المنتدى العالمي المعني بالأمن الغذائي والتغذية

Rainforest and River Rescuing Plan for Planet Earth with special focus on  Africa

Introduction

The rainforests are treasuries of Mother Earth that it has taken millions of years to develop and now are threatened by extinction. We use our natural resources without responsibility. By using them in the way we do now, we not only borrow from future generations like Ghandhi said, we are actually stealing from them. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), 13million hectares of rainforest are lost annually, with the bulk of this loss occurring in the developing world. Nigeria is reputed to have lost 55.7% of its primary forests, accounting for the highest loss in the world. The International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) estimated that the annual deforestation rate in Ghana is around 65,000 hectares, and that the country’s forest cover could substantially disappear in 25 years.

Rivers are essential for human and environmental survival. Improper sanitation leading to waste disposal in rivers; negative consequences of agricultural practices including salinization and water logging of irrigated land, eutrophication due to aquaculture; wrongful discharge of industrial polluting effluent into rivers; are all examples of mismanagement of river resources.

These and other instances underscore why this rescuing plan needs to be put into action immediately, before it’s too late. Even though the rainforest and coral reefs are not present in the region where you live, your life style will have an impact on their possibilities to survive. Rainforests including Mangrove forests with their unique biological diversity and beauty are global natural heritages that each one of us has a responsibility to maintain. Mankind needs the rainforest for its survival, since it contributes to a stabilisation of the global climate including prevention of global warming and ozone depletion,

The rainforests are extremely important for our climate. They are able to create rain clouds that distribute water from the rainforest to surrounding regions and thus prevent drought problems in other countries. The rainforest is also an important carbon dioxide sink. As long as the canopy is there it can prevent carbon dioxide emissions from the soil.

They are also a unique resource for producing medicines and food that will secure global health. Species, still unknown, from the rainforests, can help mankind to cure diseases worldwide. There is extremely little knowledge about the species in the rainforest. Their mechanical and chemical design is a master piece of engineering, and a wonderful source book for learning about sustainable design for engineers world wide. Unfortunately, this book is still unknown to 99.99% of all engineers and it is in the process of losing pages every day without even being opened. Over 100 species get extinct every day due to the clearing of rainforests.

The interest for Biomimicry, or how to use nature as a resource for solving technical problems is increasing rapidly.   Life has been performing design experiments on Earth’s research and development lab for 3.8 billion years. What are flourishing on the planet today are the best ideas---those that perform well in context, while economizing on energy and materials. Whatever a company’s design challenge, the odds are high that one or more of the world’s 30 million species has not only faced the same challenge, but has evolved effective strategies to solve it.

Here comes initially an overview of the actions that need to be taken

1. Rescuing plan – Overview

Objectives:

• Establishment of a partnership relation with nature paving the way for a change of attitude where the rainforests becomes of global concern.
• Offering exploiters of the rainforest to operate outside the rainforest through the introduction of sustainable system solutions involving reclaiming of abandoned land through the fertilizer revolution based on Biogas technology.
• Introducing eco villages and sustainable transports involving biogas trains for paving the way for access to a global market.

Expected output:

• Curbing desertification by maintaining rain cloud formation property of the rain forest
• Securing soil fertility
• Curbing soil erosion
• Reclaiming degraded abandoned land areas
• Rescuing of invaluable Bio diversity 

• Establishment of a sustainable economy and a healthy life for the local people by creation of new sustainable jobs  involving small scale enterprises involved in bio design and  local production of herbal medicine, herbal tea, fruits and nuts.

• Lowering of global emissions of green house gases like N2O, CO2 and CH4,
• Curbing global warming and ozone depletion by maintaining the CO2 sink capacity of the rainforest 

Comments:

The most important threats upon the rainforest are:

● poor farmers who burn down rainforest to get arable land for their own survival

● cattle companies who want to produce meat for an exponentially growing meat market,

● timber and paper industry

● palm oil plantation companies

● mining and fossil energy companies.

The cornerstone in the action plan for stopping such exploitation is the introduction of biogas technology. This technology will assure the maintenance of soil fertility as well as the production of biogas for vehicle fuel filling, electricity and cooking fuel.

2. Prevention of Slash and burn agriculture

Objectives:

• Prevention of burning rainforest for getting access to arable land.

Expected outputs:

• Establishment of sustainable farming including restoring of degraded land areas.
• New income generating activities for poor farmers

Comments:

Two-thirds of Africa’s population is reputed to depend on the forest for income and food supplementation. The poor farmers that keep on burning down rainforest to get access to farming land can use biogas residue as fertilizer and thus maintain a living soil as long as the sun is shining. They don’t need to burn down any more rainforest for their survival and they can above all re-use land that has been abandoned due to overgrazing and lack of natural fertilizer.

