Browse over 100 EcoTipping Point Success Stories

Marine
Sanctuary
Philippines *

Eradicating
Dengue Mosquitoes
Vietnam

Community
Agro-Forestry
Thailand **

Escaping the
Pesticide Trap
India

Rainwater
Harvesting
India ***

Saving the
Nation’s Forests
Japan

Constructed
Wetlands
Arcata - USA

Edible
Schoolyard
Berkeley - USA

Community
Gardens
New York City ****

Portland:
A Livable City
USA

Saving
Mangroves
Thailand

Community
Reforestation
Mexico

Freiburg:
A Green City
Germany

Biogas
Energy
China

Organic Farming
Empowering Youth
USA

* 7-minute video | ** 14-minute video | *** 11-minute video | **** 12-minute video

Browse Our In-Depth Story Titles

Canada - British Columbia (Whistler) - Community Engagement in Planning for a Sustainable Future - A community comes together to manage uncontrolled growth and creates a groundbreaking plan for sustainable resort development.
China - Biogas - Millions of rural households in China have switched to homemade biogas for cooking, with far-reaching environmental and social benefits.
Germany - Freiburg - Improving sustainability with transportation, energy, waste management, land conservation, and a green economy.
Honduras - The Monte Verde Story: Community Eradication of Aedes aegypti (the mosquito responsible for Zika, dengue, and chikungunya) - A humble community uses biological control to free itself from the mosquito and the diseases.
India - New Delhi - Urban Rainwater Harvesting - Rainwater harvesting at Shri Ram School makes it a key player in a widespread movement to address Delhi’s water shortages.
India - Andhra Pradesh - "Non-Pesticide Management" for Agricultural Pests: Escaping the Pesticide Trap - Controlling pests without chemical pesticides catapults farmers from chronic poisoning and debt to health and hope.
India - Rajasthan - Water Warriors: Restoring Traditional Earthen Dams for Rainwater Harvesting and Groundwater Replenishment - Revival of traditional rainwater harvesting dams recharges the aquifer, transforming a drought-ridden landscape. *** 11-minute video
India – East Calcutta - Making the Most of It: Wastewater, Fishponds, and Agriculture - Municipal wastewater feeds an integrated system of fish ponds and farms.
India - Bangalore - Upscale Eco-Friendly Housing - A small, upscale neighborhood shows how eco-friendly living is a viable alternative to housing india’s high-tech affluent in unsustainable subdivisions.
India - Karnataka - A Growing Network of Seed Banks and Organic Farms - A network of seed banks and organic farming projects helps farmers reverse the trend toward extinction of local crop varieties.
Israel/Palestine/Jordan – EcoPeace/Friends of the Earth Middle East and the Good Water Neighbors Project - EcoPeace/Friends of the Earth Middle East restores the environment and improves international relations at the same time.
Japan - How Japan Saved its Forests: The Birth of Silviculture and Community Forest Management - Villagers devise silviculture and community forest management to save the nation’s forests.
Kenya – The Green Belt Movement - Tree planting and other projects improve Kenya's ecosystem and quality of life.
Mexico - Oaxaca - Community Reforestation in the Mixteca Region - The Center for Integrated Farmer Development recently won the Goldman prize for reforesting highly eroded lands and rescuing the traditional sustainable agriculture of the region.
Mexico - Quintana Roo - The Vigía Chico Fishing Cooperative - A remote fishing village devises community management to protect its lobster fishery and ensure a high quality of life for everyone
Mexico - Quintana Roo - Sustainable Agro-forestry in the Zona Maya - Mayan communities augmented their ecological security with a cooperative
Philippines - Apo Island - Marine Sanctuary: Restoring a Coral-Reef Fishery - A marine sanctuary rescues a fishery and coral-reef ecosystem headed for collapse. * 7-minute Video
