Bending the Arc: Help Heal the Earth

We are living through an unprecedented climate crisis. The drastically changing climate is not conducive for life to thrive on the planet and we are already witnessing the outcomes. Scientists worry that we are about to enter the sixth mass extinction.

With widespread habitat destruction, and the ubiquitous pollution from plastics and chemicals, many species will not be able to survive. While this unfolding is bleak, the good news is that the  future isn’t scripted. What the future looks like will depend on our actions today.

Thanks to your generous support, AID along with its trusted grassroots networks across India, has been working to mitigate the effects of climate change. We are partnering with communities on the coastlines, in the forests, on the hills and through the deserts – people who are facing the catastrophic effects of climate change. Your support is critical in creating a better future for them and the world.

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AID’s work rests on three time tested pillars:
1. Community-based preservation and restoration of ecology
2. Generating and supporting sustainable livelihoods for the masses
3. Fighting the inequality of gender, caste, and class while helping people access education and healthcare

Here are a few areas where your financial support is making real and lasting change.

A) AID began working in the Sundarbans area of West Bengal after Cyclone Aila devastated the islands in 2009. Since then, more than 30,000 farmers have been part of a sustainable agriculture program. These farmers are taking up climate-resilient and ecologically-sustainable practices. We have worked on marketing the organic produce and 1500 farmers have increased their income by 30%.

The islands of Sundarbans are protected by mangrove forests which have come under attack from intensive aquaculture. Mangroves are ecological superheroes that capture several times more carbon than their terrestrial counterparts, form habitat for rich biodiversity and protect coastal land & homes from storm surges. We have been working with women’s groups to plant more than 500,000 mangroves since 2020.

B) Across four districts of Jharkhand, AID has been working with communities to restore deforested and degraded land. Through a scientifically-planned & community-driven effort, 70 sq Km of watershed is currently under restoration. This involves building water and soil-conservation structures, broadcasting 100,000 seedballs, and reforestation.

The last 3.5 years of AID’s work with the communities has brought about dramatic changes – streams are flowing for longer periods, forests are coming back, groundwater level is rising by as much as 10 feet in some places, and rare wildlife is returning. Villagers are now harvesting a second crop where even a single crop was a struggle.

C) Finally, Forest Communities are valiantly protecting their forests against those who place no value on ecology or life … and the people are winning! We are working with these communities to affirm their right to live and protect the forests under Forest Rights Act, in parallel to taking up means of sustainable livelihoods through cluster farming and marketing forest products like leaf plates, brooms etc.

People are hanging their weights on the long arc of justice and bringing it a bit closer so that the next generations have a better chance to make a more peaceful and just world.

Friends, your generous support is what makes this incredible work possible. While we can’t all be back in India lending a hand, we can support the people who are doing the most-important, on-the-ground work from afar. We appreciate your past support and are grateful for your ongoing generosity.

Join others who, just like you, want to make the world a better place.

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