Supporting #GrassrootsClimateSolution is climate action!

Time for #ClimateRealTalk

At Thousand Currents, we are clear that this is a moment for #ClimateRealTalk. Science tells us that we have but a few years to make significant changes or face catastrophic impacts on our lives, livelihoods, and futures. We also know that the political, economic, and social changes that we need to make cannot be achieved without popular, grassroots organizing. Supporting grassroots solutions is climate action.

Indigenous women building climate change law

Together in alliance with six Indigenous organizations, Federación Nacional de Mujeres Campesinas, Artesanas, Indígenas, Nativas y Asalariadas del Perú (FENMUCARINAP) / National Federation of Peasant, Artisan, Indigenous, Native and Wage-Earning Women of Peru successfully gained the approval for the Indigenous Climate Platform, formalizing the Indigenous alliance as key actors in influencing the law. They didn’t stop there. They also effectively lobbied the Ministry of Environment so that members of FENMUCARINAP could give their input on how to integrate the needs of Indigenous women.

Research as a tool to stop extractive seabed mining companies

In 2016, Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) partnered with Blue Ocean Law to undertake a legal and policy analysis of deep-sea mining in the Pacific region, providing an overall mapping of the legislative status of this type of mining in 11 Pacific Island nations. PANG documents the threats of mining companies, including Nautilus Minerals, and offers legislative and policy recommendations to support grassroots organizing efforts to challenge these extractive industries.

Resisting polluting industries in the streets and in the courts

When Transnet, a rail transport company, wanted to expand the port, South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) began organizing. The proposed expansion would have damaged the ocean’s biodiversity and displaced tens of thousands of people. People mobilized into direct action, while SDCEA coordinated legal action to fight in court. The combination of these efforts stopped the port expansion.

Community controlled energy

Brazil holds the largest number of freshwater reservoirs, which draws extractive industries eager to use water for energy and profit. Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB) / The Movement of People Affected by Dams is building an alternative. Along with a coalition of other movements and unions, MAB is working to shape a national energy policy and build a process to create a grassroots energy sovereignty project in Brazil. MAB is pushing to make sure that communities hold water stewardship to produce energy and protect ecosystems.

Putting power back into people's hands

After the 2015 earthquake devastated Nepal, the remote village of Dhapsung realized the importance of a reliable energy infrastructure. Wanting to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels, the members of Dhapsung partnered with Thousand Currents partner, Digo Bikas Institute (DBI), to pilot a community-owned solar micro grid.

Preserving crop diversity with farmer-managed seed systems

Zimbabwean farmers know that “climate-smart” techno fixes, such as genetically modified seeds, do not consider the social and economic factors that affect farmers. Farmer members of ZIMSOFF understand the importance of seed diversity and that one seed can not feed all. That is why ZIMSOFF is committed to organizing local seed fairs to preserve crop diversity & create viable economic opportunities for farmers.

Potato guardians using traditional knowledge to produce climate resilient strain

In the highlands of Cusco, Peru, Indigenous agroecology practitioners are deepening their knowledge of cultivating potatoes. With over 1,367 varieties of the crop, the “Parque de la Papa,” or Potato Park, is leading the way in generating knowledge and strains of potatoes that are more resistant to the climate crisis. In partnership with Asociación para la Naturaleza y el Desarrollo Sostenible (Asociación ANDES)/Association for Nature and Sustainable Development, the Indigenous potato guardians are relying on thousand-year-old traditions to create diverse genetic expressions of the staple food. This diversification increases the potato’s ability to grow in harsher conditions as the climate intensifies.

Healthy food supplied by local food systems, not industrial agriculture

SEEP is a community-driven organization determined to promote people-centered development and healthy food practices. SEEP centers the leadership of women and youth in its work with 29 communities in rural and urban Fiji—including Indigenous communities, such as the I-Taukei. SEEP creates spaces for communities to discuss the effects of globalization and learn about the nutritional, environmental, and economic value of their local foods. Fiji is an island nation facing an immediate existential threat because of the climate crisis, and SEEP’s leadership is critical to building a climate-resilient future for the Fijian people.

Let's make 2020 a year of meaningful action!

Thank you for the #ClimateRealTalk.

We shared stories of #GrassrootsClimateSolutions—stories that show how our partners are courageously taking action NOW to solve the global climate crisis. We hope these stories have inspired and moved you to take action, too, for our shared home and collective wellbeing.