Thailand - Trang Province - Taking Back the Mangroves with Community Management - Standing up to powerful interests to protect a commonly managed resource triggers a regeneration of society, economy and fishery.
Thailand - Nakhon Sawan Province - Watershed Restoration with Agroforestry and Community Forest Management - Agroforestry farming and community-managed forests empower impoverished villagers to optimize their resources, both natural and human, while showing how to reduce greenhouse gases by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. **14-minute Video
Thailand – Nonthaburi Province - Temple Reuses and Recycles, Refurbishes and Resells with Great Benefits for the Poor - A temple combines creative reuse and recycling, sustainable agriculture, and social programs.
USA - Green Business in America - U.S. businesses strive to become more eco-friendly.
USA - California (Arcata) - Constructed Wetland: A Cost-Effective Alternative for Wastewater Treatment - Shunning a costly regional sewage treatment plant, a town converts derelict industrial land into a marsh that purifies its municipal wastewater.
USA - California/Oregon - Decline and Restoration in the Klamath River Basin: The Klamath Settlement Agreements
USA - California (Berkeley) - Edible Schoolyards: Connecting Kids to the Earth and Encouraging Healthy Eating Habits - Replacing a parking lot with a school garden and kitchen, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle school creates tools for education and social change.
USA - California (Oakland) - The People’s Grocery: Bringing Healthy Food to Low-Income Neighborhoods - A mobile grocery brings fresh food to a low-income "food desert."
USA - California/Oregon - Decline and Restoration in the Klamath River Basin: The Klamath Settlement Agreements
USA - Hawaii (Oahu) - Waiahole Ditch Water Restoration - Twenty years after their land struggle, the Waiahole-Waikane community achieves stream restoration as well.
USA - Hawaii (Oahu) - He‘eia Fishpond and Watershed - Ecosystem restoration at He‘eia, Hawai‘i spans the watershed from the coastal fishpond to the upper valley.
USA - Hawaii - Restoring the Life of the Land: Taro Patches in Hawai'i - Ancient irrigation systems are being restored to cultivate Hawai'i's staple crop.
USA - Hawaii (Oahu) - MA‘O Organic Farm: Growing Food and Empowering Youth - Agriculture and education improves food security and the social situation in a marginalized community.
USA - Hawaii (Oahu) - EcoTipping Points at Hanauma Bay - An idyllic bay goes through two cycles of overuse and preservation.
USA - Hawaii (Big Island) - The West Hawai‘i Fisheries Council: A Forum for Coral Reef Stakeholders - Stakeholder dialog reduces conflict and improves management of a coral reef.
USA - New York (New York City) - Green Guerillas: Community Gardens Revitalize Urban Neigborhoods - Community gardens transform decaying urban neighborhoods. **** 12-minute Video
USA - Oregon (Portland) - Sustainable City - Participatory regional planning curtails sprawl and creates strategies for a sustainable future.
USA - Oregon (Portland) - Flexcar: A Model of For-Profit Carsharing - Portland-based Flexcar cashes in on alternatives to car ownership.
USA - Utah (Salt Lake City) - Regional Planning through Community Participation: Learning from Envision Utah - The community turned urban growth in a healthier direction with structured, map-based workshops for thousands of citizens.
USA/Canada - The Organic Farming Movement in North America: Moving towards Sustainable Agriculture - How the current mainstreaming of organics is just one stage in a larger EcoTipping Point towards sustainable agriculture in North America and beyond.
Vietnam - Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, Copepods, and Biological Control of Mosquitoes - Community participation enlists a tiny predator of mosquito larvae to eradicate the dengue-fever mosquito, liberating a million people from the disease.

