By Crypto AM: The DAO Driver with Katia Shabanova
Top 10 emerging eco-friendly and sustainable projects united under environmental hub…
In many countries around the world, there are great environmental initiatives that help local communities, whether farmers, plantations or animal shelters – among many others.
Doing great work, these projects frequently don’t have their own web sites, offices or permanent staff due to a lack of resources, skills or simply technologies. Today, some of the leading NGOs like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Human Rights Foundation, UNICEF, Greenpeace, Save the Children and many others around the world, have started accepting cryptocurrency donations.
Digital nomads’ and the crypto community’s contributions during the most turbulent times has been enormous. Eco initiatives would also have accepted support in crypto, however, many technology platforms are lagging behind in integrating this offering and offering the option.
Here are just a few of the projects carrying out that work.
300,000 Trees in Nicosia
Together with the local university, the initiative “300k Trees in Nicosia” has already successfully transformed seven parks and planted over 10,000 trees in Cyprus. The project has also formed partnerships with universities in the area, using these relationships to further their knowledge of the unique trees of Cyprus, while raising awareness about environmental issues among students.
4 Forest
This ecology initiative originally started as an ecological blog, and has now expanded into a major project. Within the last year alone, “4 Forest” has successfully planted 40,000 trees in Siberia and Kazakhstan. The organization “4 Forest” is actively involved in reforesting areas devastated by forest fires, combating illegal deforestation, and opposing legislation that poses a threat to precious natural forests.
By subscribing to their cause, members receive a digital certificate confirming the planting of a tree, along with access to real-time tracking, photographs, and precise locations of the trees they helped plant. The choice of saplings and seedlings includes various tree species such as cedar, spruce, elm, maple, ash, and others, depending on the specific location of the reforestation efforts.
Niger Delta Mangrove Project
The Niger Delta Mangrove Project is carried out by the Tropical Research and Conservation Centre (TRCC), an NGO focusing on environmental restoration, natural resource management, indigenous resources preservation, sustainable agriculture and community livelihoods.
The project focuses on the restoration and preservation of over 600,000 ha of Nigerian mangrove forest – the largest in Africa and third largest in the world. Considered a global biodiversity hotspot, the region offers massive ecological, environmental and socio-economic benefits. This ecosystem also plays an important role in climate change mitigation due to its high blue carbon sequestration potential.
The project targets planting back about 10,000,000 mangrove trees in the next 3-5 years.The project has already mobilized over 100 community-based volunteers to assist in planting and managing the mangroves.
The Restore Forest
The Restore Forest initiative is the brainchild of Jean-Baptiste (JB) Chaudron. Inspired by the Japanese botanist Dr. Akira Miyawaki, who developed and implemented his forest-planting methodology in hundreds of projects worldwide, JB has simplified the approach to make it accessible to people who are not professional botanists. Now, the Miyawaki mini forest techniques are available to everyone.
The idea behind Miyawaki forests is to reconnect people with Nature. The overarching objective is to address global climate change and deforestation issues by taking small individual steps in planting mini forests locally – in your own backyard, a workplace, or a communal space.
REEFolution
With 50% of coral reefs already lost and 80% of the living corals being threatened, REEFolution strives to save the world’s most diverse underwater ecosystems. They work both at sea and on land. At sea, REEFolution actively restore coral reefs using a variety of different science-based methods.
Coral reef restoration involves the following activities: coral gardening, artificial reef placement, coral fragment outplanting onto artificial reefs, and establishing marine protected areas. On land, REEFolution trains and educates local communities to restore and protect coral reefs. Their mission is to leave behind self-resilient community-based coral reef management in the long run.
Knowing that 95% of coral reefs could be gone by 2050, REEFolution devotes all its efforts to reversing these alarming statistics and saving corals from extinction. In Shimoni, Kenya, REEFolution trained 15 REEF Rangers and restored three hectares of coral reefs since 2015. More than 1500 artificial reef structures have been placed. Their coral nurseries produce more than 10,000 young coral fragments per year, with 30 scientific research projects carried out on-site.
The Bee Camp
The Bee Camp is a pioneering non-profit organization in Greece, and is dedicated to protecting bees and urban pollinators. Its mission is to transform cities into thriving environments that benefit both people and biodiversity. Composed of a passionate team of five young women, including artists, educators, environmental scientists, and anthropologists.
The Bee Camp is committed to making cities greener, more inclusive, and more supportive of bee populations. Through engaging workshops, educational initiatives, awareness-raising events, conservation efforts, and urban greening projects, its aim is to cultivate a deep appreciation for nature and foster a brighter future – a future that is impossible without the indispensable species of pollinators.
We Clean We Green Malawi
The main objective of the organization is to empower young people with knowledge and skills on environmental management and protection. The initiative raised awareness in over 40 young volunteers to clean beaches of Lake Malawi and local rivers.
It trained over 15 lead farmers on agroforestry to help them reduce environmental impacts, while helping partner initiatives in tree-planting and orchard management programs in schools. It provided over 40 families (including farmers) from poor communities with food and farm inputs to boost their livelihoods.
Mangwende Orphan Care Trust
The Trust aims to help empower people in the Murewa District, Zimbabwe, and the region.
On its newly acquired piece of land, the Mangwende Orphan Care Trust is developing a “smart space” for orphans in the form of an agroforestry training centre. The centre will promote the principles of regenerative farming, permaculture, agroecology and organic farming.
In 2020, the founder and his family established an urban tree nursery and planted more than 10,000 avocado seeds. In 2022, they already donated trees to schools, churches, and rural villages.
Ubuntu Wildlife Trust
What started as the Wild Lion Trust in 2015, this initiative was reconsidered and repurposed into the Ubuntu Wildlife Trust in 2020, on a mission to protect, conserve, and preserve historical habitats of biodiverse value and associated species in southern Africa.
Throughout their Support, Research and Legacy projects aiming to protect various species from pangolins and rhinos to turtles, Ubuntu Wildlife Trust remains committed to the war against poaching, illicit wildlife trade and the protection of the natural environment. The Trust adheres to the Pillars of Sustainability and the One Health concept as described by the United Nations and associated organizations which align with the African philosophy of Ubuntu (“humanity to others”).
Nullker
Nullker is an online platform and a growing hub for environmental initiatives from all over the world. This platform enables eco activists to make donations for individual initiatives and earn rewards. With ambitious long-term goals and small near-future targets, Nullker’s projects range from tree-planting to waste management.
“Sharing platforms” helps create communities around environmental projects and initiatives and bring awareness to their goals, and they are the new way that people can truly get involved in meaningful eco activities that make a real difference on so many levels.
