It's been said that forests are the lungs of the planet. Saving the Earth's tropical and temperate forests is an essential element in conserving biodiversity and fighting climate change. This doesn't work everywhere, but here are two examples where returning stewardship of the land, and forests in particular, to local people not only conserves but is restoring degraded forests: one in the Amazon, the other in Nepal.
Having worked with American Indian tribes, I've seen firsthand the results of land stewardship by Native peoples in Wyoming.