Quarterly Update July 2020 · community, Ecuador. Rainforest Resilience Fund The coronavirus pandemic is adversely affecting rainforest communities. Supply chains are damaged, fresh

Quarterly UpdateJuly 2020

Coronavirus is a threat to life as we know it, whether you live in a village, a city or the

rainforest. We all want to feel safe and to have the ability to protect our families, but in

remote rainforest the effects of a pandemic could devastate whole communities.

It is now more important than ever to support the world’s most vulnerable from disease and

climate change. Protecting rainforest is most effective when local people are given the tools

to earn a sustainable living, build resilience and relieve pressure on the environment.

Cool Earth supports families living in rainforest around the world experiencing the effects

of climate change on a daily basis. Now, with the added pressures of a health crisis,

we’re working even harder to help communities.

This quarter we launched the Rainforest Resilience Fund in response to urgent requests for

aid from our local partners to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks to you, money

raised is already having a positive impact on families living in rainforest.

As ever, our indigenous partners’ resilience and respect for nature is something we can all

learn from and embrace, throughout this crisis and well into the future.

Thank you,

Matthew Owen, Director

Introduction

Sololo village, Papua New Guinea.

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Partner organisation Yakum have been distributing emergency supplies in Ecuador.

Seeds sorted ready for distribution to the Shuar community, Ecuador.

Rainforest Resilience Fund

The coronavirus pandemic is adversely

affecting rainforest communities. Supply chains

are damaged, fresh food prices have tripled,

incomes have disappeared and misinformation

is spreading fast.

In Ecuador, food supplies and seeds to grow

basic, fast -growing vegetables are urgently

needed. In Cameroon, a lack of protective

face masks and basic hygiene products are

threatening the health of local people. In

Papua New Guinea, market closures have

left many with no income and very little cash

for essentials.

When people are in crisis, their local

environment suffers too. Cool Earth was created

to help local people protect their forest whilst

establishing sustainable incomes. But with

businesses in freefall across the globe, many

cannot currently earn a living. Without incomes

from livelihoods and the very real threat of food

insecurity, families could have no choice but to

sell their trees for survival.

Cool Earth is providing immediate food

aid and supplying protective health kits to

prevent outbreaks of coronavirus in rainforest

communities. We are also helping people

to safeguard their future by providing seeds

and tools, and supporting the economic

recovery of sustainable businesses by

continuing to fund training and education

needs wherever possible.

Hand in hand with our partner organisations on

the ground, Cool Earth has been getting food

and supplies where they are most needed, right

now. Some of our project activities have been

put on hold while we respond to requests for

emergency aid from almost every one of our

partner communities.

We don’t know how long this crisis will last, but

we will be here for rainforest people long after.

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Ecuador

Cool Earth’s Ecuadorian partner Yakum works

alongside community groups to regenerate and

protect rainforest. Their priorities are reforesting

land using ancestral plants and trees, helping

to restore community knowledge and improve

food sovereignty. With Ecuador hit hard by the

Covid-19 pandemic, Yakum has reacted quickly

to calls for help with basic necessities. With

supply chains collapsed, many families cannot

secure adequate food supplies.

The determined Shuar, Kichwa, Siekopai

and Cofan peoples have taken matters into

their own hands, determined to combat food

shortages by growing more crops. However

until their increased production of yuca,

plantain and banana can be harvested,

people are facing alarming shortages of food.

“There is nowhere for us to obtain money to buy food for our children, there are no handcraft sales now, and we do not have salt, sugar, rice or cooking oil. In the evening we go to sleep only having plantain juice for dinner.”

- President of the Cofan women’s

handcraft association

Cool Earth’s Rainforest Resilience Fund is

helping to support these communities,

providing emergency supplies where they

are urgently needed during this crisis.

Food for families:

149 families received emergency aid packs

containing rice, beans, cooking oil, salt and sugar.

Stop the spread:

249 families received hygiene kits of soap,

gel, masks and other preventative equipment.

