumers Association/RI Steering Committee)

 

 

4:30PM-5:30PM

Plenary Tent

REPORTS FROM BREAKOUT GROUPS

Hear reports about strengths, weaknesses and next steps from breakout groups.

Moderators: Andre Leu (RI Steering Committee/IFOAM Organics International) and Ronnie Cummins (Organic Consumers Association/RI Steering Committee)

5:30PM-7:00PM

Meet in Plenary Tent

FARM TOUR

Vía Orgánica staff will lead a walking tour of the Farm School and Ranch. Please bring good walking shoes, a hat and a bottle of water.

Rosana Alvarez Martinez (Vía Orgánica) and Azucena Cabrera Oviedo (Vía Orgánica)

6:30PM-7:00PM

Casa Vía Orgánica

REFRESHMENTS

Organic refreshments and cash bar (USD and Mexican pesos accepted) for local organic beer and wine.

7:00PM-8:00PM

Casa Vía Orgánica

DINNER

Enjoy an organic mexican meal prepared onsite by local chefs using fresh local ingredients.

8:30 PM

Casa Vía Orgánica

DRINKS, MUSIC, CAMPFIRE

For those who want to mingle later into the evening we will have a campfire and a few guitars on hand.

September 23 | Day 2

Time/Location

Agenda

Panelists

9:00AM-10:30AM

Plenary Tent

4/1000: A GLOBAL PLAN FOR EDUCATION, COALITION BUILDING, GRASSROOTS LOBBYING, FUNDING, TRAINING, SCALING UP

What is the Global 4/1000 Initiative and what has the 4/1000 Consortium asked RI to do?

(Stage 1) Spread the word, coalition building (reach out and create alliances with food, farm, climate, peace, justice, natural health, etc. movements). Get new NGOs, cities, counties, states, regions, and nations to formally to sign on.

(Stage 2) Identify best practices and trainers. Organize educational meetings and teach-ins in each region and country. Help groups access funding. Develop an Open-Source Regeneration Manual.     

Panelists: Ronnie Cummins (Organic Consumers Association/RI Steering Committee), Andre Leu (IFOAM Organics International/RI Steering Committee), Ercilia Sahores (RI Team), Precious Phiri (RI Steering Committee/Earthwisdom Consulting)

 

Moderator: Alexandra Groome (RI Team/Grow Ahead)

10:30-11:00

Casa Vía Orgánica

COFFEE BREAK

11:00-12:00

Meet in Plenary Tent

REGIONAL BREAKOUT GROUPS: HOW TO IMPLEMENT THE 4/1000 INITIATIVE

Participants will be divided into six groups, by region to discuss strategies and tactics for how to implement the 4/1000 Initiative (both stages).

Moderator: Alexandra Groome (RI Team/Grow Ahead)

 

Breakout Groups

Group 1: USA Midwest and South

Group 2: USA Northwest

Group 3: USA Northeast: Katherine Paul

Group 4: Latin America: Ercilia Sahores

Group 5: México: Mercedes Lopez Martinez

Group 6: International

12:00PM-1:00PM

Plenary Tent

REPORTS FROM BREAKOUT GROUPS       

Moderator: Alexandra Groome (RI Team/Grow Ahead)

 

1:00PM-2:30PM

Casa Vía Orgánica

LUNCH

Enjoy an organic mexican meal prepared onsite by local chefs using fresh local ingredients.

2:30 PM -4:30PM

Meet at Plenary Tent

FARM TOUR: REGENERATIVE PROJECTS

Participants will visit three regenerative projects at Vía Orgánica and hear from the founders. Projects include Granjas Regenerativas (Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin and Daniel Ajpop), experimental compost area (David and Hui-Chun Su Johnson), and keyline plough (Gerardo Ruiz and Ronnie Cummins).

Organizer: Rachel Kastner (RI Team)

 

5:00 PM

Casa Vía Orgánica

BUSES LEAVE FOR DINNER IN SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

We will be traveling to San Miguel de Allende Centro for the evening so bring a light jacket, money and your camera!

5:30 PM

Vía Orgánica Restaurant

DINNER AT VIA ORGANICA MERCADO RURAL IN SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

At Vía Orgánica Store and Restaurant local chefs will set up an outdoor food market just for us. Meal tickets will be provided and there will be a cash bar. After eating dinner we will take a short walk to   San Miguel’s city centro to enjoy the town square, mariachi bands and desserts at Hotel Mansion Virreyes.