Browse Our Capsule Story Titles (shorter pieces)

Australia - A Sustainable House in the City - A small urban family remodels its 100-year-old house to achieve water and energy self-sufficiency.
Austria - Vienna - Biowaste Collection - Curbside collection of compost takes pressure off the stressed landfill and provides fertilizer for local farms.
Austria - Wienerburg - Greenbelt Project - A dumping ground becomes a pleasant green space.
Belgium - Hasselt - The "Sensible Transportation" City - A Belgian city develops integrated alternatives to building more roads.
Brazil - Curitiba - Planned "Eco-City" - A participatory master plan makes fast-growing Curitiba a model city.
Brazil - Icapui - 'Microcredit' Schemes - "Microcredit schemes" serve as alternatives to lobster overharvesting by struggling fishers.
Burkina Faso - Zabre - Women's Agroecological Project - An integrated agricultural project improves the local economy and the status of rural women.
Canada - British Columbia - Tsleil-Waututh Nation - A native tribe helps to restore a degraded watershed, with far-reaching ecological and economic benefits.
Canada - British Columbia - Sustainable Oyster Farming - Oyster farming diversifies the economy and provides incentives for ecological protection.
Canada - Northwest Territories - Inuvik Community Greenhouse - An innovative greenhouse increases food security and self-sufficiency in the Arctic.
Canada - Nova Scotia - Zero-Waste 2005 Composting Project - Recycling organic waste saves landfill space and feeds the land.
China - Leadership Training and Cooperation for Sustainable Community Development - The Harmony Foundation of Canada educates Chinese mayors and community residents for sustainable development.
China - Sichuan Province - Reforestation - Reforestation with local access restores a degraded watershed.
China - Gansu - Rainwater Harvesting - Rainwater harvesting in a dry region has multiple benefits for a drought-prone region.
China - Southern Taklimakan Desert - Tamarix Trees - Drought-resistant trees stop sand dunes encroaching on agricultural land.
China - Fuzhou - Ocean Arks Wastewater Restorers - An innovative wastewater treatment system restores the quality of polluted urban waterways.
Costa Rica - Talamanca - The Talamanca Initiative - A multi-faceted community initiative simultaneously promotes the local economy and ecosystem conservation.
Cuba - Rural Solar Power - Solar power brings numerous benefits to off-the-grid rural areas.
Cuba - Organic and Urban Agriculture - Economic crisis leads to rapid development of food self-sufficiency.
Dominican Republic - Solar Based Rural Electrification - Small-scale enterprises for rural electrification with solar panels begin in the Dominican Republic and spread through Latin America and other parts of the world.
Ecuador - The Battle Against Chevron Texaco - An unprecedented community-driven legal battle fights for justice after what has been called one of the most catastrophic environmental disasters in history.
England - Mud Between Your Toes - The Eden Project offers programs to reconnect kids with nature.
Fiji & Cook Islands - Coastal Fishery Restoration - Traditional no-take reserves and seasonal taboos restore troubled coastal fisheries.
Guam - The Humåtak Project - A community-based project works to restore Guam's watersheds, coral reefs, and fisheries.
Germany - Bavaria - Neumarkter Lammsbrau - A brewery employs a holistic, farmer-to-consumer approach, enabling it to thrive in a climate of small-brewery closures.
Germany - Feldheim - Energy independent community. A community becomes completely energy independent with wind, biogas, and solar.
Germany - Freiburg-Vauban - Eco-Neighborhood - Participatory urban planning creates an eco-friendly neighborhood.
India - Auroville - Planned "Eco-City" - Reforestation and other projects create an eco-friendly community, transforming a barren landscape to health and productivity.
India - Chipko Anti-Logging Resistance - Grassroots action limits logging and its destructive consequences.
India - Haryana Province - Forest Management - Communal forest management improves erosion control and productivity.
India - West Bengal - Makaibari Tea Estate - Makaibari Tea Estate simulates a natural ecosystem to enhance sustainability of production.
India - Rajasthan (and other states) - Ranbathore Craft Center - A vibrant artisan community revives local traditions and creates alternative employment for women in depressed rural regions.
India - Rajasthan - "Barefoot College" - A village-based program revives traditional wisdom, self-sufficiency and holistic rural development.
India - Mumbai - Industrial Greenbelt - Reforestation in an industrial area restores soil, water, wildlife and aesthetics.
India - West Bengal - Joint Forest Management - Cooperation between government and villages prevents overexploitation of their shared resources.
Indonesia - Bunaken National Park - Coastal Resource Management - Mangrove restoration and bamboo cultivation provide alternative livelihoods and wastewater treatment.
Indonesia - Borneo - Restoring a Rainforest - An orangutan rescue project provides valuable lessons for re-creating a rainforest.
Iraq – Mesopotamian Marshlands - Formerly desiccated marshlands are brought back to life.
Ireland - Green Tax on Plastic Bags - A small charge for plastic bags has a big impact on consumption and improves the appearance of the countryside.
Mexico - Sonora - Seri’s Sustainable Fisheries - The Seri Indians made full use of their traditional territorial rights in the Gulf of California to develop sustainable fisheries and scallop harvesting.
Mexico - Jalisco - Ayuquila River Restoration - Communities in the Ayuquila River Basin confronted deforestation and river pollution to set the watershed on a course of ecological health.
Mexico - Michoacán - The Patsari Stove - The Interdisciplinary Group for Appropriate Rural Technologies designed and distributed a low-pollution wood stove.
Mexico - Veracruz and Tabasco - Chinampa System - An ancient cultivation system is revived to provide sustainable wetland agriculture for landless farmers.
Mexico - Michoacán - Forest Reserve - A forest reserve famed for Monarch butterflies enlists active participation from local residents formerly skeptical of conservation projects.
Mozambique - Ecological Sanitation - Using music to promote low cost, environmentally sustainable “ecological sanitation,” a process to transform human waste into nutrient-rich agricultural fertilizer.
