Press Release: SOIL a Finalist in the Nature Conservancy / Rare Solution Search: Adapting to Climate Change

SOIL was recently selected as a top 10 finalist in a Nature Conservancy / RARE contest recognizing promising efforts to help vulnerable communities reduce environmental risk and adapt to climate change. SOIL’s proposal to use ecological sanitation (EcoSan) technology to improve food security, support freshwater conservation, increase reforestation, and support livelihoods diversification caught the eye of an initial panel of judges. Over the next 10 days, voting will be opened to the general public to pick their favourite solution for adapting to climate change: www.solutionsearch.org/vote. Two grand prize winners will each receive a US $20,000 grant prize to support the conservation and resource management initiative and two runner-ups will receive project grants of US $5,000 each. Winners will receive their awards at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

“By increasing the viability of reforestation initiatives and improving the absorptive capacity of topsoil, EcoSan techniques help reduce the risk of future flash floods and mudslides, thereby protecting the ecosystem and population from future extreme weather events. Additionally the provision of sanitation services reduces pathogen loading in the environment so that extreme weather events do not result in increased water contamination and waterborne disease.” – From SOIL’s application to Solution Search: Adapting to Climate Change

About SOIL:

SOIL builds ecological sanitation (EcoSan) systems in Haiti that transform human wastes into rich compost. Starting with specially designed low-cost, locally-built EcoSan toilets, toilet wastes are then collected and transported to a SOIL waste treatment facility where they are transformed into rich, organic compost through a simple process of thermophilic composting. By turning a public health problem into a sustainable solution for soil restoration, SOIL’s work sets a global example for how sanitation services can preserve nutrients and fight malnutrition.

SOIL’s work represents one of the most successful examples of the paradigm-shifting hypothesis that sanitation no longer needs to focus on waste disposal but rather on economically-profitable nutrient capture and reuse. Since building Haiti’s first EcoSan toilet in 2006 and first waste treatment site in 2009, SOIL, a small grassroots non-profit organization, has gone on to become one of the country’s most well-respected sanitation providers. SOIL’s EcoSan waste treatment facilities (in Cap-Haitien and Port-au-Prince) now treat more than 30,000 gallons of human waste per month and SOIL’s low-cost EcoSan toilets are piloting the potential for private social businesses to increase international access to sustainable sanitation services. Visit www.oursoil.org to learn more.

About Solution Search: Adapting to Climate Change

Climate change adaptation is an emerging field in which scientists are still trying to understand causes, effects and potential solutions; however, at the same time, communities throughout the world must live within and adapt to their changing environments. Adaptation at the community level must often be a holistic approach that addresses the most vulnerable aspects of community well-being such as livelihoods, food security, coastal security, water resources, disaster risk reduction, etc.  Solution Search: Adapting to a Changing Climate, an innovative contest sponsored by Rare and The Nature Conservancy, seeks local solutions for how communities are adapting to their changing environments. Judges include Christiana Figueres, Elizabeth Kolbert, and Jeremy Jones. Visit www.solutionsearch.org/ to learn more.

Media:

Media Inquires should be directed to Sasha Kramer of SOIL, info(at)oursoil.org