8:30PM

FREE TIME IN SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

 

10:30 PM

Vía Orgánica Restaurant

SHUTTLES DEPART FOR RANCH FROM VIA ORGANICA RESTAURANT

September 24 |  Day 3

Time/Location

Agenda

Panelists

9:00AM-11:00AM

Plenary Tent

PANEL: REGENERATIVE STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION

Strengths and Weaknesses of Practices, Standards, Testing, and Certification that already exist that may be categorized as potentially regenerative or “Transition to Regenerative” (organic, biodynamic, 100% grassfed, pastured, PGS or Community Controlled Certifications).   

Panelists: Andre Leu (IFOAM Organics International and RI Steering Committee), Carrie Balkcom (American Grassfed Association), Chris Kerston (Savory Institute), Elizabeth Candelario (Demeter), Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin (Mainstreet Project), Tim LaSalle (Chico State University).

 

Moderator: Ronnie Cummins (Organic Consumers Association/RI Steering Committee)

11:00AM-11:30AM

Casa Vía Orgánica

COFFEE BREAK

11:30AM-1:30PM

Plenary Tent

REGENERATION GAME-CHANGERS

Hear from participants about game-changers for the regenerative agriculture movement, including: compost reactor and compost extracts; regenerative poultry and grain production; national and global marketplace campaigning; regenerating entire regions; large-scale landscape restoration; Care What You Wear.

 

 

Panelists: Compost Reactor and Compost Extracts (David Johnson and   Hui-Chun Su Johnson), Regenerative Poultry and Grain Production (Reginaldo Haslett- Marroquin); National and Global Marketplace Campaigning (Ronnie Cummins and Will Allen); Regenerating Entire Regions (Andre Leu and Ruchi Shroff); Care What Your Wear (Marci Zaroff and Rachel Kastner)

 

Moderator: Ercilia Sahores (RI Team)

1:30PM-3:00PM

Casa Vía Orgánica

LUNCH

Enjoy an organic mexican meal prepared onsite by local chefs using fresh local ingredients.

3:00PM-4:00PM

Plenary Tent

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Panelists: RI Steering Committee           

4:00PM-5:30PM

Meet in Plenary Tent

BREAKOUT GROUPS

 

 

Format: Participants will be divided into breakout groups on key themes including:

Group 1: Communications and Social Media (Katherine Paul and Julie Wilson)

Group 2: Mapping and Documenting Best Practices and Practitioners though The Regeneration Hub and other platforms (Alexandra Groome)

Group 3: Farmer to Farmer (Precious Phiri/Andre Leu)

Group 4: Regeneration Campaigner Meetings (Ronnie Cummins)

Group 5: Developing Online Educational and Training Tools (Rachel Kastner)

 

Moderator: Rachel Kastner (RI Team)

5:30PM-6:30PM

Plenary Tent

REPORTS FROM BREAKOUT GROUPS

Moderator: Rachel Kastner (RI Team)

6:15PM – 6:30PM

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Ronnie Cummins (Organic Consumers Association/RI Steering Committee)      

6:30PM-7:00PM

Casa Vía Orgánica

REFRESHMENTS

Organic horderves and cash bar (USD and Mexican pesos accepted) for local organic beer and wine.

7:00PM-8:00PM

Casa Vía Orgánica

DINNER

Enjoy an organic mexican meal prepared onsite by local chefs using fresh local ingredients.

8:30PM

Casa Vía Orgánica

FIRST SHUTTLE DEPARTS FOR SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

8:30PM

Casa Vía Orgánica

DRINKS, MUSIC, CAMPFIRE

Enjoy a relaxing evening around the campfire as we close the general assembly.          

10:30PM

Casa Vía Orgánica

SECOND SHUTTLE DEPARTS FOR SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

 

 

A Soil-to-Soil Vision for the Fashion Revolution

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Author: Fair World Project | Published: September 2017

[pdf-embedder url=”https://regenerationinternational.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/a-soil-to-soil-vision-for-the-fashion-revolution.pdf”]
 
DOWNLOAD THE PDF

Top Soil: A Catalyst for Better Health and Nutrition

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Author: Tobias Roberts | Published: August 23, 2017

WHERE WE STAND WITHOUT SOIL

Everything begins and ends with the soil. Unfortunately, close to 70% of it has been lost since the dawn of the agricultural revolution. Since the onset of the Green Revolution only half a decade ago, we´re getting rid of it faster than ever. Besides the ecocide that the loss of topsoil entails, it also is a major threat to our health. Most foods grown by industrial agricultural methods on depleted soil are nothing more than empty food carcasses filled with chemically supplied nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus.