Plan for the future:

46 different types of seeds delivered to 173

families, 10,000 fish fry delivered to Shuar fish

farms, 960 banana plants and 3,100 peach

palm seeds delivered.

The first stage of the project involved speaking

with communities to address their urgent needs,

supplying aid packs of food and hygiene

supplies. The second stage aimed to develop

long- term health resilience by providing quick-

producing crop seeds such as watermelon,

tomato, native tubers and bananas, and

medicinal plants such as ginger. This support

helped cover food gaps, improve overall

nutrition and diversify diets, enabling people

to control how they become food secure and

resilient to future threats.

The Yakum team hard at work preparing the deliveries.

Food supplies to ease the crisis.

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At the end of May, we took our mission to the

airwaves. When shortlisted for a BBC Radio

4 Appeal we didn’t expect to be in a global

pandemic when it went to broadcast, but this

didn’t stop amazing supporters, old and new,

rallying to make a difference.

Cool Earth ambassador and BBC Springwatch

presenter Gillian Burke shared an inspirational

story from our long standing partnership with the

Peruvian Asháninka. With support from Cool

Earth, Asháninka Chief María overcame great

challenges to protect her rainforest and inspire

the next generation of her community.

The BBC Radio 4 Appeal was a huge success,

raising over £24,000 towards the Rainforest

Resilience Fund. That’s money going directly to

communities just like Maria’s; feeding families,

providing access to medical supplies and

helping plan for the future.

Thank you for sharing far and wide on your

platforms, we couldn’t have done it without you.

If you missed María’s story, you can listen back

on BBC Sounds.

Listen to the appeal here

"By supporting indigenous communities that live in rainforest, we can help them continue to be the guardians and custodians of the rainforest that we all need."

- Gillian Burke, BBC Springwatch Presenter and Cool Earth Ambassador

Cool Earth’s BBC Radio 4 Appeal

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Four years ago when devastating floods

hit Coveja, Cool Earth provided tents and

emergency food supplies to families in need.

Without forest along the river bank acting as a

natural flood defence, the impact of this crisis

would have been far greater.

Forest is a lifeline for local people providing

food, income, medicine and shelter. It is an

essential buffer against challenges that come

people’s way.

Keeping forest standing is more important

than ever. The Peruvian Amazon provides a

physical barrier from the outside world,

keeping communities protected from rising

cases of coronavirus.

With little or no access to healthcare,

indigenous peoples are especially vulnerable.

For remote communities, an outbreak would

be catastrophic. Unfortunately, cases of

Covid -19 in the Peruvian Amazon have now

been confirmed.

As the pandemic spreads throughout South

America, the self - imposed lockdown by

indigenous peoples is under threat. With fewer

patrols of the forest now, illegal logging and the

extraction of natural resources risk spreading

the pandemic to our partners.

“The communities that we have here in Asháninka are more vulnerable. Sometimes even a common cold to us can get complicated [for them].” - Josue Morales Agüero,

Asháninka Local Coordinator.

Local communities know better than anyone

what they need, and we are listening. For

some, the urgent need is access to medical

supplies and healthcare. For others, it’s fast

access to food supplies and finding ways to

develop food security for the future.

With your support, Cool Earth has been able to

react quickly to help people through this crisis.

By providing emergency aid, we’re reducing

the spread of the disease, improving food

security and helping people plan for their

futures. If local people can no longer protect

their forest, there will be a greater crisis long

after this pandemic ends.

Peru

Asháninka village, Peruvian Amazon.

A woman washes her clothes in a river that runs through Coveja in the Peruvian Amazon.

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Renowned for their independence, the Awajún

indigenous people have called the Peruvian

Amazon home for generations. Over the

years, Awajún history and storytelling has

shaped a way of working with the forest that

is one of respect.

The Awajún believe that over-harvesting of

resources results in repercussions from the spirits

of the forest. Local practices of farming, fishing,

and hunting are all based on respecting nature

and its spiritual guardians.

“We live in a relationship between the rivers, the animals and the trees, we are all related.”