On a satellite picture of the Amazon one can see around 160.000 fires at the same time originating from farmers burning down the Rainforest. Introduction of small and medium scale digesters for all farmers in the rainforest will create a possibility for the farmers to secure their food supply, and establish income generating activities with organic farming products. They can work together and build a cooperative owned digester that can support them with fertilizer, vehicle fuel, cooking fuel and electricity that can be used when establishing small enterprises for processing cash crops locally.

3. Curbing Cattle and cattle feed production in the rainforest

Objectives:

• To offer meat producers an economical attractive alternative,
• To lower cattle feed production and meat consumption,
• To curb clearing and cutting of rainforest

Expected outputs:

• Increased production of biogas for vehicle fuel filling,
• Restoring of degraded land

Comments:

Timber and cattle companies work hand in hand. First the timber companies clear cut the rainforest and get their income from selling the timber, and then the cattle companies

takes over by producing cattle feed or use the cleared areas for pasture. Meat production relies heavily on subsidies and is extremely energy and water demanding compared to protein sources like fish and vegetables. Nevertheless meat consumption is increasing world wide. One of the reasons is that western life style is spreading fast through activities such as tourism, development projects and the media and very often poses big threats to the survival of the local cultures.

By introducing biogas technology farmers are given an income-generating alternative that will be profitable without subsidies. Biogas is also a vehicle fuel that is extremely flexible. It can be used not only for running cars, lorries and buses but also in trains. Fischer-Tropsch diesel and liquefied methane produced from biogas is a technology that opens new possibilities for sustainable transports on water and in air.

Any crop or organic waste can be used for producing biogas. Hence there is a giant biomass potential that can be a venue for getting out of the fossil fuel vehicle trap. Moreover, when compared to other bio fuels like ethanol and bio diesel, bio methane has the largest potential, best energy balance and lowest emissions. This is toppled with the fact that biogas production is primarily a way of producing fertilizer for maintaining a living soil and thus securing food supply for coming generations.

When growing crops for biogas production chemical fertilizer, pesticides, or gene manipulated seeds are not needed. Biogas farmers can therefore fulfil what one could argue should be the most important mission of a farmer – maintaining a living soil for the benefit of future generations! In other words, there will be no conflict between food and energy production in the practice of biogas technology. Instead it holds the promise of being a base for food security world wide.

4. Curbing Timber, paper and palm oil production from rainforests

Objectives:

• To offer an economically attractive alternative outside the rainforest,
• To curb the clearing and cutting of rainforests.

Expected outputs:

• Restoration of degraded land,
• Curbing of desertification,
• Extended railway network,
• Establishment of local, sustainable small scale industries
• Introduction of small scale, less then 1 MW, synthetic diesel production by cold plasma technology based on any waste containing carbon or alternatively based on raw biogas

Comments:

The timber, paper and palm oil companies can operate outside the rainforest and create plantations in semi arid areas and thus curb desertification. By introducing medium to large scale biogas plants a sustainable economic and ecological base will be created.

In order to fuel biogas trains there is a need for building biogas plants along the railway track.

Those digesters will produce biogas that can be used for cooking or producing electricity as well as hot water that can be used for small enterprises, owned by local people. The production could involve i.e. dried and fresh fruits, herbal teas, skin products, ecological food, handicraft, medicines and snack bars.

Biogas plants can also convert organic residues and toilet wastes that are produced within a village, to produce rich fertilizers and thus create eco-villages along the biogas railway.

5. Lowered impact of Mining

Objectives:

• To introduce railway transports to mines in the rainforest
• Introduction of biogas as a substitute for charcoal

Expected outputs:

• Limited access to rainforest for invaders,
• Curbing the clearing and cutting of rainforests.
• Establishment of sustainable small scale industries and ecotourism expansion

Comments:

Road constructions in combination with mining activities normally create huge wounds in the rainforest and pave the way for all kinds of invaders. A way to overcome this problem is a railway with trains fuelled by locally produced synthetic diesel based on cold plasma technology. The railway will also pave the way for ecotourism, and thus contribute to generate an extra income for the indigenous people living in the rainforest.

