This project partners with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to expand FishKit's capabilities, an open-access platform designed to support community-based fisheries management. Currently, FishKit's toolbox relies on fisheries-dependent data that many small-scale fisheries struggle to obtain. This project will expand FishKit's capabilities to include fisheries-independent data, better supporting the sustainable management of these fisheries. The team will develop an accessible framework and an evaluation tool for analyzing fisheries-independent data, informed by a review of survey methodologies and engagement with end users.
InterWoven will address this bottleneck for apparel and footwear brands by translating legal frameworks into clear, actionable steps for regulatory compliance. By clarifying exactly what is needed to build a compliant disclosure, InterWoven empowers companies to prepare strategically rather than reactively. InterWoven supports sustainability teams as they move from scoping to compliance to action on one platform.
In this project, we aim to quantify the socioeconomic benefits associated with the SMRP, assess ecosystem service benefits by restoring fish passage and river connectivity, develop a transferable valuation framework to better communicate returns on public investment, and to produce communication tools to assist in demonstrating the value of restoration to stakeholders and policymakers.
This project, conducted in partnership with The Nature Conservancy Hawaiʻi and the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife, seeks to identify and map high-potential restoration areas, characterize wetland bird interactions, and incorporate Traditional Ecological Knowledge to inform and advance this effort to restore the Ukumehame wetlands of West Maui.
This project will identify suitable areas to implement locally-tuned models of forest restoration and agroforestry in the Upper Guinean Forest region, accounting for future risks from climate change and land conversion to ensure the long-term success of Natural Climate Solutions (NCS), and develop regional planning and management recommendations to mitigate risks to NCS and bolster community resilience through restoration and agroforestry.
This project supports the Division of Petroleum Market Oversight (DPMO) at the California Energy Commission, which is responsible for providing guidance and recommendations to state policymakers regarding the transportation fuels market and fuels prices. It aims to produce an evidence-based conceptual framework for understanding and navigating this supply transition.
Using spatial and connectivity analysis, this project will pinpoint existing barriers to potential movement corridors in order to identify suitable areas for pollinator habitat installation or restoration. Although quantitative data tools will be at the heart of our technical analysis, we also want to understand the experience of the farmers to assess whether or not expanding pollinator habitat is feasible. ArcGIS and Google Earth will be used to establish current conditions, followed by a connectivity analysis using Circuitscape, an open-source modeling tool that is used for wildlife corridor design and movement ecology.
This Impact Project aims to support and advance initial implementation of the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement). The project will analyze the New England/Corner Rise Seamounts and the Northeast Pacific Seamounts as potential sites for proposed Marine Protected Areas (MPA) or Area-Based Management Tools (ABMT) under the BBNJ Agreement. Both seamounts serve as critical, nutrient-rich habitats for deep-sea biodiversity, and create feeding grounds for marine mammals, seabirds, and commercially important fish species.
This project will evaluate the impact of tourism in Kotor and develop feasible management strategies to optimize the relationship between environmental impact and socioeconomic benefit. Management strategies will be informed by socioeconomic and environmental models. A critical piece of this project includes understanding how local businesses in Kotor experience and depend on cruise tourism. By balancing environmental protection with economic and social considerations, the proposed strategies seek to center equitable outcomes for local communities and enhance residents’ quality of life while maintaining the long-term viability of the tourism sector. As global tourism continues to expand and place increasing pressure on natural and social systems, this project aims to develop evidence-based sustainable tourism models that can be applied to destinations worldwide.
This project aims to provide the Economic Research Institute (ERI) of the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan with a data-driven decarbonization strategy for Almaty and Astana. Specifically, the project seeks to establish baseline carbon and pollutant footprints for the residential heating and urban transport sectors; identify which policy interventions, such as coal-to-gas transition, heat pump adoption, or public transit electrification, yield the highest emission reductions per dollar invested; and develop a carbon-neutral roadmap that integrates these technical solutions within Kazakhstan's existing national policy framework.
Considering the water needs of fire-resilient plant species, this project focuses on alternative water sources, such as greywater, treated wastewater, and stormwater infiltration that could support the cost-effective maintenance of VGBs. Through assessing existing regulations, energy requirements, technical feasibility, and incorporating community perspectives, this project will develop an integrated framework to identify how and where VGBs can effectively mitigate wildfire risk.
This project will analyze the sports broadcast production process to identify key emission sources, develop a standardized carbon footprinting methodology aligned with GHG Protocol principles, and establish industry benchmarks for common sports broadcast scenarios. The resulting tools and guidance will help studios and production companies complete more accurate corporate GHG inventories, comply with emerging regulatory requirements, and design meaningful emissions reduction strategies.
This project aims to evaluate the feasibility of CRLF reintroduction by assessing habitat suitability and identifying the physical, biological, and regulatory requirements for success. As part of this assessment, our team will collect on-farm data for a variety of variables, including pond water quality and surrounding vegetation and wildlife.
California’s 30×30 initiative aims to protect biodiversity, but decision-makers need better evidence to guide conservation investments. This project will use bird observation data to compare biodiversity trends in protected and unprotected areas, helping inform more effective conservation strategies across the state.
For over 450 years, Pilcomayo river basin has been heavily contaminated by mining waste originating from the Potosí region, including toxic heavy metals and acidic byproducts. Advanced Minerals Technology S. Korea, Inc. (AMTSK) is taking a dual approach to address the contamination issue: environmental remediation and treatment of affected populations.
The City of Santa Barbara has adopted an aspirational climate goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035. Decreasing natural gas use would reduce the City’s overall emissions; thus, converting existing residential buildings to all-electric systems would bring the City closer to carbon neutrality. To assess the feasibility of different electrification options, this project will review best practices from residential buildings' electrification in other jurisdictions. Furthermore, the project will create an economic model to calculate greenhouse gas reductions and the lifetime financial savings from electrification.
This project is a partnership between UC Santa Barbara’s Bren School of Environmental Science and Management and Sequoia Riverlands Trust (SRT) to create a regional restoration plan for the central San Joaquin Valley.
While the crucial role of Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPs & LCs) and their territories in realizing global climate and conservation goals is well established, a significant gap exists in scientific knowledge in terms of the current and future implications of a changing climate on IPs’ & LCs’ territories. The newly established Global Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Center at Conservation International seeks to work with and for IPs & LCs to enhance the climate resiliency of these communities and their territories. As part of this effort, this project aims to understand the current and future impact of climate change on IPs & LCs and the biodiversity and carbon within their territories. Based on this understanding, the project team will identify strategies and actions that can be implemented to increase climate resiliency of IPs’ & LCs’ territories.
This project addresses California's textile waste crisis, where millions of tons of clothing and textiles are landfilled annually, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental justice concerns. California's newly enacted SB 707, the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024, establishes an Extended Producer Responsibility framework requiring producers to fund collection and recycling programs, but implementation pathways remain unclear. This research will develop a comprehensive baseline assessment of California's textile waste streams, conduct an environmental assessment of different end-of-life management approaches, and create implementation frameworks to support the transition to circular textile systems under SB 707.
This project aims to develop a baseline environmental understanding of the CHNMS region by assessing habitats and the status and trends of key species within its boundaries. This foundational assessment will use current literature and historical datasets to identify regional trends and monitoring gaps. These findings will inform the sanctuary’s first Condition Report and Climate Vulnerability Assessment, guiding future management and conservation strategies.