- Roberto Weepiu Orrego, Huaracayo

The story of the Nugkui gives insight into this

relationship. Before they met the Nugkui forest

people, the Awajún tell of how they often went

hungry. The Nugkui felt sorry for the Awajún,

and so gave them one of their magical

children. Through singing and chanting, the

child made their gardens grow and provided

them with all they needed in abundance.

When the Nugkui took their child back,

they left a parting gift of knowledge and

songs to help the Awajún grow all the food

they could need.

Today, the Awajún often still sing whilst they

forage and cultivate their gardens, paying

respects to the Nugkui. Traditions like this show

why Cool Earth doesn’t have a one - size fits all

approach to conservation.

Cool Earth worked with Larissa Longano de

Barcellos, a masters student from the University

of Freiburg, as she researched Awajún

traditions. This provided incredible insights into

the Awajún way of life, and is how we learned

about the Nugkui.

These cautionary tales are essential in

understanding the Awajún relationship with

the forest. Working with anthropologists like

Larissa is crucial for Cool Earth to understand

the complexities of life in the forest, and local

practices. By working alongside local people

and responding to their needs, we are able

to enhance and promote local conservation

practices that may otherwise be overlooked.

Awajún and the Nugkui

Rainforest near Urakuza.

Urakuza, an Awajún village in the Peruvian Amazon.

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49%Today, only 49% of Earth’s forests remain intact.

73%Farming expansion accounts for 73% of deforestation.

1/3Around 1/3 of all humanity has a close dependence on forests.

Understanding and keeping track of the state of Earth’s forests has never been so important. While global attention may be focused elsewhere, we’re determined to keep the conversation about conservation going.

“Ultimately, we need to foster a new relationship with nature, and we can achieve that together.”

- Qu Dongyu FAO Director General & Inger Andersen UNEP Executive Director

Reports like the newly released FAO State of the World’s Forests sound a vital alarm on behalf of Earth’s vital ecosystems, stressing an urgent need for effective climate action. Read more

Lessons from the State of the World’s Forests report.

Deforestation rapidly changes landscapes

and it’s easy to believe that putting up a

fence, or reserve, is the best way to protect

trees. Cool Earth’s local partner Legado in

Mozambique understands that this is far from

the best approach.

Our strongest chance of halting deforestation is

by empowering local people to earn a living

whilst keeping trees standing. Local leadership

and sustainable incomes are the most effective

fence around the forest that there is.

In Namuli, the main driver of degradation and

wildlife loss is slash and burn agriculture for

intensive potato farming. By working alongside

local farmers, the team has been able to

identify opportunities for more sustainable

livelihoods. From honey production to growing

lower impact crops like tomato and beans,

local people can work with the land to earn a

living, not against it.

Farmers and beekeepers as community

leaders and adopters of conservation practices

will help inspire communities in Namuli

towards more sustainable ways of working

with the forest.

Watch as Adelina, the queen of Namuli,

explains how the forest has changed over time.

Watch the video

Mozambique

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For many of us this pandemic has been

dominated by a daily bombardment of

notifications, video calls and news bulletins.

Imagine having little, if any, information on the

global pandemic at all. And the information

that you have received has been so limited that

you’re not sure there even is a crisis.

This is the case for most people living in rural

Papua New Guinea. Whilst reporting of the

pandemic has been slow, the economic impact

has been rapid, with people struggling to earn

a living. With misinformation rife, the role of

dedicated local teams in getting unbiased,

reliable information to those who need it has

never been more vital.

Cool Earth’s team on the ground in Papua New

Guinea have built strong relationships with

local people over the years. These established

relationships mean that in a crisis, we can work

with local people and organisations to help,

and fast.

With many people still without access to water

storage facilities or adequate sanitation,

Cool Earth has funded a wash block at

the local hospital, alongside the local

health authority.

Not only will this help people access basic

hygiene, it will also build long - term economic

resilience. Local labourers were employed to

build the wash block after accessing training

by local organisation ATProjects last year.

These skilled labourers can now help other

communities build toilets and showers, able

to withstand extreme weather when the

seasons change.