6. Improvement of Sanitation Awareness and Curbing Waste Disposal in Rivers

Objectives:

• To improve sanitation habits, introduce a comprehensive recycling of industrial wastewater and secure greater respect, resource perspective and care for the rivers

Expected Outputs:

• Improved health
• Eradication of open defecation
• Adoption of practices of refuse sorting, material reuse and recycling
• Increased use of natural coloured cotton, and organic farming preventing poisoning of rivers

Comments:

Sanitation penetration is at a very low level in several parts of Africa, and major among the unsanitary practices is open defecation. These wastes find their way into the rivers and contaminate the water, which is in most instances consumed without treatment, leading to disease outbreak. Improving sanitation habits among the people will thus secure the quality of rivers and improve human health. Introduction of source separation of waste water will create possibilities for recycling of blackwater to farming land and reuse of grey water,  thus lowering water consumption with more than 95%. Introduction of small scale, less then 1 MW, synthetic diesel production by cold plasma technology based on any waste containing carbon.

7. Provision of Alternative Power-Generating Solution to Dam Construction

Objectives:

• To offer more environmentally-friendly alternative to water damming for electricity generation with stand alone systems including in line hydro power generators
  
  And combined solar, wind and biogas electricity production.

Expected Outputs:

• Cost effective local small scale energy effective electricity production
• Abandonment of disruptive mega water damming projects such as the Inga X and Gybe 3
• No introduction of Bilharzia in lakes affected by dam projects like in Lake Victoria. 

Comments:

Huge dams are an attractive choice for electricity generation in Africa. However, these projects in most instances do not benefit the communities where they are sited. The construction disrupts the ecosystem of the host community, negatively affecting their agricultural practices and consequently livelihoods. The generated electricity is sold to industrial concerns thus neglecting the people who have to suffer for such projects to be achieved. Adoption of sustainable option of converting biogas to electricity will eradicate the need for these mega projects, and each community will be able to sustainably integrate its electricity needs into its livelihood activities. 

8. Securing Accountability of Corporations to River Preservation and Strengthening Regulatory Oversight

Objectives:

• To secure the commitment of industrial corporations to protection of rivers and river resources
• To strengthen the ability of regulatory agencies to discharge their oversight responsibilities adequately

Expected Outputs:

• Proper treatment and discharge of effluent by industrial corporations
• Full compliance with water resources management requirements by industrial corporations including payment of appropriate rates and upholding appropriate standards
• Proper monitoring by regulatory agencies, including application of sanctions where necessary

Comments:

Contamination of rivers by industrial corporations is a huge source of water pollution in Africa. This is made more so as the corporations have a field day, they face little or no challenge from the regulatory agencies, due to lack of capacity or simply indifference. Being able to secure commitment to appropriate water resources management practices from corporations will go a long way in reducing river pollution. This will secure the health of humans and aquatic animals. Strengthening the capacity of regulatory agencies to perform their duties will as well pressure the corporations to operate responsibly.

9.  Protection of Mangrove forests and coral reefs

Objectives:

• To protect the remaining Mangrove forest and restoring the destroyed areas.

Expected outputs:

• Securing Tsunami protection zones along coasts
• Rescuing of coral reefs
• Securing food supply for people living around coral reefs and in mangrove areas

Comments:

Clearing and cutting of Mangrove forests need to stop immediately. Destroyed Mangrove forests must be replanted and shrimp farming should only be allowed when using natural polyculture in existing mangrove forests. The mangrove forest is a breathing place for a huge variety of fish and purifies river water and protects the costal zone including the coral reefs from eutrofication. The coral reefs are an important habitat for fish that are caught and consumed by the local people.

Protection of mangrove forests will thus secure food supply for millions of people living along coasts in tropical areas.

10. Implementation of the Rainforest and River Rescue Action Plan

Rescuing of the Rainforest and River Conference in Cape Coast, Ghana, November 2015:

The proposed rescuing plan above needs to be adapted to local conditions before it can be put into action. Key persons involved in rescuing the rainforest and river in Africa and a representative from every country with remaining rain forest in Africa  will be invited to the conference

Exploiters of the rain forest, corporations that generate effluent, policymakers and academics will also be invited so that a fruitful dialogue can come up that can pave the way for a rescuing plan where everybody will realize that they each will become a winner.

Save the Rainforest and River Congress, 2016

The rainforest conference will be followed up by a congress with ministers from G8 countries, as well, other countries which have rainforest within their territories will be invited to a conference in Sweden where the action plan will be presented. The action plan will include an obstacle analysis as well as a financing plan, including World Bank and GEF contacts

Lysekil, February 2015

Bjorn Marten, Engineer, Teacher and sustainable system designer, E-Mail: [email protected]

Phone: +46 52322307

Vägeröd 130

451 78 Fiskebäckskil

Sweden