Without healthy soil that includes dozens of other micronutrients as a result of the functioning soil food web, we´re simply not getting the nutrition we need, no matter how cosmetic our food supposedly looks.

THE LOSS OF OUR PLANET´S FERTILITY

It can be easy to be tricked into believing that we live in a world of abundance. Seeing the sheer magnitude of the corn harvest in Iowa, to name just one example, can make us feel like our food security is well provided for by combines, GPS-controlled tractors, and the thousands of other technologies of industrial agriculture. But below that seemingly abundant harvest, a serious problem is emerging. The Great Plains of the United States have been considered one of the most fertile areas of our earth. In some places, top soil reaches over 15 feet into the earth. But that apparently endless fertility has all but disappeared in recent years.

In 2014 alone, Iowa lost over 15 million tons of topsoil, mostly due to unsustainable industrial agricultural practices. That soil, along with the millions of pounds of chemical fertilizers and pesticides eventually make their way down the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico. The excess nitrates and pollution from this runoff has led to a hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico which is basically a dead area where no marine life can survive.

ECOLOGICAL DANGERS OF TOP SOIL LOSS

When the soil is gone, we as a species will be completely dependent on petroleum for creating chemical fertilizers give the plants we eat the nutrients they need to grow. The problem, of course, is that oil isn’t going to be around forever either. Peak oil is a moment in time when the maximum extraction of oil is reached, and some studies believe that we´re already reached that bleak milestone.

Our dependence on petroleum based agricultural inputs for fertility purposes, then, is simply unsustainable. Furthermore, without top soil to provide naturally occurring fertility, the use of chemical inputs is creating a host of ecological damages. Chemical fertilizers are almost all salt based leading to increased soil salinity. Though plants will grow with increased vigor initially, chemical fertilizers disrupt the natural soil cycle leading to eventual barrenness.

Top soil loss doesn’t only cause a serious challenge to our long term food security, but it also causes other serious ecological catastrophes. The run off of top soil increases pollution and sedimentation in our waterways causing serious population declines in certain species of fish. Also, lands without top soil are more prone to serious flooding and increased desertification. Already 10-20% of our planet´s drylands face desertification, and needless today, plants don´t grow well in deserts.

KEEP READING ON PERMACULTURE RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Industrial Farming is Driving the Sixth Mass Extinction of Life on Earth, Says Leading Academic

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‘Re-imagining a world with less stuff but more joy is probably the way forward,’ says Professor Raj Patel

Author: Ian Johnston | Published: August 26, 2017

Industrial agriculture is bringing about the mass extinction of life on Earth, according to a leading academic.

Professor Raj Patel said mass deforestation to clear the ground for single crops like palm oil and soy, the creation of vast dead zones in the sea by fertiliser and other chemicals, and the pillaging of fishing grounds to make feed for livestock show giant corporations can not be trusted to produce food for the world.

The author of bestselling book The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy will be one of the keynote speakers at the Extinction and Livestock Conference in London in October.

Organised by campaign groups Compassion in World Farming and WWF, it is being held amid rising concern that the rapid rate of species loss could ultimately result in the sixth mass extinction of life. This is just one reason why geologists are considering declaring a new epoch of the Earth, called the Anthropocene, as the fossils of soon-to-be extinct animals will form a line in the rocks of the future.

The last mass extinction, which finished off the dinosaurs and more than three-quarters of all life about 65 million years ago, was caused by an asteroid strike that sent clouds of smoke all around the world, blocking out the sun for about 18 months.

Prof Patel, of the University of Texas at Austin, said: “The footprint of global agriculture is vast. Industrial agriculture is absolutely responsible for driving deforestation, absolutely responsible for pushing industrial monoculture, and that means it is responsible for species loss.

“We’re losing species we have never heard of, those we’ve yet to put a name to and industrial agriculture is very much at the spear-tip of that.”

Speaking to The Independent, he pointed to a “dead zone” – an area of water where there is too little oxygen for most marine life – in the Gulf of Mexico that has grown to the same size as Wales because of vast amounts of fertiliser that has washed from farms in mainland US, into the Mississippi River and then into the ocean.

