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  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflj@bellsouth.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] How to save the world from desertification and reverse climate change
  • Date: Tue, 05 Mar 2013 18:12:28 -0500

Feedback on John's original post:

Allan Savory: How to green the world's deserts and reverse climate change
http://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_green_the_world_s_deserts_and_reverse_climate_change.html

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [SANET-MG] How to save the world from desertification and
reverse climate change
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2013 09:22:25 +1300
From: Don Miller <donmillernz@GMAIL.COM>
To: SANET-MG@LISTS.IFAS.UFL.EDU

There have been techniques to achieve these outcomes available for
many years but they have been largely ignored by serious researchers
and by governments - possibly because they are too simple and don't
require much further research. Maybe there is little scope for
corruption in these methods and so government officials see little
merit in them.... Even in places where they have been wildly
successful the terraces were ripped out once the expat managers left
and the sugar industry was run (into the ground....) by local people
chosen for their political allegiances.

I played around with a low tech solution for carbon sequestration,
sediment control, coral reef protection etc on an island in the
Pacific, starting in 1995. It worked out reasonably well, as the link
below shows. This work was stopped by the government depart I was
working with when I asked for an audit to locate missing funds.
Ironically they are now claiming all credit for the work, despite
doing all in their power to obstruct it - once the last expat staff
member left that department.....

These are the real issues that have to be dealt with before real
progress can be made.

If anyone would like a better quality file of this presentation I will
be happy to oblige.

www.vetiver.org/VAN_REEF/VAN-reef2_files/VAN-reef2.ppt

Don

On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 5:36 AM, West Hill Farm <info@westhillfarm.org>
wrote:

Thank you John, very thought provoking. Is now my new most inspiring
and hopeful TED talk (previously was Paul Stamets saving the world with
mushrooms).

Allan covers rebuilding soils in underdeveloped areas - I have come
across current research done by farmers putting the same principles into
practice in more temperate climates and in 'farmed' landscapes.

One of the Nuffield Scholars I heard give a presentation last Autumn has
been putting 'mob grazing' into practice as an arable break, improving
soils. The report of his research trip can be downloaded here:
http://www.nuffieldinternational.org/rep_pdf/1348746792Tom-Chapman-2011-report_.pdf
(Hope the links to the UK 2011 reports work - the downloads should be
freely accessible if they do)

Another scholar was concentrating on similar lines, rebuilding soil
carbon levels with his dairy herd high on the Cotswolds on very thin
soils: finished report here:
http://www.nuffieldinternational.org/rep_pdf/1341667362Rob-Richmond-edited-revised-report-2011-for-publishing.pdf

And a third had investigated agro-forestry using rows of broadleaf trees
in arable fields which protected soils and did not compromise crop
yields :
http://www.nuffieldinternational.org/rep_pdf/1341272658Stephen-Briggs-2011-report.pdf

Farming management practices to maintain soil cover, sequester carbon
and improve soil resilience is gaining ground (literally!) in Australia.
FarmingSecrets.com have a lot of informative material on their site.

Finally, the Inga Foundation are working in Central America, using row
cropping between indigenous leguminous trees to protect cropping land on
steep slopes, avoiding the need to slash and burn further areas. If
you get a chance to watch 'Up in Smoke' it is inspiring. The trees
help stop the ground overheating which protects the soil biology -
including the vital mycorrhizae.

Encouraging stuff! Hope it is of interest,

Susi Batstone
West Hill Farm
North Devon,
UK

On 04/03/2013 23:09, John D'hondt wrote:

I want to alert you that there is a very good TED talk out about
this subject.

Speaker Allan Savory : How to green the world's deserts and reverse
climate change. 22 minutes is all it takes.

It should be easy to Google.

John

<>

Allan Savory: How to green the world's deserts and reverse climate change
http://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_green_the_world_s_deserts_and_reverse_climate_change.html




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