WiserEarth Area of Focus Suggestions

Problem: Conservation is a difficult concept to sell, especially in developing countries where it is perceived by many as a barrier to progress and human development. Humans have distinct perceptions about conservation and the environment – what to one person is a spectacular forest landscape, to another is land ripe for clearance and cultivation.   This manual attempts to promote a practical approach to conservation by creating jobs, generating income for protected areas and educating visitors. As th...

Action: Step by Step Guide to   Chapter 1 Determining Visitor Perceptions and Preferences p34 Chapter 2 Creating a Vision p101 Chapter 3 Siting and Surveying p125 Chapter 4 Calculating Costs and Benefits p153 Chapter 5 Preparing a Funding Proposal p177 Chapter 6 Commencing Construction p199 Chapter 7 Provoking Conservation: How to Interpret Your Trail p267 Chapter 8 Establishing and Monitoring Limits of Acceptable Change p335 Chapter 9 Marketing Your Trail p365 Chapter 10 Managing Trail Finances p41...

Problem: Help bird conservation in North America by participating for one day in the annual Christmas Bird Count.   Prior to the turn of the century, people engaged in a holiday tradition known as the Christmas "Side Hunt": They would choose sides and go afield with their guns; whoever brought in the biggest pile of feathered (and furred) quarry won.   Conservation was in its beginning stages around the turn of the 20th century, and many observers and scientists were becoming concerned about declini...

Action: The Christmas Bird Count season is December 14 through January 5 each year. Your local count will occur on one day between those inclusive dates. If you have more than one local count, they will probably be conducted on different dates within the CBC season. You can pick the most convenient date, or participate in more than one count.   There is a specific methodology to the CBC, but everyone can pa...

Problem: This LOCALLY DRIVEN SOLUTION PROCESS is NON ISSUE SPECIFIC.   Target issues may include but  are not limited to POVERTY, CLIMATE CHANGE, PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES, ENVIRONMENTAL SCARCITY/ DEVASTATION. Whether fighting AIDS in Zimbabwe, saving rain forests in Senegal, or building healthy, sustainable communities in the USA; "7 Stages to Sustainability" empowers local and global "Partners In Empowerment" (PIE) to address locally identified threats to human and environmental security ...

Action: 1. Identify and engage Partners In Empowerment™ (local and global): community members, collaborating organizations, socially conscious businesses & other stakeholders dedicated to improving human and environmental security.   * More specifically, "7 Stages to Sustainability" emphases six synergistic social and economic sectors:       Collaborating Nonprofits– Who: Comm...

Problem: Bivalve shellfish have historically been a prominent component of benthic, or bottom dwelling, communities of temperate and subtropical estuaries and coastal baysBivalves also have been and continue to be an important food source for people throughout the world, serving as both as a delicacy and a staple. In coastal communities throughout the U.S., shellfish are cultural icons, reflecting traditions and a way of life dating back generations. It is not surprising therefore that until very rece...

Action: This guide was written to help restoration practitioners design and monitor shellfish restoration projects that restore not only the populations of target shellfish species – primarily clams, oysters, scallops – but also the ‘ecosystem services’ associated with healthy populations of these organisms. As a primer for conservationists, resource managers and others interested in ...

Problem: Over the past several years, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have realized that the creation of formal protected areas may not be sufficient to protect ocean and coastal biodiversity, particularly in areas where rights have already been granted to specific owners and users. To address this, NGOs are increasingly using Marine Conservation Agreements (MCAs) to complement other marine and coastal protection efforts.

Action: Marine Conservation Agreements include any formal or informal understanding between two or more parties in which the parties obligate themselves, for an exchange of benefits, to take certain actions, refrain from certain actions, or transfer certain rights and responsibilities to achieve agreed upon ocean or coastal conservation goals. The summary table below identifies the major elements and variables of MCAs. MCAs can be entered into by governments, communities, private entities, and pri...

Problem: Conservation networks are often poorly designed and run. They can suffer from a lack of a clear compelling purpose, appropriately skilled leadership, poor recruiting of membership, badly designed activities, lack of measurement and evaluation of impact, lack of documentation of lessons learned, and under funding.  

Action: This document is a handbook designed to help network sponsors and leaders design, launch, and operate effective conservation networks. The seven standards are conditions that we have found to be essential for success. For each standard we have briefly described practices that can help ensure that a network meets that particular condition f...

Problem: Dry forests dominated by ponderosa pine are distributed widely throughout the west at lower elevations, often representing the first forest zone above lower elevation grasslands and sagebrush. Historically, these forests burned at regular intervals of 5-25 years, promoting an open, uneven-aged forest, dominated by large pines with open grassy and shrub understories. Because fires were generally of low intensity, more than 70% of the acres of this forest type were stands of large, mature pines...

Action: The Role of Private Lands Private lands can play a key role in the conservation of ponderosa pine habitats and the birds that depend on them. Approximately 44% of the 15 million acres of ponderosa pine forest in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho is on private lands. Many ponderosa pine forests on private lands are adjacent to public forest lands, providing an opportunity to enhance their value through cooperative efforts with public land managers. Many of these forests are interspersed with grass...

Problem: It is estimated that there are 51 million fishermen in the world of whom 50 million are small-scale, subsistence, or artisanal operators mainly living and working in the developing world. Unfortunately, the common-property fish resources that these fishermen depend upon for their livelihood are in a precarious state. Why do we find ourselves in this critical situation and what can we do to correct it? Researchers and stakeholders are actively searching for new forms of fishery management, and...

Action: One of the difficulties in planning and implementing co-management is the lack of specific direction on 'how to do it'. There are a number of different activities and interventions in the process of community-based co-management. While there are a number of very good publications (many often difficult to obtain, especially in a developing country) which discuss individual activities and components of the process of community-based co-management, there is no single publication which provides a...

Problem: This solution focuses on the input of Indigenous Peoples into the activities of the international system regarding REDD schemes and climate change.

Problem: In the past, native bees and feral honey bees could meet all of a farmer’s pollination needs for orchards, berry patches, squash and melons, vegetable seed, sunflowers, and other insect-pollinated crops. These farms were relatively small and close to areas of natural habitat that harbored adequate numbers of pollinators to accomplish the task that now requires imported colonies of honey bees. Nearby natural areas also served as a ready source of new pollinators that could re-colonize farms an...

Action: The purpose of these guidelines is to provide information about native bees and their habitat requirements so that farmers can manage the land around their fields to provide the greatest advantage for these crop pollinators. These guidelines will help growers and conservationists:   understand how simple changes to farm practices can benefit native pollinat...