“That dead zone isn’t an accident. It’s a requirement of industrial agriculture to get rid of the sh*t and the run-off elsewhere because you cannot make industrial agriculture workable unless you kick the costs somewhere else,” he said.

KEEP READING ON THE INDEPENDENT

Fashion Revolution Week. The Only Fashion Week Worth Caring About

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Fashion Revolution Week 2017 was our biggest and loudest to date

Author: Carry Somers | Published: August 11, 2017

Our movement continues to grow, with more people than ever calling for a fairer, safer, more transparent fashion industry.

From Australia to Brazil, Uruguay to Vietnam, we saw 2 million people engage with Fashion Revolution in April through events, posting on social media, viewing our videos or downloading resources from our website. 66,000 people attended around 1000 Fashion Revolution events, from catwalks and clothes swaps, to film screenings, panel discussions, creative stunts and workshops. A further 740 events took place in schools and universities, assisted by our network of 120 student ambassadors around the world.

More people want to know #whomademyclothes

As in previous years, our social media impact was immense, with 533 million impressions of posts using one of our hashtags during April – an increase of almost 250% on last year.

Over the week we have been joined by hundreds of celebrities and influencers including internationally-recognised names such as actress Emma Watson, pro-surfer Kelly Slater, artist Shepard Fairey, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire Italia Antonella Antonelli, Brazilian actress Fernanda Paes Leme, Nobel Prize Winner Professor Yunus and cooks Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley, and Bangladeshi ex child worker Kalpona Akter.

KEEP READING ON FASHION REVOLUTION

Chris Malloy’s Newest Film Focuses on Food’s Relationship With the Environment

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Author: Andrew Amelinckx | Published: August 1, 2017 

Malloy’s latest documentary is Unbroken Ground, which he made for Patagonia Provisions. The 25-minute film, released today, looks at four innovative solutions to agricultural problems, through the lens of the thought leaders behind them: Wes Jackson of The Land Institute, who has been working on a perennial wheat variety that could greatly improve soil health; Stephen Jones, the director of Washington State University’s The Bread Lab, a combination think-tank and baking laboratory that produces grain and legume varieties for small U.S. farmers; Dan and Jill O’Brien, the owners of Cheyenne River Ranch, who switched to raising cattle to bison, which they believe is a more sustainable protein source; and Ian Kirouac, Keith Carpenter, and Riley Starks, the founders of Lummi Island Wild, who use reef netting—a more environmentally friendly technique—to catch salmon.

Malloy, like his two younger brothers, Keith and Dan—who have also had storied surfing careers and are filmmakers—is a brand ambassador for the outdoor clothing and gear company Patagonia. He raises beef cattle on a ranch in Lompoc, California, where he lives with his wife and three kids.

We recently caught up with Malloy via phone to ask him about filmmaking, ranching, and more.

Modern Farmer: When did you begin making films?

Chris Malloy: Around ’97 I was making a living as a surfer when I had a kind of career-ending injury. I was confronted with either driving a tractor for my dad or finding another hustle. I’d been exposed to filmmaking through being in front of the lens for so long. I had a few bucks saved up so I went out for 18 months and made a surfing doc and fell in love with it. At the beginning, it was surf-oriented then it slowly and surely evolved into conservation and ag issues

MF: How did you get into ranching?

CM: I want to be super clear that while I run some cows and my wife grows a lot of food, I don’t make a living as a rancher, a farmer, or a fisherman. I do all those things out of passion and as a pursuit to feed my kids food that I’ve been involved in producing. I grew up having pigs, chickens, goats, and my dad grew some food, but he drove a dozer for a living. I think there’s a big delineation between folks who have a passion for growing food, and that special character who is crazy enough to make that their whole life. My wife and I dream of the day when we can do that full time. In the interim we get to feed our friends and family food that we’re really proud of.

 

 

MF: Tell me a little about the film’s premise.

CM: Farmers, ranchers, and fishermen are really demonized by our society. They’re seen as backwards and extractive. This film isn’t anti-farming, ranching, or fishing; it’s pro-farming, ranching, and fishing. It’s about alternatives that are financially viable so that the common man can feed his family—maybe not right now, but down the road. This film is not a victory lap, it’s a battle cry; it’s a report of where some visionary, half-crazy folks have gotten with offering an alternative vision for agriculture.

MF: Did you find a common set of ideas or ideals, which all the characters in the film share?

