From wastelands to wetlands: The fight to save Sri Lanka's natural flood buffers

The fate of the Southeast's longleaf pine forests, and the endangered woodpeckers that depend on them, is in jeopardy. Fort Bragg, a station of the US military, is trying to save their local environment.

Property rights, circumscribed jurisdictions, and conflicts with neighbors exacerbate Native American efforts to restore tribal land and resources. Some tribes have found success by tapping into a trend of support from the government and conservationists.

The state of Louisiana is disappearing at an incredible rate, and its sinking deltas threaten some of the nation's crucial oil, gas, and fisheries industries. Industry and government have created an unprecedented plan to save and rebuild these wetlands over the next 50 years — and say failure is not an option.

After once again being granted rights to their native land, the Martu people are bringing back the bioregenerative technique of small-scale land burning. In the past century, wildfires have ravaged the areas these people call home and has lead to the loss of over 18 species of animal. They hope that imparting this traditional method of ecological maintenance will decrease the number of wildfires and in many cases, the resulting extinction of other animal species.

Threatened wildlife co-exists with poverty stricken communities who inhabit the Arizona-Mexico border region. Borderlands Restoration's conservation scientists are hoping to alleviate poverty while repairing the local environment by providing jobs that help preserve and renew the environment.

The amount of time women spend searching for water in Kenya is debilitating to their life. Shallow water wells closer to living spaces can help them reclaim some time to tend to their own lives.

More golf courses are closing than are opening, allowing the rare opportunity to have open space in an urban environment. Restorations are becoming popular to allow wildlife and humans to make use of the natural space through the encouragement of different animals and plants to inhabit the same area as well as the development of parks and bike paths to foster human use.

There's a mezcal boom happening around the world, but it originates in Oaxaca, Mexico. There some of the biggest players in the game are actively working to influence and stabilize the agave industry through sustainable practices.

The 2004 tsunami that hit Asia caused significant damage in the islands of the Seychelles, destroying roads, homes, and shoreline. A teacher determined to restore her home through tangible action took a lead role in helping her students take conservation into their own hands by working to restore the mangroves that can protect their island from future storms.

As climate change continues to threaten the survival of native plants species and the health of the eco-systems they support, the North Carolina Arboretum’s Germplasm Repository is taking a clever new approach to the preservation of native plant seeds: pushing to capitalize on their commercial value. Plant physiologists like Joe-Ann McCoy know that the best method for saving many species may also create jobs and boost local economies, when businesses start leveraging the medicinal uses of native plants for products like herbal supplements.