Ecuador’s Intag region spans two of the world’s most biologically significant areas within the Tropical Andes Biodiversity Hotspot and is home to over one hundred species at risk of extinction. Intag’s critical ecosystem services and unique species, however, are threatened by mining operations. In 2022, regional Intag community leaders used a 2011 Earth Economics report to support an amicus brief in a lawsuit against the Ecuadorian government over mining concessions. Earth Economics was present at the Provincial Court of Justice of Imburra to present the amicus brief in a case which is now headed to the Ecuadorian Supreme Court.
Environmental Community Action, Inc. (ECO-Action) helps vulnerable communities in Georgia prevent, confront, and resolve environmental health threats. Collaborating with local universities and others, ECO-Action has been using green infrastructure to address frequent flooding. ECO-Action partnered with Earth Economics to analyze the public economic benefits of the proposed Green Infrastructure Conceptual Plans. Analysis focuses on the stormwater management benefits of 1) greenways, 2) street trees, and 3) cisterns and vaults.
The City of Kent and South King County are home to immigrant and refugee families from around the world. In response to calls for community space, World Relief Western Washington began developing the Paradise Parking Plots Community Garden in 2016, transforming a frequently flooded parking lot at Hillside Church into a vibrant multi-cultural garden oasis and resilience hub. Earth Economics assessed the ecoystem services benefits and the benefit-cost ratio of the community gardens, which provide gardeners with $127,000 in market value in foods produced each year.
