Global Conservation Issues
This is my carrd for a variety of conservation topics that I am passionate about, organized into different groups! If you have any animals you'd like to learn about besides the ones on this list, let me know!
You can reach me on twitter and Instagram @IndigoVulon or email me at [email protected]
General Conservation Groups:
These groups are effective and reputable generalist groups. They work on a broad scope of conservation issues, so they're a great place to start if you find the sheer number of possible issues/organizations to contribute to a bit overwhelming!
Broad IssuesHere are some large pages dedicated to broad issues. There is also a page for location-based conservation groups that focus on regions of habitat rather than specific species.
Climate change and habitat loss are the two most pressing issues facing our planet today. As the world gets warmer and more and more forests are cleared, species will go extinct at unprecedented rates and humans - with low income, BIPOC communities being impacted more quickly and harshly - will have their lives upended. If human-caused climate change goes unchallenged, life on Earth will never be the same, and humans won’t be around to see what comes next.Climate change is caused by an unnaturally fast emission of greenhouse gasses, primarily CO2, that have been released due to human activities. This problem has been aggravated and accelerated by rapid clearing of forests. As trees grow, they draw in and store CO2. By clearing forests, humans have caused trees’ sequestered CO2 to be released and reduced the amount of CO2 that our planet can reabsorb.Climate change and deforestation’s main culprits are massive corporations, such as oil companies. While consumers can do a little bit to help reduce CO2 emissions in their personal lives, the main culprits must be held accountable and the current affects of climate change must be reversed.The best ways to combat climate change are to transition to a renewable energy system and restore habitats so that new trees can sequester the excess carbon in our atmosphere.
General Climate Groups:
I'll be honest with you - climate change offset/policy is not my area of expertise. That being said, I've found several groups that seem to be good places to start if you want to try and tackle the climate crisis directly.One good resource is a site called Giving Green, which evaluates and recommends a vast array of organizations to support based on different sub-topics, like carbon requesition and policy-changing.
The following groups focus on cutting emissions and researching clean energy technology:
We also have the Climate Crisis Emergency Fund, which aims to financially support activism and peaceful protests, which are an important part of the climate movement!
Rainforest Groups:
Rainforests are incredibly relevant to climate change and human rights. They are hotspots for carbon sequestering, but are being destroyed at inprecedented rates, which releases all of the carbon that the trees hold. Rainforest destruction is also inseparably interwoven with human rights violations, especially for Indigenous groups.Rainforest groups work to protect existing forests, reforest areas that have been cleared, improve climate policies, create sustainable product certification systems, and fight for human rights.
Reforestation Groups & Services:
Many of the above groups work on reforestation projects, but there are countless other groups that focus on planting trees!
Integrated Tree-Planting
Ecosia is a great, easy resource as it allows you to plant trees for free just by using it as a search engine! Treetab gives you a new browser homepage with ads that helps plant trees with each new tab you open. Click a Tree has ways to plant free trees as well.Plant Your Change is a service that rounds up all of the purchases you make on any connected debit/credit cards and uses the spare change to plant trees.One Tree Planted lets you donate to plant trees, but you can also set up tree-planting fundraisers. Businesses can partner with One Tree Planted so that a portion of proceeds goes to the group and a tree is planted with every purchase!
Forest-Building Services
Some organizations let you donate or subscribe to plant trees and then allow you to see your forest grow! This can turn Earth-saving reforestation into a fun activity.My personal favorite is a service called Ecologi, which is a $10 per month subscription service that funds climate projects and reforestation. The button for this one is my own personal profile so you can see how it works and earn us both some extra trees if you decide to join! :DTreenation is another great service similar to Ecologi. Treenation lets you plant trees or buy into a carbon-offsetting subscription. Users have their own customizable profile page and trees can be named and gifted. This is almost like a social media website...but with trees!
General Tree-Planting:
These groups are focused on tree-planting and education on trees. These larger groups are usually the ones who work with smaller, more integrated projects like the ones listed above.
The ocean is one of the most foundational parts of our planet, and it's in a lot of danger right now.
The main problems are unsustainable fishing and various types of pollution.Unsustainable fishing includes issues like overfishing, accidentally catching animals other than the species being fished for (bycatch), and fishing methods that cause pollution. Unsustainable fishing can be fought at home by choosing to buy sustainable seafood, using guides that will be provided below. One of the problems, however, is that the United States has very lax seafood labelling laws, which makes it very difficult to make sustainable choices.Pollution is a very complex problem, as ocean animals can suffer from plastic, chemical, light, and noise pollution - not to mention the effects of climate change. Everyone can help out somewhat at home by reducing, reusing, and recycling, but much larger action is needed to fix these issues.
General ocean organizations to donate to:
Sustainable seafood guides:
Other issues/resources:
Regional Conservation DirectoryMany conservation groups focus on large areas rather than specific animal species/taxon groups, so I’ve made a directory for different areas of the world.This can be helpful if you would like to find conservation groups that work locally within your country, state, or community, as well as providing information for certain habitats or locations that people may be interest in (ex: wanting to help the Amazon Rainforest after a fire). As I am a citizen of the United States, I acknowledge that the sections for North America and particularly the US will likely be more detailed than for other locations. This is due to my current scope of knowledge. I will flesh out the Carrd as I learn of more resources!When possible, groups that work to protect and uplift Indigenous communities will be listed. Local communities, especially Indigenous peoples, are absolutely crucial to conservation and deserve support from environmental organizations.