Climatelinks Photo Gallery

This picture was shot in a local village near Vehari,Punjab,Pakistan on 2nd May 2019.
In frame a group of students are taking part in a plantation campaign organised by WWF, Pakistan to encourage the young minds for a green planet.
This campaign had no support from USAID nor was linked to any other organisation.

This picture was shot in the Chichawatni Forest Range,Punjab,Pakistan.
Frame shows a small pathway crossing through the dense & cool shades of forest.
Chichawatni Forest is a man handled range which not only helps in cleaning the environment but also act as a potential housing of local flora and fauna, plus the planting nurseries also provides the trees to other areas of Punjab for the sake of plantations.

In the dry western highlands of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, Project Concern International, a Global Communities Partner, is fighting climate change through on-the-ground work with local families. Thanks to a Climate Smart Commitment Grant from Rick Steves’ Europe, 10,000 trees have been planted since October 2019 as part of reforestation efforts in the region. We are also working through local women leaders to promote the use of clean, efficient cookstoves to lower carbon emissions and replace dangerous open fires traditionally used for cooking. These ongoing efforts will dramatically reduce firewood-related deforestations and smoke-related health problems while also improving air and soil quality in the region. This photo was taken in May 2020.

As the largest province in Indonesia by area, Papua is endowed with a wealth of natural resources and incredible ecosystem diversity. USAID supports the Government of Indonesia to reduce greenhouse gasses while preserving livelihoods, including in Papua, that depend on nature and a healthy environment.

The Artisanal Gold Mining Activity planted two million Acacia mangium trees on degraded and desertified land in Antioquia, where the illegal extraction of gold was previously undertaken. Many people from the region participated in the rehabilitation activities, especially 169 female heads of household who took care of the nurseries and planted trees.

Location and date the photo was taken: Colombian Community Council of Chilona - El Salto, Zaragoza, Antioquia. The photograph was taken on October 1, 2019.

Who is depicted in the photo: The hands of an Afro Colombian woman.

What activity is depicted in the photo: Planting Acacia mangium seedlings.

How the activity addresses climate change: Rehabilitating lands with Acacia mangium has restored habitats and supported species. A study evaluating the resurgence of wild flora and the presence of birds and mammals in the plantations developed by the Artisanal Gold Mining Activity showed that the plantations have allowed the incursion of birds and mammals and the dispersal of seeds, which contributes to the survival of fauna and wild plant populations.

Name of the relevant program receiving USAID support: The Artisanal Gold Mining Activity of USAID.

Names of partner organizations involved in the program: The regional government of Antioquia and its Secretariats for Mining and the Environment; the Corporation for the Sustainable Management of Forests (Masbosques), and the Artisanal Gold Mining Activity of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Location and date the photo was taken: Royal Botanic Garden (RBG) nursery, Al-Balqaa Governorate, Jordan; 19 January 2020
Who is depicted in the photo: Carob seedlings at the RBG nursery.
What activity is depicted in the photo: Native Carob tree seedlings grown in the nursery to be outplanted in Jordanian forests as part of reforestation and alleviation of climate change efforts.
How the activity addresses climate change: Carob is a native Jordanian tree and an important part of Jordan’s forests. Carob is usually grown for its edible pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens. The ripe, dried pod is often ground to carob powder, which is used to replace cocoa powder.The restoration of such forests helps mitigate climate change by storing carbon, halting land degradation and fixing atmospheric nitrogen. Additionally, it has an aesthetic side, can assist in poverty alleviation due to its economic return, and in fighting hunger and malnutrition due to its high-value nutritional content. WADI grows Carob seedlings with its partners and eventually plants them in different sites in an effort to restore forests; once planted, they will improve soil quality, prevent erosion, and help in eventual groundwater recharge.

Name of the relevant program receiving USAID support (via Global Climate Change or other funds): N/A
Names of partner organizations involved in the program: Watershed and Development Initiative (WADI), Royal Botanic Garden (RBG)

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) will significantly contribute to the 8% target on emissions reduction committed by the country under the Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015 to address climate change. In order to support this, the USAID Green Annamites Project supported Quang Nam and Thua Thien Hue provinces to reduce their carbon emissions and advance towards their green growth goals. The Project supported the preparation of the PRAP in Quang Nam with a participatory approach and is currently advancing discussions with buyers interested in the REDD+ carbon credits. The Project helped to improve capacity of 11 governmental agencies in Quang Nam and Thua Thien Hue to effectively implement the PRAP, with activities like strengthening the forest monitoring system, delivering training on low emission land use, supporting sustainable livelihood activities for community forest groups, training on REDD+ orientation as well as a technical support to analyze drivers of deforestation, forest degradation and hindrances to increasing carbon stocks.

