ADES promotes energy-efficient ovens and solar cookers in Madagascar to fight deforestation. In addition, for each ADES device sold, 2 trees are planted in a project initiated and controlled by ADES. Each device saves, on average, 0.5 hectares of woodland.

Creating perspectives in the bolivian Andes - from reforestation to timber products in rural communities and environmental education in elementary schools.

Rural communities, groups with interests in forestry or individual families take part in building the wood chain. They learn to protect trees, cultivate reforestated areas and bring wood and non-wood products to market. Building new forests, they protect at the same time their agricultural areas against soil and wind erosion.

The Mikoko Pamoja project, developed by ACES, shows how a village in Kenya could halt the degradation of the surrounding mangrove forests, taking ownership of the conservation and restoration efforts and transforming the funds from carbon credit sales into visible benefits for the whole community.

Soil regeneration - food security - resource management: a long-term and sustainable way out of poverty for rural farmer families

In order to regenerate depleted soils, newTree supports rural farmers in agroforestry. newTree also builds enhanced cooking stoves with women to economize up to 60% of wood. The protection of trees has a huge impact on the lifes of the farmer families.

BICO works with the communities through capacity-building and reforestation work to restore the Mau Forest complex in Kenya. This is a mountain watershed forest that feeds major rivers and lakes in the region, providing water for millions of people to drink, grow food and generate energy. 25% of the forest have been destroyed in the last 30 years and the impacts on the water supply around the year have become clear and critical.

Brettacorp Inc. is an Australian community association that recovers native habitat for endangered species such as the Southern Cassowary and Mahogany Glider, in Tropical North Queensland. Their work so far has covered over nearly 10 ha of both private and public lands, in cooperation with local entities. This is generally carried out through extensive renaturation and community planting actions, with strong local engagement. Part of their approach also follows the Miyawaki method, a way to quickly grow ultra-dense mini-forests.

CAPED is a grassroots effort from Gambia focused on restoring degraded mangrove and forests and improving the lives of the nearby communities, with a particular enphasys on youth. Working closely with the villagers, they have coordinated the replanting of around 3 million mangrove saplings since 2009, the creation of protected community forests and the introduction of other work and food opportunities.

Conserve Natural Forests (CNF) is a NGO from Thailand dedicated to forest restoration, sustainable land practices and wildlife conservation in Northern Thailand.

Through "participative reforestation", Cultiva Chile has engaged over 26'000 volunteers in Chile since the year 2000 and planted almost half a million native tree and bush species. They work by empowering local communities through participatory groups, uniting environmental education, reforestation work and citizen engagement. Cultiva Chile's focuses on recovering the threatened native forests and on creating green spaces in urban areas that improve community life and provide contact with nature and better outdoor learning opportunities.

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best moment is now.“ (African proverb)

Desert Tree has implemented several projects, all of which are aimed at the sustainable protection of the environment. The main purpose of the organization is the protection of forests and planting of trees in areas where they are direly needed. Another aspect, albeit second to the planting activities, is the engagement to protect bees because of their importance as pollinators.

All these activities integrate the local population to strengthen the success, share the responsibility and effort and ensure a continuous development.

Ecological Balance is a NGO from Cameroon that wants to solve conservation and development issues hand-in-hand. They see the forests as a deposit of natural wealth accumulated over generations which, if used wisely, can make an valuable financial contribution to rural populations, particularly women, supporting their lives and conservation efforts. By combining education and participation with active restoration efforts, they want to bring the benefits and value of Cameroon's forest back into the everyday life of their people.

Ecosia is a social business based in Berlin, Germany, which generates revenues from internet searches and donates at least 80% of its profits to finance forestation projects around the world.

Currently, they are supporting projects in 4 countries: Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Indonesia and Peru.

Agroforestry projects are developed with indigenous communities in the Amazon regions of Peru and Colombia so that endangered native timber and fruit trees are better known, valued and managed. This helps to protect biodiversity and at the same time improve living conditions.

Trees and afforestation lead to increased water tables and biodiversity, which allows vegetable production and cultivation of bees, coffee and other income generating activities. All activities are closely aligned with the needs of local communities and are implemented only with their joint work.

The Friends of the National Parks Foundation (FNPF) projects in Bali and Borneo take an holistic approach to conservation and community development, focusing on the protection of wildlife, restoration of habitats and the creation of alternatives that improve the well-being of local communities, while empowering and motivating them to protect their wildlife and environment.

