July 2012
Winrock’s nonprofit American Carbon Registry announced approval of a carbon offset methodology developed jointly by Michigan State University and the Electric Power Research Institute, which makes it possible for farmers to participate in carbon markets by creating greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets by reducing the nitrogen used to fertilize crops. These offsets can be sold to other carbon market participants to meet GHG emission-reduction targets or requirements. Read the full press release.
Anais Troadec is a volunteer from Arkansas who has completed 11 pro bono assignments focused on gender and organizational development with Winrock International in Asia and Africa over the last seven years. Troadec was eager to share her thoughts and insights from her experiences as an international volunteer in this latest Winrock volunteer spotlight.
If you missed last month’s webinar, “Grass-Based Beef: The Business Case,” from The Wallace Center’s National Good Food Network, you can watch the recording online. This webinar makes the business case for grass-based beef production and focuses on the techniques that have the potential for enhanced profitability.
The video, “Keeping the Water Flowing: Winrock's Multiple-Use Water Services,” is featured on The Water Channel website. Watch the video to see more.
Winrock's Clean Energy recently completed an “Assessment and Monitoring Framework for Biofuels and Bioenergy Sustainability” that is intended to provide the broader context within which different groups can prioritize allocation of monitoring resources related to bioenergy sustainability impacts. This framework will complement existing initiatives by providing the start of a common framework to address interactions between temporal and spatial scales; identify tools and technologies for assessment and monitoring; and address the issues of attribution and causality for biofuels. See this and other papers on sustainable bioenergy online.
Are you interested in working at Winrock? Search current openings and post your resume. Would you like to volunteer with Winrock? Learn more about new opportunities for volunteers.
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With help from TSERING, where once there was only sand, now green grass grows
 Desertification is a serious problem on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in western China. With fewer areas of grasslands for their livestock, herders see their livelihoods decrease.
Facing this problem, herders from the three villages of Chasiu, Gasha and Maixi, in Sichuan Province, sought help last year from Winrock International’s Tibetan Sustainable Environmental Resources for Increased Economic Growth (TSERING) project, an activity funded by USAID. With technical assistance and training from TSERING, the herders piloted a grasslands restoration activity near the village of Chasiu. They sowed 1.5 tons of grass seed, planted 25,000 tree seedlings, and installed fencing on 85 hectares of desert. They led their yaks over the land to drive the seeds deeper into the ground.
 Not even raging sandstorms could deter them from their task, and, last summer, herders applied organic fertilizer and monitored land management activities. The community’s patience, dedication and hard work were rewarded recently when the desert transformed into a lush carpet of green. As a result of this success, the Ministry of Agriculture will invest $15.8 million to restore grasslands in eight sites over five years, which means that herders can look to a future with healthy grasslands, happy livestock, and improved livelihoods.
The goal of the TSERING program is to preserve cultural Tibetan traditions and promote sustainable development and environmental conservation in Tibetan communities in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and in other Tibetan communities in China. 
Winrock’s ACT program instrumental in new Bangladesh trafficking law
 As part of the efforts to strengthen the country’s legal framework to address human trafficking, Winrock International’s Actions for Combating Trafficking-in-Persons (ACT) program was instrumental in drafting and advocating Bangladesh’s first law dedicated to combating all forms of human trafficking – decreed in Dec. 2011 by the Prime Minister and enacted by Parliament in February. Among its many strengths rooted in international standards, the law provides expanded protections for victims of trafficking, and expands the definition of victims to include men and those who were trafficked internally and for labor exploitation. At least 100 cases have already been filed under the new law, and in May, the country’s first ever case of male labor trafficking was filed on behalf of two survivors supported by one of ACT’s local partners.
The Government of Bangladesh also entrusted Winrock to advise in drafting of the National Plan of Action (NPA) to Combat Human Trafficking 2012-2014. The NPA was officially launched on May 19 at an event attended by Advocate Shahara Khatun, Home Minister; US Ambassador Dan Mozena; ACT Chief of Party Sara Piazzano; Dr. Dipu Moni, Foreign Affairs Minister; and several high-ranking ministry representatives.
Winrock will continue to play a lead role in the committee to implement and monitor the NPA, and continues to work with national actors to prevent human trafficking and provide extensive services to survivors. Since 2008, Winrock has assisted more than 1,300 trafficking survivors (men and women) through shelter services, livelihood and life skills training, and legal services. Winrock’s ACT program, funded by USAID, connects local and national government representatives, non-governmental organizations, and citizens and community leaders to spearhead efforts to prevent trafficking-in-persons, protect and reverse damages to survivors, prosecute perpetrators, and engage all layers of society as agents in curbing trafficking. 
Communities engage in development of first-ever annual spending plans in Jonglei
 The first county budget conferences ever held in Pibor and Akobo counties in Jonglei state – both of which were heavily impacted by violent ethnic conflict in late 2011 and early 2012 – enabled government officials to connect with citizens to begin shaping what will be the first-ever annual plans and budgets produced in either of the counties. The combined population of the two counties is 284,475.
The budget conferences were facilitated by the Winrock-implemented BRIDGE (Building Responsibility for Delivery of Government Services in South Sudan) program during a pair of five-day missions to each of the remote counties. During the missions, BRIDGE delivered community engagement training-of-trainers curricula to government officials and community leaders, conducted local government feedback sessions with citizens to review each county’s three-year strategic plan and county profile, and worked with government officials and community leaders to begin assembling the counties’ 2012-2013 annual plans and budgets.
Access to and work inside both counties has been limited due to intermittent tribal conflicts and other challenges, including transportation and logistics difficulties compounded by heavy rains. Despite this, while operating inside the two counties, BRIDGE conducted a range of support activities, including following up on the recent distribution of a motorbike and five bicycles to the Pibor County Director of Education to facilitate better monitoring of schools by county officials, and conducting on-the-job financial management training to selected officials in Akobo County to improve their ability to monitor and execute budgets. By facilitating opportunities for government and communities to engage and interact, and by combining material assistance with training and on-the-job technical assistance, BRIDGE is supporting government’s ability to more transparently and effectively deliver public services in Jonglei. 
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