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Earth Day at USAID
FrontLines - April 2010
Earth Day, observed on April 22, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. USAID's first Earth
Day photo contest recognizes the United Nations' proclamation of 2010 as the International
Year of Diversity. The contest resulted in six winners in five categories as well as 18 honorable
mentions. Winning photos and categories are presented below.
Biodiversity Program in Action | Wildlife, Plants, and Landscapes |
| In Time for Turtles Yasuni National Park,
Ecuador
The eggs of the charapas, a river turtle in Amazonian Ecuador,
are a local delicacy, but overharvesting threatens the turtle with
extinction. USAID works with conservationists and the Waorani
indigenous community to reverse this trend. In 2008 and 2009,
community member Roque Alvarado and his children Renata, Orlando,
and Annabelle (pictured) gathered 1,000 eggs and carefully
tended 700 hatchlings before releasing them back to the wild.
Photo by Julie Larsen Maher, Wildlife Conservation Society |
Bear Catches
Salmon Kamchatka, Russia
Salmon is a critical seasonal food source for thousands of brown
bears in Kamchatka, Russia. The USAID -supported Wild Salmon
Center establishes watershed councils to involve communities in
salmon conservation and habitat restoration.
Photo by Igor Shpilenok |
Forestry Program in Action | Threats to Biodiversity |
| Fresh Coffee…
Plants Guatemala
Coffee plants grow under the protective shade of native trees at
a certified farm in Guatemala. USAID supports certification of a
number of forest products, leveraging markets to improve prices
for growers, conditions for workers, and habitat for birds and
other species.
Photo by Charlie Watson, Rainforest Alliance |
Fire in Kutai
National Park East Kalimantan,
Indonesia
Although devastated by fires in the late 1990's, Kutai National
Park in Indonesia is still an important refuge for orangutans,
supporting up to 2,500 animals. USAID's Orangutan
Conservation Services Program works to reduce threats to this
endangered primate including forest fires resulting from burns
to clear agricultural land.
Photo by Donald Bason, Orangutan Conservation Services Program |
Conservation Improves Lives
(co-winner) | Conservation Improves Lives
(co-winner) |
| Collecting
Cockles Zanzibar, Tanzania
In Bweleo Village, Zanzibar, women spend hours bent at the
waist collecting cockles for food. Women now play a key role in a
USAID -supported community-based conservation initiative that
establishes and manages “no-take” zones, which allow depleted
stocks of cockles to grow back while securing a good supply of
oysters for half-pearl farming and jewelry making. The result is
higher income, less time spent collecting bivalves, and reduced
pressure on the marine environment.
Photo by Klaus Hartung |
Fishing for Living Hail Haor, Srimongol,
Bangladesh
USAID has played a pioneering role in advancing co-management of
natural resources by communities and government in Bangladesh.
Building upon successes with forests and inland fisheries, USAID is
now working to scale up the approach to all ecosystems.
Photo by Sirajul Hossain |
For more information on
USAID's environmental
projects, go to www.usaid.gov/our_work/environment/index.html. ★
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