Climatelinks Photo Gallery

Stacks of sustainable charcoal produced at Mampu cooperative site outside of Kinshasa visited as part of a scoping mission looking at alternative local species to integrate into agroforestry woodfuel systems to increase the volume of sustainable charcoal supply for urban areas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, carried out by the U.S. Forest Service International Programs and supported by USAID’s Africa Bureau in July 2018. Charcoal is the main source of cooking fuel in the the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and an increasing urban demand for it is resulting in forest degradation and deforestation.

Illegal alluvial gold mining in Colombia is a complex phenomenon that not only sweeps away vegetation but alters the balance of ecosystems through aggressive mechanical extraction methods that create deserts. In Antioquia, Colombia this has degraded over 45 thousand hectares of land, stripping away valuable trees that can absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the main greenhouse gases. The USAID-Oro Legal Activity brought together indigenous and Afro Colombian communities, the private sector, and local and departmental governments to mitigate the environmental impact of uncontrolled mineral exploitation on more than one thousand hectares of degraded ex-mining land. Today 1,133,220 Acacia mangium trees and other native species are greening large tracts of land where just a few years ago only rocks and bare soil could be found.

The Pasig River runs through the heart of Manila and flows from Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. The river was a major source of water, food and livelihood and offered an alternative mode of transportation. In the 1990s, Pasig River with all its garbage and foul odor, was declared biologically dead. Rehabilitation efforts started after the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission was created in 1999. The photo shows a section of the Pasig River two decades after rehabilitation.

Planting trees in the Caño Seco neighborhood, in Las Terrenas, is a measure of risk reduction in the face of indebtedness. Clarimel is one of the young women who has committed to this type of activity, not only sowing but also training the population of the area.

Ernestine Tipi leads a group tour at the University of Kinshasa during a scoping mission by the U.S. Forest Service International Programs, supported by USAID’s Africa Bureau, in July 2018. The scoping mission was part of a broader project looking at alternative local species to integrate into agroforestry woodfuel systems to increase the volume of sustainable charcoal supply for urban areas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Charcoal is the main source of cooking fuel in the DRC, and an increasing urban demand for it is resulting in forest degradation and deforestation.

A village of small, colorful houses sits precariously on a tropical mountainside in Haiti.

Credit East Africa Trade and Investment Hub Nairobi Business Commercial District, seen from Kenyatta International Conference Center.

Morning Street Vegetable Stand in Rangoon The majority of Burmese make their living from agriculture.