Climatelinks Photo Gallery

Members of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD)’s Department of Forest Inventory and Zoning (DIAF) in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo and employees of the Central African Satellite Forest Observatory (OSFAC) complete exercises during a training on estimating forest cover change in November 2017. This training, held in Kinshasa, was hosted by the U.S. Forest Service International Programs and supported by USAID’S Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment, and is part of a larger effort to support governments, universities, and non-governmental organizations in Central African countries to develop and implement sustainable forest management approaches. The Democratic Republic of the Congo covers over 900,000 square miles and contains 60 percent of the Congo Basin’s forests, the second-largest tropical forest in the world after the Amazon. While there are many initiatives being put in place to sustainably manage these forests, the ability of national and regional actors to map and monitor them is an essential step in identifying critically threatened areas and developing effective resource management solutions to combat climate change.

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.

The trail rehabilitation crew pose for a photo before heading out for a day of work on the Nyiragongo Volcano trail in Virunga National Park in April 2018. The U.S. Forest Service International Programs, supported by USAID’s Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment, is working with Virunga National Park and local communities to improve tourist hiking trails as well as create a more accessible educational trail up the volcano. This new trail has a low gradient, which will allow local school groups to climb the volcano to promote environmental stewardship. In addition, due to its route, the new trail will also help rangers dissuade illegal charcoal and poaching operations in the park. 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.

Tour operators from around the Central Africa region are welcomed by the Bushi people in the Royal Kingdom of Kabare in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of an event showcasing tourism activities in and around Kahuzi Biega National Park in December 2018. The event, co-organized by the U.S. Forest Service International Programs and the Wildlife Conservation Society and supported by USAID’s Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment, aimed to promote the parks offerings and encourage more tours operators in the region to offer trips to the area. Building capacity of national park staff and involving 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.

As in many places around the world, people in Panama are moving from the countryside to the cities. In rural areas, jobs that offer both reasonable working conditions as well as social security are extremely scarce. We offer our employees good working and living conditions, creating stable and fair jobs for men and women alike. We pay salaries above the minimum wage, offer food vouchers, social insurance and additional private health insurance, as well as training and development opportunities such as helping workers acquire school-equivalency certifications.

Deforestation is one of the biggest components of climate change, accounting for about 20% of greenhouse gas emissions globally. For this reason, re-greening the planet will be just as important a component of stopping climate change as cuts to fossil fuel consumption. Our forests extract CO2 from the atmosphere and capture it within the trees: 14 tons per hectare, annually. The carbon impact of purchasing one share in The Generation Forest is about equivalent to changing to a vegetarian diet. Just 10 shares are enough to offset a person’s entire lifetime carbon emissions.

Tania, Ambassador of our organization.

Many farmers are already adopting different sustainable agriculture practices, such as conservation agriculture techniques (mulching, crop rotations and pruning crops), and planting more climate-resistant crop varieties. This is because climate change is increasingly threatening our food systems.

A Liberian man learned about agroforestry techniques to apply within his own community forest through the USAID-funded Forest Incomes for Environmental Sustainability Activity in 2017. The Activity works with farmers and forest-dependent communities in Liberia to develop enterprises that not only provide income but also combat deforestation and biodiversity loss.

Irrigation system with electrovoltaic energy installed at the Ramon Rodriguez farm, in Santiago Rodriguez, Dominican Republic. This system was installed under the Index and Climate Resilience Insurance Program, executed by the REDDOM Foundation. May 2017.

Ramon is one of many farmers who suffered the adverse effects of climate change. The drought has greatly depleted the area where the abita, with this type of technology now Ramon can irrigate his grass and feed his cattle.

Soko Koryon, Forest Inventory Coordinator for the USAID Forest Incomes for Environmental Sustainability (FIFES) Activity, describes the methodology used to implement a transect of the Barconnie Community Forest in Grand Bassa County, Liberia as a student from the Liberia Forestry Training Institute looks on. The 600 hectare forest, largely made up of carbon-rich mangrove swamp, was conserved in perpetuity by the local Community Forest Management Body after they conducted a forest and biodiversity inventory supported by the FIFES activity in March 2019.

Two agricultural extensionists from the Mam Mayan population of Todos Santos undergoing a field training day for improved post harvest practices. Todos Santos Cuchumatán is a municipality from Huehuetenango, at 12,559ft elevation, a drought or extreme rainfall have serious effects on smallholder farmers crops, therefore the PHLIL helps this farmers improve their resilience to climate change by improving post-harvest practices, reducing contamination of their corn and increasing their yields, ensuring food safety in adverse conditions. Todos Santos Cuchumatán, Huehuetenango, Guatemala. October 25, 2017.

Feed the Future Post Harvest Loss Innovation Lab Guatemala, Asociación Share de Guatemala.

Participants in the peatland forest inventory training present their results to trainers Dr. John Hribljan of the U.S. Forest Service (far right) and Basile Mpati (second right), who works with the National Center for Forest Inventory and Zoning in the Republic of the Congo (CNIAF). This training, held by the U.S. Forest Service International Programs and the FAO and supported by USAID’s Central Africa Program for the Environment and the SilvaCarbon program, was an opportunity for technicians from the DRC Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development's Department of Forest Inventory and Zoning to learn about inventory sampling methods in peat forests so that they will be able to more accurately calculate how much carbon is currently stored in the country's forests. The Democratic Republic of Congo covers over 900,000 square miles and contains 60 percent of the Congo Basin’s forests, the second-largest tropical forest in the world after the Amazon. While there are many initiatives being put in place to sustainably manage these forests, the ability of national and regional actors to map and monitor them is an essential step in identifying critically threatened areas and developing effective resource management solutions to combat climate change.

This photo was captured in Biliqo-Bulesa Community of Isiolo County in Kenya during a field assessment of community vulnerability and adaptation to climate variability in 2018. The Acacia tree under which they shelter at peak sun hours drop highly nutritious seed pods that the animals eat before they embark on grazing in the late afternoon or evening when the sun goes down.

Women of the Laisamis Manyata village in Marsabit county in Kenya discuss climate variability, community vulnerability, and adaptation mechanisms in their community during an assessment exercise in the Northern Kenya Rangelands in 2018.

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.