CM: All these people share a few things in common, but one is that they’re all a little crazy. They have a very educated hunch that they can supply a viable alternative to a specific area of agriculture, and they’ve dedicated their lives to it. This is about shifting agricultural systems worldwide. Wes Jackson says if you’re trying to tackle a problem that you can fix in your lifetime, you’re not thinking big enough. All of them have calloused hands and sunburned faces, but are also thinkers and philosophers, on some level. These people are doing it and have been doing it for decades. That, for me, was what made them collectively so inspiring to be around.

KEEP READING ON MODERN FARMER 
WATCH THE FILM HERE 

Here’s What Indonesia Is Doing About Haze From Forest and Peatland Fires

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Author: Nithin Coca | Published: August 10, 2017

In 2015, massive fires burned across Indonesia, releasing hazardous smoke across neighboring countries. How close is the country to meeting its goal of reducing haze from future fires?

August 10, 2017 — Two years ago, Indonesia experienced the largest fire event in modern human history, with more than 2.5 million hectares (6 million acres) of tropical landscape burning, emitting more greenhouse gases than all of Germany does in a year. But the most visible sign of the disaster was the haze that spread across a huge swath of Asia; the particulates in the smoke sullying the air that tens of millions of people breathed. According to one study, the haze resulted in an estimated 100,000 deaths. 

It was a watershed moment — and one the world knew could not be repeated as global attention focused on the role forests play in regulating climate during that year’s COP-21 climate conference. Fires in the tropics are dangerous, emitting huge amounts of greenhouse gases and releasing toxins, especially when they sit atop carbon-dense peat bogs. But these disasters have become commonplace in Indonesia due to exploitation of peatlands. 

“The root cause of this crisis was forest clearance and peatland drainage at large scale by the plantation sector, which has turned previously valuable ecosystems into huge monoculture plantations, while leaving remaining forests and peatland at high risk of burning,” says Annisa Rahmawati, forests campaigner at Greenpeace Southeast Asia. For years, both palm oil and paper pulp industries built canals to drain peatlands across the country to expand production, which cause them to turn from wet landscapes to dry ones, ready to burn. 

“Fires were a symptom of failed policies,” says Arief Wijaya, senior manager for climate and forests at the World Resources Institute Indonesia. “How the government managed land use was not effective.” 

Historically, agencies at national and local levels distributed land to smallholders and large plantation companies under a patchwork system with no comprehensive national oversight. The result was overlapping and conflicting boundaries, making it impossible to determine who controls burned land. 

KEEP READING ON ENSIA

The 12 Forward Thinkers Changing Style and Sustainability

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Author: Lindsay Talbot | Published: July 19, 2017

Washington may be bailing on the planet, but the fashion industry isn’t.

hese people, from all different industries, all have one thing in common: They’re at the forefront of style and sustainability, and want to be part of the solution. They’re retrofitting factories and building stores that rely on clean energy and emit less of the carbon contributing to global warming. They’re transforming discarded plastics choking our oceans and waterways into jeans and sneakers. They’re developing innovations that reduce waste, recycling materials, and leading by the example of their personal choices. Trends in fashion may come and go, but taking care and being mindful of the environment is one trend that defies all seasons.

Here, the trailblazers we highlight in our first-ever sustainability issue, on newsstands now.

The Original: Yvon Chouinard

Because he sided with the planet long before it was trendy to do so.

PROFESSION: Founder, Patagonia.

ECO CRED: Founded in 1973, Patagonia has racked up major firsts in its steady march toward sustainability. First to switch all of its cotton clothing to organic in 1996 (and heavily invest in regenerative agriculture, working with farmers and scientists to develop technologies that rebuild topsoil and capture carbon in the earth for over 20 years). First clothing line to make fleece using recycled bottles. First to pledge 1 percent of annual sales (as an “Earth tax”) to grassroots organizations, for upwards of $82 million in grants and in-kind donations to date.

OFFICE SPACE: Under Chouinard’s stewardship, the company scrupulously measured the eco-impacts of articles of its clothing in The Footprint Chronicles on its website; converted its Ventura, California, headquarters to new solar-powered smart-grid energy systems; started the Worn Wear initiative, which repairs clothes so they can be used longer; and launched a Drive-Less program that rewards employees who carpool, take public transit, or bike, skateboard, etc., to work with a yearly stipend. Last year, staffers drove 798,900 fewer single-driver miles, cutting CO2 emissions by 589,900 pounds and saving 30,400 gallons of fuel.

KEEP READING ON MARIE CLAIRE