Photo taken in  April 2019 at Xa A Xan, Tay Giang district, Quang Nam Province, Vietnam.

The photo was taken near Perowal,Punjab,Pakistan on 27th July,2020. In picture, A local farmer is planting an Azadirachta indica Tree (locally know as Neem). The plantations on local levels not only help reduce the pollution level in community but also keep the climate fresh & clean by reducing the CO² levels. This program/activity doesn't receive any fundings from USAID nor is linked with any partner organisation

Ka Lũy literally wears her reverence for the natural world on her skin. A member of the K’Ho tribe, a once-nomadic ethnic minority group in Vietnam’s Central Highlands, Lũy’s hand-woven dress is adorned with patterns and symbols representing mountains and trees. Lũy and many of her fellow K’Ho earn a significant portion of their income by patrolling the forests near the village of Kalatangu as part of Vietnam’s Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) program. The money makes a big difference in Lũy’s daily life, but also in laying a foundation for her children’s future. “Since we mostly do farming and we only earn a living from coffee and rice, an additional source of income from the forest for the remaining months is really necessary,” she says. As critical as the income from PFES is on a personal level, Lũy’s conviction about the importance of forests transcends her own circumstances. When asked if she has a message for those living far from the hills of Lam Dong Province, Lũy’s response is simple. “Let us join hands to protect our forest,” she says. “If we have forest, we will have a green, clean, and beautiful earth, as well.

Members of Malatgao United Riverside Farmers Association in Quezon municipality, Palawan province received their high-quality durian seedlings from the USAID-funded Protect Wildlife project in the Philippines.

They are among the 600 local and indigenous farmers who were trained and engaged by USAID Protect Wildlife in 2019 to plant 44,000 durian seedlings in approximately 400 hectares of forestland in southern Palawan.

This agroforestry and conservation agriculture initiative is a way for USAID to provide incentives to farmers who agree to plant high-value fruit trees in forestlands and buffer zones classified as production areas. When successful, this can contribute to increased tree cover in their area, enhanced climate resiliency through healthier forests, and improved conservation of local biodiversity.

In 2019, Equal Exchange's local cooperative partners participated in a peer exchange in Peru to learn about organic fertilizer production as part of USAID's Cooperative Development Program. By choosing to produce organic fertilizer, the cooperatives plan to reduce greenhouse gases emitted by synthetic nitrogen fertilizer.

Through USAID's Cooperative Development Program (CDP) which sits in the E3 Office of Local Sustainability*, Equal Exchange works to build the capacity of the small-scale farmers they source from across Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, and Peru by working to reduce barriers throughout the supply chain. Limited access to capital, lack of cooperative governance, unstable market prices, climate change and gender inequity, are some of the challenges these farmers plan to overcome with CDP support.

Equal Exchange is a U.S. worker-owned company headquartered in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Equal Exchange sells a number of organic, fair trade products to specialty markets across North America and Europe.

* Once the Bureau for Democracy, Development and Innovation (DDI) is established, the CDP will sit in the Local, Faith and Transformative Partnerships (LFT) Hub.

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Location and date the photo was taken: Peru, 2019
Who is depicted in the photo: Cooperative members from Guatemala, Peru, Paraguay
What activity is depicted in the photo: A cooperative-to-cooperative exchange to learn about producing organic fertilizer.
How the activity addresses climate change: Organic fertilizer emits less greenhouses gases than synthetic options.
Name of the relevant program receiving USAID support (via Global Climate Change or other funds): Cooperative Development Program
Names of partner organizations involved in the program: For this story, Equal Exchange. Other implementing partners include Land O'Lakes Venture37, NCBA CLUSA, Genex, Frontier Co-op, World Council of Credit Unions, NRECA International, Global Communities, HealthPartners, and the U.S. Overseas Cooperative Development Council (OCDC).

Young people from the Vegas de Segovia Indigenous Reservation in Zaragoza, Antioquia (Colombia) get ready for planting day.