The Fundación de Conservación Jocotoco manages a network of biological reserves in Ecuador. Originally focused on the conservation of threatened bird species, their focus gradually expanded to cover complete habitats, create biological corridors and extensive reforestation and restoration work.

Working to restore the world-important Atlantic Forest ("Mata Atlântica") of Brazil, through forest restoration, creation of ecological corridors, and the improvement of the livelihoods for the local traditional and indigenous communities.

Creating a collaboration platform between practitioners and decision-makers focused on the protection, management and restoration of forest sites of high ecological value in the Mediterranean Basin.

The network (currently) includes nearly 20 sites in 12 different countries of the Mediterranean basin, covering different ecosystems, land uses and environmental conditions and seeks to facilitate the exchange of know-how and the development of projects and actions in this region.

PIRES Partners is a grassroots initiative from Kenya that aims to increase tree cover in the area around Mount Kenya's ecosystem in both public and private lands. They work with assisted natural regeneration methods, tree planting and promotion of agroforestry next its farmer members.

Plan Vivo provides an accessible certification scheme for smallholder- and community-based projects focused on sustainable land use, allowing them to be financed via payments for ecosystem services (PES) programmes.

The Plan Vivo Standard is a tried and tested certification framework for projects supporting the rural poor with natural resource management, using payments for ecosystem services. It includes requirements and processes to ensure Plan Vivo projects benefit livelihoods, ecosystems and provide ethical and fairly traded climate services.

The Plan Vivo Standard certifies the implementation of project activities that enhance ecosystem services and allow communities to formally recognise and quantify carbon sequestration, biodiversity or watershed protection.

Following the destruction of the mangrove forests around their village, the people of Sankandi felt the direct consequences of their loss: less fish to catch and farmland lost due to salt accumulated in the soil. Under this grassroots project in rural Gambia, the community organised itself to revert their fate. They started a large scale mangrove replanting effort, with 200'000 plants so far, and additional activities to empower the rural communities and improve their socio-economic situation while advancing several sustainable development goals.

The SEEDS Trust has been working with communities in the Tamil Nadu region of India for over 20 years. They combine practical measures for the regeneration and conservation of endangered habitats and species with concrete improvements to the livelihoods of surrounding communities. Their approach includes reforestation work in and around conservation areas, developing sustainable usage of forest products, better agricultural practices and a strong involvement of different stakeholders.

By combining reforestation in Nicaragua with carbon-compensation programs, Taking Root creates long-term income opportunities for farmers while restoring the local ecosystems.

By planting local tree species, which are more resistant to increased drought and extreme weather conditions, the local ecosystems can be restored. By managing these new plantations in a sustainable way, the small landowners and farmers can have an extra income from the forest products to complements the one from agriculture, thus improving their livelihoods.

Tropical Research and Conservation Centre (TRCC) is a Nigerian NGO active in the southeastern rainforest region of the country and in the Niger delta. It works closely with the local communities, building capacity and implementing pilot projects focused on sustainable resource use and habitat restoration. Besides developing alternative livelihood options compatible with conservation efforts, it also conducts tree planting work with multipurpose native species, and develops educational activities with the communities and schools.  

Permapartner is active in Madagascar. It supports small-scale farmers in transforming their farms into permaculture sites. This improves harvests, reduces their land use, the need for slash and burn activities and ends erosion damage. Through this, they indirectly protect the last natural forests in Madagascar by reducing the farmer's incentive to clear them.

Vivamos Mejor works with local farmer communities and authorities in Guatemala, to improve how they manage water, forests and soil - the basis of their livelihoods. They take an integrated approach based on the implementation of watershed management plans, education and capacity building, recovery of deforested areas to reduce erosion, use of efficient stoves to reduce firewood consumption, and adoption of organic farming for better yields and income.

Large-scale reforestation and sustainable land use initiative, dedicated to climate change mitigation. The organisation is focused on multiple lands, combining reforestation with land use, economic empowerment, education and capacity-building.

Reforestation and sustainable land use projects are developed for degraded tropical areas around the world. Increasing the amount of vegetation that can absorb and keep (capture) CO₂ is seen as a cost-effective way to combat climate change. Restoring the integrity of ecosystems in conjunction with stakeholders is seen as a way to regain and preserve their function, value and usefulness.

Besides aiming for greater tree coverage, the focus is on working with communities to ensure that the development of the new forests is cared for locally and that their use brings concrete short- and long-term benefits both for the environment and the livelihoods of people.