Netherlands - Groningen - The "Cycle City" - A bicycle-friendly city revives the economy and improves quality of life for its residents.
Niger – Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration - Farmers use a simple, natural way to regrow trees and stop desertification.
Peru - Micro-Hydro Power - Isolated communities on the eastern slopes of the Andes achieve electrification with small hydroelectric generators in rivers and streams.
Peru - Amazon - Forest Product Farming - Raising poison dart frogs provides an economic incentive to preserve threatened rainforests.
Philippines - Marikina City - Urban Revival - A new mayor's master plan restores the livability and pride of an impoverished industrial city.
Russia - Lake Baikal - Staving off Uranium Pollution - Protecting the world’s oldest and deepest lake from a planned petroleum pipeline and uranium enrichment facility.
South Africa - Working for Water - Removing exotic trees from watersheds brings streams back to life, increases the nation’s water supply, and creates jobs for the unemployed.
South Africa - Thlolengo EcoVillage - An African "eco-village" is a model of rural sustainability in a time of rural decline.
South Africa - Walkerstroom Wetlands - Ecotourism - Nature tourism to protect grasslands and wetlands stimulates the local economy.
Sudan – Hydrocarbon Removal from Oilfield Produced Water - Reed beds decontaminate wastewater from oilfields.
Sweden - Ecological Tax Reform - A tax shift creates broad-based, sweeping incentives for sustainability.
Thailand - Pak Mun Dam - Experimental Dam Opening - Experimental reopening of the Pak Mun Dam gates reveals the social and ecological costs of megadams, and the benefits of rivers to the multiple communities who depend on them.
Uganda – Ryan’s Well – A six-year-old Canadian boy starts a movement for safe drinking water in Africa.
Uganda - AIDS control - A holistic approach makes Ugandan AIDS control efforts exemplary.
USA - Community-Supported Fisheries - Modeled after community-supported agriculture, community-supported fisheries benefit fishermen, consumers, and the environment.
USA - Power to the People - Thanks to a new online platform, small investors can join together to fund solar energy projects.
USA - Alabama (Hale County) - The Rural Studio - Architecture students combine their studies with the design and creation of ecological housing for low-income clients.
USA – Alaska – Denali BioTechnologies - Valuable wild blueberries are harvested on deforested land, providing good nutrition and an economic boost to remote villages.
USA - California - Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District - Napa County works with the "living rivers" principle for its flood management plan.
USA - California (San Francisco) - The Garden Project - Organic farming by prison inmates restores their connection to the land and addresses recidivism.
USA - California (Morgan Hill) - Women's Action to Gain Economic Security - Women's cooperatives create much-needed living-wage and eco-friendly jobs.
USA - California (Los Angeles) - Natural Urban Park - The Augustus F. Hawkins Natural Park turns an urban brownfield into a natural ecosystem that connects local residents to nature and revitalizes their community.
USA - Colorado (Boulder) - Namaste Solar Electric - A photovoltaics company offers renewable energy and a socially conscious business model.
USA - Hawaii (Big Island) - Sustainable Forest Management - The Forest Service, Nature Conservancy, and private companies cooperate in a sustainable forestry venture.
USA - Hawaii (Oahu) - Sustainable Saunders Initiative - College students lead the effort to make the University of Hawai’i more sustainable.
USA - Hawaii (Oahu) - Kokua Kalihi Valley: A Holistic Approach to Health - Kokua Kalihi Valley community health center integrates the health of the people and the health of the land.
USA - Kansas - Land Institute - Restoring shrinking prairie habitats with sustainable agriculture.
USA - Louisiana - Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program - A cooperative regional management program turns the tide of environmental degradation in the nation's largest estuary.
USA – Maine – Alewife Restoration - Extraordinary measures are taken to restore Maine's river herring population, a keystone species in the ecosystem.
USA - Maine - Maine Lobsters - Co-management in the Maine lobster fishery helps promote sustainability.
USA – Massachusetts (Boston) - Nira Rock - An old quarry is transformed into a sanctuary for wildlife and people alike.
USA - Minnesota - Red Lake Restoration - Native Americans restore wild rice and walleye fish on their reservation.
USA - New York (New York City) - Melrose Commons - Local residents resist eviction and gentrification with alternative urban development.
USA - New York (New York City) - Watershed Protection - Watershed protection is a cost-effective alternative to a costly treatment plant to improve the region’s deteriorating water quality.
USA - Oregon (Portland) - The Rebuilding Center - A building materials recycling business thrives in a formerly economically depressed neighbourhood.
USA - Texas (Austin) - People Organized in the Defense of Earth and Her Resources (PODER) - A low-income neighborhood starts a successful environmental/economic justice movement.
USA - Texas (Austin) - Green Building and Green Choice Programs - Housing projects opt for sustainability in building materials and energy supply.
USA - Texas (Austin) - Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Program - Austin incorporates natural habitats in city planning to protect it from sprawl.
USA - Washington State - Lummi Nation Marine Aquaculture - Native Americans save their reservation with eco-development.
USA - Various locations - Phytoremediation - Plants and microbes use natural processes to purify contaminated wastewater.
Vanuatu - Coconut Oil as an Alternative Fuel - In a time of decreasing copra prices and increasing petroleum prices, coconut oil holds promise as a "biodiesel” fuel.
Zambia - Transforming Communities through Sustainable Development - A wildlife conservation and community development program protects biodiversity while simultaneously improving village life in the region.
Zimbabwe - Microhydropower - Microhydropower brings low-impact energy to rural villages.
Zimbabwe – Water Farming – Through “water farming” Phiri Maseko’s farm is a paradise that resists droughts for several years.