Welcome to Biodiversity for a Livable Climate
There’s a wealth of information here on how to heal the biodiversity and global warming crises that we’re facing today. Take a Quick Tour for a brief overview of the site, use the Super Search to explore our library of resources, or just scroll down and browse around to get inspired! And please send us thoughts, suggestions and feedback.
Out of sunlight, water and rock, living systems evolved and created this magnificent Earth.
Civilization is driving it to the brink.
Life can fix it – and you can help!
We are enthralled with our feats of technology (you’re reading this on your cool device, after all), but that doesn’t come close to the enormous power, complexity and subtlety of living systems.
Transformation
in Mexico
Watch what happens! A degraded Mexican landscape is transformed by excellent management. It took only two years (the arrow points to the same tree).
Upcoming Events and Announcements
Reforestation Solution: Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration
On Wednesday, August 17 at 6pm ET, agronomist Tony Rinaudo will join environmental journalist Judy Schwartz in conversation to share about a reforestation method called Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR). More than an effective, low cost, rapid and scalable method of land and environmental restoration, FMNR is restoring livelihoods and food security across tens of thousands of communities and in the process, restoring hope.
Join the discussion live by registering here. The event is the latest installment in our Life Saves the Planet lecture series with GBH Forum Network, and will be recorded and shared online afterward.
Jim Laurie’s Class, Biodiversity 6: Systems Thinking & Scenarios – Tools for Creating Better Ecological Futures
Course fee: $240; if you’re on a tight budget, a sliding scale is available at checkout.
In Biodiversity 6: Systems Thinking & Scenarios – Tools for Creating Better Ecological Futures, Jim Laurie will lead students in taking on the question, “could humans be a global force for the reemergence of healthy ecosystems on a much faster timeline?” To answer this question, the course will look at systems thinking and scenario-writing as tools for examining the “Whole” and finding out what possibilities exist for the future.
Beginning…
Check out the January 2022 Issue of the Compendium
This March (apologies for being behind schedule), we released the tenth edition of our Compendium of Scientific and Practical Findings Supporting Eco-Restoration to Address Global Warming.
In this issue we focus on the relationship between vegetation and temperature, and the ecological role of animals.
We welcome your interest and comments – please contact us at staff@bio4climate.org.
Videos to learn from
Take a look at our Introductory Video Playlist. Great collections of videos are available on our Conference Pages. And don’t miss our Life Saves the Planet lecture series on the GBH Forum Network.
Past Events
Drying Rivers & Drought: What We Can Do In Massachusetts
This July as Massachusetts, like many other parts of the world, reckoned with serious drought, we held a lecture to explore how we can address drought conditions on a local, regional, and global scale. Check out related resources and stay tuned for the recording here!
Drought warnings in Massachusetts are a stark reminder that we are part of a global climate system where warming trends are accelerating. Is there something we can learn from adding a global lens to our local and regional mitigation efforts? Danielle…
Rewilding Our Planet: Miyawaki Forest Talk at the Cambridge Public Library
This June, Hannah Lewis visited the Cambridge Public Library to discuss her recent book, Mini-Forest Revolution: Using the Miyawaki Method to Rapidly Rewild the World. Hannah was joined in conversation with Maya Dutta, project manager for the Danehy Park Miyawaki Forest planted in North Cambridge in September 2021. Together, they discussed the Miyawaki Method and the opportunities to use it to build cooler, greener, more resilient communities in Cambridge and beyond. Watch the event here!
Lewis offered a look into her book, in which she shares…
Amazon Deforestation: Why it matters to us
This April, we hosted EcoRestoration Alliance members Atossa Soltani, Rob de Laet, and moderator Jon Schull for Amazon Deforestation: Why it matters to us. This is an essential discussion on the restoration that can repair this critical system of planetary regulation. If you didn’t catch it live, watch the recording here!