Storms, floods, sea-level rise and drought

make life a challenge in coastal Papua New

Guinea. Understandably, selling forest can

be seen as a fast way to get cash. But

without trees providing a natural flood defence,

life gets more difficult when the next storm

comes around.

Learning and skills development is vital. It

reduces pressure on the forest, providing

livelihoods that improve economic, social and

health wellbeing, ensuring people can support

themselves in the years to come.

Papua New Guinea

Education programmes in Papua New Guinea help provide essential literacy skills.

Community members from Wabumari had training from ATProjects to build long-drop toilets and flooding-resistant waste systems.

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Cool Earth team

When Papua New Guinea entered a state of

emergency from Covid -19 in mid May, there

was an immediate impact on the informal

economy which brings our partners the

majority of their income. The supermarkets

and oil palm companies continued to work,

but the market traders in nearby towns had

to stop trading.

This hit many hard. Alongside loss of

earnings, the closure of small markets,

particularly those selling fresh garden

produce, led to prices of these goods rising

by up to five times in the supermarkets. The

price of essential cleaning products like soap

also increased, and queues to get cash from

ATMs were long, with banks closing early.

It was impossible for people to earn money,

access their cash, or afford to buy food.

Wabumari, like many places in Papua New

Guinea, is a cash-dependent society. Much

of the household spend is on food. Gardens

are not big enough to feed the whole family

and people have always eaten more rice and

tinned goods from the store than produce

from their own garden.

The local committee in Wabumari soon

realised that hunger and cash poverty was

an immediate risk, even greater than that

of Covid-19. Plans for water tanks and

social spaces had to be put on hold when

they decided that the best use of funding

would be to distribute it between all the

households. It was a hard choice to make

between long- term community development,

livelihood improvement and immediate relief

for families.

But for families, access to money is an

essential life - line. For a family of four, this

cash means food for six weeks and the

ability to follow prevention measures such as

washing with soap.

With financial support from Cool Earth, the

committee was able to help local informal

sellers to stop their businesses collapsing.

Bulk goods like rice, tinned fish, oil and

soap were delivered, allowing them to keep

trading within the village at affordable

prices. As a result, people living in

Wabumari can buy what they need at normal

prices, without travelling and helping to keep

local businesses running.

If cash is in your pocket, no matter where you

live the months ahead seem less daunting.

We’re helping families take control of their

future through this turbulent time.

Cash is the backbone of a crisis

- Ali Skeats, Programme Manger

We all face worry and uncertainty about the

coming months. In Papua New Guinea, that’s

no different. The risk of hunger and collapse

of small businesses is as high as the UK, but

without access to food banks and furlough

schemes that provide some comfort.

Banana plants grow in a Wabumari garden.

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News from Papua New Guinea News from Papua New Guinea

Access to eduction in Sololo benefits the

whole community. Opportunities in skill

development helps people earn reliable

incomes, protect their forest and form

links locally.

This year, students’ hard work paid off,

as the community came together to

celebrate their first graduation ceremony

of the adult literacy programme funded by

Cool Earth and delivered by our local partner

organisation Community Service Consultancy.

Fourteen students passed the examination in

basic numeracy and literacy skills including

life skills training. Qualifications like these

are essential for people to go onto further

training, education and earn a living.

Graduation day

Providing training in data collection is a tried

and tested approach in conservation that

increases local skills and ensures that people

are engaged with forest -protection projects

in their area.

Three members of community staff from

each partnership have recently learnt to use

GeoODK technology, an app that helps

to collect survey data. Monitoring local

biodiversity is an essential participatory

activity which helps Cool Earth track forest

health and form links with researchers, that

allows local people to earn a living in

data collection.

Forest monitoring

The power of information cannot be

underestimated. That’s why Project

Coordinator Ricky Imanakuan has set

up an in-country Facebook page as a

way of increasing visibility locally, and

communicating important Covid-19

messages to villages.

Not only are local groups expressing their

interest in learning more about the work

that Cool Earth does, it also aims to engage

researchers that may want to conduct

biodiversity surveys and research alongside

the local community.

Staying social in lockdown

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