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Climatelinks Photo Gallery
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Welcome to the Climatelinks photo gallery. Here you can find a range of climate change and development photos from our photo contest, our blogs, and USAID’s Flickr sites. Submit your photos to the photo gallery here.
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- Photo Topic: Adaptation
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Adapting to change is of interest to all, particularly in work that previously seemed odd. For instance, from the most formal to the most informal mining sites, all actors perform the various jobs associated with the production process, with the exceptions being kiln construction, firing and loading.
In some instances, women miners are almost totally excluded on the highest-paid tasks on site. In this image, women load minerals and other construction materials.
In March 2019, in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam, forest owners living in Cat Tien National Park learn how register to receive payments through their mobile phone through Vietnam's Payments for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) mechanism. They also learn how to access money once a payment is made, and how to transfer the money to other accounts. Vietnam’s PFES program addresses climate change by providing financial compensation to people living in the forest to protect and improve the landscape. The USAID/Vietnam’s Vietnam Forests and Deltas project improves the transparency and accountability of PFES by supporting the transition from cash-based payments to electronic payments. This Vietnam Forests and Deltas project is implemented by Winrock International in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam.
In March 2019 in Son La Province, Vietnam the USAID/Vietnam Vietnam Forests and Deltas Project joined with Son La Province for a ceremonial tree planting commemorating Vietnam’s commitment to sustainable development. In Son La Province, the Vietnam Forests and Deltas project supports Vietnam’s Payments for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) mechanism. The project supports the transition from cash-based payments to electronic payments to improve transparency and accountability, and works with provincial authorities to better monitor and evaluate the impact PFES has on Vietnam’s forests. The Vietnam Forests and Deltas project is implemented by Winrock International in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam.
In March 2016 in Nghe An Province, the USAID/Vietnam Vietnam Forests and Deltas Project worked with forest rangers in Pu Hoat Natural Reserve to use tablets to improve forest monitoring. The Vietnam Forests and Deltas project supports Vietnam’s Payments for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) mechanism to better monitor and evaluate the impact PFES has on Vietnam’s forests. The Vietnam Forests and Deltas project is implemented by Winrock International in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam.
Gokwe North, Zimbabwe, June 12, 2019.
A meeting of the Kushinga Village Savings and Loan Association group at which the participants (all women) participate in group sharing activities, giving small loans to each other for economic improvement, and support each other with social needs, all of which contribute to group and individual resilience. VSLA groups such as this one are encouraged to invest in activities and resources that are adapted to the changing climate, including drought-resistant agriculture items, animals and agricultural and husbandry techniques. This also crates a type of social cohesion and resiliency that helps the participants adapt as their surroundings change.
Relevant Program: Gokwe North Food Security and Agricultural Response (Go-FAR) Project
Partner Organizations: ADRA, as well as District Government staff and extension officers
Photo Credit: Debra Olson, ADRA
Palabek Refugee Settlement, Northern Uganda. July 22, 2019.
Incorporating the Resilience Design and Permagarden methodologies of the USAID TOPS/SCALE program.
Mapping natural resources in Palabek refugee settlement, Northern Uganda. African Women Rising’s female agricultural staff and community mobilizers understand that long-term solutions to climate change begin in the field, working directly with refugees and farmers on the frontlines. African Women Rising works with women to create self-sustaining solutions, educating and employing a majority of women community mobilizers to lead this charge.
For more information: https://www.africanwomenrising.org/about-us/agriculture/
Encouraged by leaders of a new, farmer-focused enterprise called Sesame Farmers Development Association in Magway Township in Myanmar's Central Dry Zone, producers in July and August 2019 began experimenting with new methods of dealing with erratic and extreme weather aimed at preventing crop losses. The Association teamed up with USAID's Value Chains for Rural Development project and the local Land Use Department to brainstorm ways they could better conserve water and control erosion in their sesame fields. By using small, easy-to-build, earthen "check dams" in shallow trenches around their fields, farmers developed new ability to prevent their fields from being inundated during periods of torrential rain. They also began planting wild almond saplings as windbreaks around their sesame fields to stem erosion and provide a second source of income (the trees produce sterculia gum that can be exported to Korea.) The new practices are working, farmers say, and sesame plants are healthier than in previous seasons, with "extra" stems flowering beautifully in advance of the coming harvest.