The Amazon Rainforest is known as the “lungs of the earth” because it draws in carbon dioxide and breathes out oxygen. But it is also the biological heart of the planet’s hydroclimate system,…
Introducing the EcoRestoration Alliance
On Monday March 28, our Life Saves the Planet speaker series continued with a panel on Introducing the EcoRestoration Alliance. Members Jon Schull, John D. Liu, Ilse Koehler-Rollefson and Valer Clark introduced the groundbreaking new alliance that aims to advance the global case for regeneration through cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary partnership.
Code Red Water: Two Global Perspectives
This March, we held the latest installment in our Nature’s Solutions as National Policy conference series, Code Red Water: Two Global Perspectives. Atossa Soltani and Michal Kravcik discussed how improved water management can support functioning water cycles to meet the needs of living systems and cool the planet.
Arctic Meltdown: Why It Matters To Us
Does it seem as though the weather gods have gone crazy lately? It is not your imagination. The question on everyone’s minds is why? And is it related to climate change? In Arctic Meltdown: Why It Matters To Us, Dr. Jennifer Francis explains how increasing extreme weather events are connected with the rapidly warming and melting Arctic during recent decades. Check out the recording on the GBH Forum Network.
Evidence suggests that Arctic warming is causing weather patterns to become more persistent, which can…
Recent Blog Posts
Using the Miyawaki Method to Rapidly Rewild our Communities
Bulu mini-forest in Cameroon after 19 months; Photo: Agborkang Godfred Hannah Lewis, Compendium Editor for Biodiversity for a Liveable Climate and freelance writer The Miyawaki Method The Miyawaki Method is a way to grow natural, mature forests in a couple of decades rather than a couple of centuries. You do this by observing what happens…
Our Underrated Climate Ally: The Small Water Cycle
Cabezon Peak after rain, Photo by John Fowler (CC BY 2.0) Although climate change is a global issue, it can and must be addressed locally. Our overall climate is shifting drastically, but local climates are also changing, and they don’t always get the same amount of attention. Local climates change when the environment is drastically…
Climate Emotions: The Turbulent Turf of 21st Century Feelings
“Climate Anxiety” has become a widespread theme lately. As Bio4Climate began planning an event along those lines, I thought of my own anxieties about biodiversity loss and global warming, and wondered how to transform climate distress into a rich, meaningful and adaptive state of mind. I’m finding that it helps when I embrace rather than…
Kachana Station: A Home for Donkey-Led Restoration
In northwestern Australia, far from roads or major cities, a herd of wild donkeys carries a valuable promise. This remote region is the Kimberley, home to Kachana Station, a family-owned holistically managed landscape. The Henggelers have overseen Kachana Station for decades, and their management techniques have brought benefits for the soil, wildlife, and local climate. …
What We Do
Conferences
We’ve held thirteen conferences since 2013 from a wide range of speakers on how to regenerate biodiverse life on Earth. Our speakers are special: they aren’t famous, but in their own creative ways they’ve worked wonders. They are examples of what each of us can do when we’re inspired!
Solutions
There are so many solutions out there that are virtually invisible when we focus on a model of greenhouse gases and alternative energy. These solutions are available to restore living systems, cool the land and calm the climate. We bring these to you, here.
Compendium
Our Compendium is a selection of article summaries from the scientific and popular literatures on eco-restoration to address biodiversity loss and climate catastrophe. We bring material of interest from a wide variety of sources into one central publication. Check it out and discover some of the solid science behind nature solutions to biodiversity loss and climate.
Featured Videos
Some of our most widely viewed videos are here. But don’t overlook hidden gems! You’ll see them on our conference pages or you can search by subject or keyword with our website Super Search.
Voices of Water
Voices of Water is a project, founded by Jan Lambert and currently led by Zuzka Mulkerin, dedicated to the work of innovative hydrologist Michal Kravčík and colleagues, who have developed a new and powerful paradigm for addressing floods, droughts and other disruptions of nature’s water cycles.
Newsletters
We have several years of informative and entertaining newsletters that you are welcome to browse. They include interviews, book reviews, excerpts from our Compendium and past event announcements. Sign up here to receive our newsletters personally delivered to your e-mailbox with only the highest quality electrons!