I see many very needed projects addressing local issues with local solutions. Well done to all involved.
To bind them together to claim they are to help people deal with global warming is a bit of a leap.
The World Bank says that the world’s urban poor face “high risks” from the impacts of climate change.
Fortunately, there are a number of projects happening around the world that are helping the urban poor in developing countries adapt to climate change.
The United Nations is highlighting nine public-private partnerships that serve both environmental and financial goals of local entrepreneurs and communities in their annual Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activities awards.
Here they are (and in the video above):
- Solar Sister: Provides micro-businesses for women in Uganda selling solar power to communities without reliable electricity. The program has provided solar power to over 30,000 people.
- The Ahmedabad bus rapid transit system (India): With nearly 30 miles of bus-only lanes, this BRT system serves about 130,000 passengers daily.
- Biocomp Nepal: Turns organic waste from the capital city of Kathmandu (where 70 percent of waste is organic waste) into compost which is then sold to local farmers.
- Energy efficiency in artisanal brick kilns (Peru): Teaches artisanal brick makers to use energy-efficient kilns that have less of an impact on local air pollution.
- Lifestraw Carbon For Water (Kenya): A fuel-free water purification system that can produce 18,000 liters of clean water over its 10 year lifespan.
- Adaptation to coastal erosion (Senegal): Funded by the UN’s Adaptation Fund, this project works to protect infrastructure (threatened by rising sea levels) that is important to local industries — fishing docks, fish processing plants and tourism.
- Lanka Electric Vehicle Association (Sri Lanka): This organization is making it easier for Sri Lanka to produce its own electric and hybrid vehicles.
- A six-point method to assist local communities adapt to climate change (Namibia): This project is helping sustainably produce food without negative impacts on the land and local community.
- Guangzhou bus rapid transit system (China): This is one of the largest BRT systems in the world. During morning rush hour there is a bus every 10 seconds and it has integrated bike sharing into the system.
