1. United States
Regenerative agriculture is picking up steam in the United States, with groups dedicated to restoring soil fertility and reducing carbon footprints. Danone North America’s soil health program has reduced the amount of carbon dioxide equivalents by more than 80,000 tons since it started three years ago, reports the company, using farming techniques that sequester carbon in the ground. The program’s farming practices include planting more cover crops, fostering biodiversity on farmland, and protecting water systems. In 2020, the program grew by 64%, and it aims to expand enrollment to 100,000 acres, continue funding soil health research, and increase farmer partnerships in the coming years. A new investment fund, rePlant Capital, is trying to reach similar goals by tying farm loan interest rates to how well farmers improve their soil’s water and carbon storage. Restoring soils that have been battered by decades of fertilizers and herbicide is expensive, so rePl
The conditions causes patchy and raised lesions that appear across the body
US and Australian researchers have connected the disease with severe storms
These bring in vast amounts of rain, bringing freshwater conditions to the coast
Outbreaks have been seen across the US and among a rare Australian species
A devastating skin disease affecting dolphins which can leave up to 70 per cent of each of their bodies covered in lesions is linked to climate change, a study found.
US and Australian experts found that freshwater skin disease is associated with an increase in the frequency and intensity of storm systems.
Water rights victory enormous step for Australia s indigenous eco-business.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eco-business.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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FILE PHOTO - A protester holds a placard as she stands outside the venue for a meeting between Australia s Prime Minister Tony Abbott and forty of the nation s most influential Indigenous representatives in Sydney, Australia, July 6, 2015. REUTERS/David Gray
The agreement gives the Gunaikurnai community control over two gigalitres of water from the Mitchell River
By Peter Furst
SYDNEY – (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Rights groups have hailed a decision by Australia’s Victoria state to give an Aboriginal community control over a river system as an “enormous first step” for indigenous people’s rights over nature.
The government announced last month that it will grant a portion of the water from the Mitchell River to the Gunaikurnai community, giving them control over two gigalitres of water every year – a first for the southeastern state.
Troy McDonald and Erin O Donnell
GLaWAC
For the first time in Victoria’s history, the state government has handed back water to traditional owners, giving them rights to a river system they have managed sustainably for thousands of years.
The two billion litres of water returned to the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC) this month means traditional owners can now determine how and where water is used for cultural, environmental or economic purposes.
The decision recognises that water rights are crucial for Indigenous people to restore customs, protect their culture, become economically independent and heal Country.
The hand-back to Gunaikurnai people is the crucial first step in a bigger, statewide process of recognising Indigenous people’s deep connection to water. It also serves as an example to the rest of Australia, where Indigenous rights to water are grossly inadequate.