Dogwood Alliance has united with Southern communities to achieve the extraordinary. We’ve developed a new community conservation model. We’re conserving land with environmental justice communities. The communities that face the worst effects of climate change. We want to build an economy that’s renewable. One that doesn’t take from nature, but works with nature.
We’ve already conserved 309 acres of forests and wetlands in South Carolina. The PBS show Laura Flanders & Friends featured this milestone.
Logging & the rural South
The South is on the frontlines of industrial logging. Logging in the South is four times higher than in South American rainforests. The rural South suffers as a result. And many Southerners are deeply concerned. But the South’s economy relies on logging forests. Logging doesn’t bring wealth to rural communities. This is especially true of communities where the logging is concentrated. They struggle with lack of resources and unemployment. It’s industry executives who live outside the communities that prosper. Both property values and livability decline. In some places with wood pellet plants, tax rates have increased. But there’s no changes in income level or housing value.
It’s not just resources at stake. Environmental justice communities face pollution that’s dangerous to their health. They also have little access to nature, so they can’t enjoy the benefits of green spaces. Logging worsens climate change. And environmental justice communities face the worst effects. This includes worsening hurricanes, droughts, flooding, and wildfires. The financial cost of recovering from disasters is too high. More importantly, the cost to lives is too high.
The dark side of traditional conservation
Almost all the land in the Southern Coastal Plain is privately owned. There’s a long history of unjust policies. These policies have prevented Black and Indigenous people from owning and keeping land. As a result, their forest ownership has dwindled. Traditional conservation efforts neglect Southern forests. They neglect the Black and Indigenous people who depend on them. Be we don’t have to continue this destructive pattern.
The solution: community conservation
We’ve developed a new way to inspire community land conservation. We call it the community conservation model. Our conservation model supports Black and Indigenous Southern communities. It creates pathways for these communities to own and protect their forests. Together, we can restore forests. That helps us create more green jobs.
Let’s build a system that protects communities against climate change. A system that helps communities recover from climate disaster. Let’s advocate for bold policies that protect our water, food, and safety. Policies that protect our forests and wetlands.
These actions will create economic growth tied to land conservation. A healthy economy and a healthy environment can and must co-exist.
How can you get involved?
You can support the community conservation model by taking action or donating.
Donate to support this important work.
Want to see this justice conservation vision become a reality? Take action now