The project has not only changed the environmental landscape of the region, but also the lives of the 43 families in charge of establishing the nursery, preparing the seedlings, fencing the plot, digging the holes and planting the trees.

In addition to rehabilitating 100 hectares of degraded land, the project has involved female heads of households in an associated honey production project, incorporating 600 beehives to allow them to earn a decent income through the sale of honey.

The following entities participated in this project: the regional government of Antioquia via its Secretariats for Mining and the Environment; the Corporation for the Sustainable Management of Forests (Masbosques) and the Artisanal Gold Mining Activity of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Location and date the photo was taken: Municipality of Zaragoza, Antioquia. The photograph was taken on January 24, 2019.

Who is depicted in the photo: The photo shows young people from the Vegas de Segovia Indigenous reservation in the municipality of Zaragoza, Antioquia (Colombia).

What activity is depicted in the photo: Preparation for planting activities.

How the activity addresses climate change: The rehabilitation of degraded land using Acacia mangium trees restores degraded ecosystems and generates alternative livelihoods for families in the region.

Name of the relevant program receiving USAID support: The Artisanal Gold Mining Activity of USAID.

Names of partner organizations involved in the program: The Vegas de Segovia Indigenous Reservation from Zaragoza, Antioquia (Colombia) and the Artisanal Gold Mining Activity of USAID.

Huehuetenango, Guatemala, Coop. Peña Roja en reforestación con donativos de Finca el Injerto, para la mitigación climática (regeneración y reforestación).

Nearly every morning in the yard beside her small thatched mud house, Yorh Brown starts a low-burning fire. She blends ingredients over just the right heat, then pours the thick mixture into a wide, shallow cooling pan. As her creation hardens, she uses a handmade wire inlay to cut it into rectangles, each about the size of a deck of cards.

“People say I make really good soap,” Brown says.

As she loads fragrant, pale green bars into a metal bowl and heads for her village’s small market, she smiles and adds, “I think it’s true.”

On its face, Brown’s soap business, which she started in a remote community in Nimba County, may not seem like part of an international effort to save Liberia’s forests. Until you ask what Brown and her neighbors used to do to earn a living.

“We were cutting the trees all the time to grow rice,” Brown explains. “We were hunting. We were always in the forests. We burned them.”

At the market, her friends are selling cooking oil, spices and other items they bought in bulk in the nearest big town to resell here for a profit. Like Brown, they started their businesses after joining WORTH, a global Pact program that reduces poverty and empowers women through village banking and entrepreneurship.

In Liberia, Pact is implementing WORTH with funding from USAID as part of the FIFES project, or Forest Incomes for Environmental Sustainability, which is working to preserve the West African nation’s trees and biodiversity. Through WORTH, Liberian forest communities that once survived by hunting and clearing land instead are developing alternative livelihoods that don’t destroy forests.

Photo taken in Feb. 2017.

Across Liberia, people rely on the country's lush forests to survive. They hunt animals for meat. They clear trees to grow rice and other crops. Slowly, they're destroying what remains of the Upper Guinean forest region and its rich biodiversity.

And life isn't easy for Liberia's forest communities. Many struggle to feed their children. Their livelihoods are anything but stable.

Pact is addressing both problems with its signature WORTH program, which reduces poverty and empowers women through village banking and entrepreneurship. In Liberia, Pact is implementing WORTH with funding from USAID as part of the FIFES project. Through WORTH, Liberian forest communities are developing new, reliable livelihoods that don’t harm forests.

In groups of about 20, WORTH brings women together to save money, access credit and generate income. They make small savings deposits at weekly meetings, and when groups’ funds grow large enough, members may begin taking loans to start small businesses. Groups receive literacy, numeracy and business training.

For these women – and for their families, communities and forests – WORTH is making all the difference.

In this photo, WORTH members proudly hold up their program guide books.

Photo taken Feb. 2017 in Nimba, Liberia.

USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA - ex FFP) is supporting Malawi (through WFP) to change lives of rural communities through of a range of various interventions. These includes productive asset creation for smallholder farmers and afforestation. After raising tree seedlings, US-supported Food for Assets participants give some seedlings to the neighbouring schools to be planted for live fencing. Teachers use this as an opportunity to raise children's awareness on environmental protection.

Picture taken in Zomba District, December 2018