It was a relatively simple shift, but required a big leap of faith on the part of thousands of smallholder coffee farmers growing Arabica trees in southern Shan State. Specialty coffee experts partnering with USAID's Value Chains for Rural Development project in Myanmar suggested that farmers experiment with a new way to add value to their coffee by "sun-drying" it atop easy-to-build, ventilated tables that could be built cheaply with bamboo and mesh. By doing so, they could tap into the growing global specialty market for sundried natural Arabica, harness the sun's energy and avoid the need to use large volumes of water required to produce "washed" coffees. It worked, and, combined with new market linkages fostered by the project and partners, Shan coffee farmers are now earning 2-4 times more for their sustainably produced, sundried natural Arabica than they previously earned. What's more, producers and processors in the region have formed new businesses, are attracting bank financing and are now selling directly to high-end domestic and global specialty coffee buyers.
In Myanmar, thousands of small, backyard coffee plantations dot the landscape in mountainous Shan State. In places like Hopong Township, they provide extra income and an alternative to poppy production. Most of the small coffee farms are tended and harvested by women, because they are planted close to home. New production practices introduced by USAID's Value Chains for Rural Development project, implemented by Winrock International, over the past four years have been widely adopted by women growers, who have become champions of a new way of coffee cultivation that is generating increased incomes through quality premiums. New, community-managed coffee processing stations in Hopong and other areas around the country are making use of raised drying tables that use the sun's power to dry coffee cherries, reducing the need to use water for washed or "wet" processed coffee. The new methods have resulted in award-winning coffees that are now available in Myanmar's finest specialty cafes and, increasingly coveted by importers willing to pay good prices directly to farmers for a sustainably farmed product.
Limón Province, Costa Rica, November 2014. Pineapples are by definition unsustainable, requiring high use of agrochemicals and replacing large swaths of land with a single, spiny crop. However, pineapples are also extremely popular, so in spite of their inherent unsustainability, they’re not going anywhere. To meet increasing global demand for sustainably produced crops, companies in Costa Rica are investing in improved agricultural practices, certifications, and better conditions for laborers.
John O. Niles (right) speaks to participants in a workshop held in May 2018 by the U.S. Forest Service and The Carbon Institute and supported by USAID’S Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment. Participants learned about calculating greenhouse gas emissions from land-use change. The U.S. Forest Service has partnered with the Carbon Institute, as well as government agencies, universities, and NGOs in the region to build regional capacity in carbon accounting to help countries better estimate greenhouse gas emissions in order to protect and preserve their rainforests. Accurate carbon accounting not only allows countries to identify threatened areas and causes of deforestation, but also allows them to apply for international funding to set up programs to protect these forests.
The U.S. Forest Service International Programs, through USAID’s Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment, is working in Central Africa to train communities on improved fire management. Uncontrolled fires pose a huge threat to Central African forests and can cause large releases of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere when burned, further exacerbating the effects of climate change. However, fire within forest-savannah mosaic landscapes in the Congo Basin can be both a management tool as well as a threat. If used in a sustainable manner, fire can help maintain pastureland and protect forests, farms, plantations, and villages. If used haphazardly, intentional and accidental fires can burn out of control, impacting large areas and threatening villages, farms, and forests. Here, during a trailing in May 2017, a local “fire brigade” is trained in how to control and suppress fire so that they can better deal with uncontrolled fires in their communities.
The U.S. Forest Service International Programs, through USAID’s Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment, is working in Central Africa to train communities on improved fire management. Uncontrolled fires pose a huge threat to Central African forests and can cause large releases of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere when burned, further exacerbating the effects of climate change. However, fire within forest-savannah mosaic landscapes in the Congo Basin can be both a management tool as well as a threat. If used in a sustainable manner, fire can help maintain pastureland and protect forests, farms, plantations, and villages. If used haphazardly, intentional and accidental fires can burn out of control, impacting large areas and threatening villages, farms, and forests. Here, during a trailing in May 2017, a local “fire brigade” is trained in how to control and suppress fire so that they can better deal with uncontrolled fires in their communities.
In May 2018, the U.S. Forest Service International Programs, in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society and supported by USAID’S Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment, held a birdwatching training to train guides from Kahuzi Biega and Virunga National Parks in bird watching with the aim to diversify tourism activities to attract new types of visitors. Building capacity of national park staff to promote ecotourism not only improves visitor experience and creates economic opportunities for neighboring communities, but also puts the park on track for long-term financial stability, an essential step in the long-term protection of these landscapes, and the preservation of the forests within them.
An eco-guard walks along a newly renovated trail and bridge in Kahuzi Biega National Park in May 2018. The U.S. Forest Service International Programs, in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society and supported by USAID’s Central Africa Program for the Environment, is working with Kahuzi Biega National Park to improve and expand tourist hiking trails as well as work with nearby communities to maintain newly rehabilitated trails. Building capacity of national park staff and local communities not only improves visitor experience and creates economic opportunities for neighboring communities, but also puts the park on track for long-term financial stability, an essential step in the long-term protection of these landscapes, and the preservation of the forests within them.