Natural Resource Management
Working with communities to improve the productivity of water, soil, agriculture and livestock is vital for increasing social and economic welfare.
Deforestation,
erosion, degraded soils, and contaminated water are widespread problems
that decrease resource productivity. These problems are particularly
destructive where poverty hinders obtaining the necessary means to
revitalize those resources. In many Andean towns, for example, farming
on steep slopes has led to accelerated soil erosion that degrades
soils. To compensate, farmers apply fertilizers. But fertilizers are
expensive and successive years of erosion necessitate increased amounts
of chemical additives. A point is reached where the farmers can no
longer earn a livable wage. This contributes to a migration to the
cities where the majority of those people live in worse conditions.
Reduced agricultural productivity perpetuates poverty and further lowers agricultural productivity. To break this cycle, TERRA aids communities with the following projects:
- Soil erosion reclamation and control engineering
- Irrigation system
- Reforestation
- Soil surveys: composition and contaminant analysis
- GIS and Remote Sensing applications
- Additional Information
- Small Project Initiative
- Water Resource Development
- Community-Based Disaster Management
"You hear headlines
about the Amazon [rainforest] disappearing at a greater or lesser
rate.... The real story is that over time the rate has stayed the
same. Year after year, decade after decade, we have failed to
stop or really even decrease deforestation."
Patrick Symmes