How Spain is Making Abundant Water in the Desert

Deserts make up one third of all land area on planet earth, and this area has been increasing due to climate change and loss of some wetlands all around the world.

Although the word “desert” may bring to mind a sea of shifting sand, dunes cover only about 10 percent of the world’s deserts. Some deserts are mountainous, others are dry expanses of rock, sand, or salt flats.

The world’s largest hot desert, The Sahara, is a subtropical desert in northern Africa. The Sahara Desert is almost the size of the United States.

The islands which are closest to the African mainland, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, are effectively desert or semi desert and are also considered subtropical deserts. These volcanic islands are known as The Canary Islands and are officially part of Spain's territory, historically they been considered a link between the four continents of Africa, North America, South America, and Europe. Now they are an attractive destination for over 12 million visitors each year who want to enjoy a warm climate all year around and the scenic rugged terrain.

However the terrain wasn’t always like this, the islands were once completely covered in laurel forests, a prehistoric natural treasure. These forests once covered much of Northern Africa and Southern Europe up until roughly 20,000 years ago but due to Human Impact and Global Climate Change they have almost entirely disappeared, except for a few last remaining areas within The Canary Islands which are now being threatened by land degradation due to over tourism and increasing populations since the 1950s, according to this research paper, desertification has intensified in the last 50 years despite the intensive deforestation in 15th and 19th centuries, which also took its toll on the landscape.

Laurel forests are so crucial since they are extremely humid and wet, they are full of biodiversity and are the life support system for these islands, without them the islands would turn completely to desert just like the Sahara next door.

Almost 330,000 hectares which is 44% of the surface area of the archipelago is affected by severe processes of accelerated water erosion according to the same research paper, titled: Factors and process leading to desertification in The Canary Islands, particularly in Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria are worst affected because of the sparse vegetation and intense human pressure on the land. Approximately 280,000 hectares which is 38% of the surface area of The Canaries is affected by wind erosion. High salinity of the soil is also a huge issue for agricultural land affecting 84% of farmland.

However on the island of Gran Canaria there is a project that is starting to turn this around, in this video we will show you how a new innovative technology is going to capture 215,000 liters of fog and dew to help plant 20,000 laurel trees to stop the advancement of the desert.

Check out the project: Life Niebles to learn more!

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[kasession]

I like the idea of collecting water from fog. I think it should be a temporary solution, and should be used to water tree seedings, as trees do the best job of collecting water.

[joewebster]

Nylon mesh used on South America last three years before failure due to photo oxidative degradation but today they last 20 years with no UV degradation with a product called Alterin PAM from the UK

[fiorini_mochachino]

Did she say that these forests started disappearing about 20, 000 years ago due to human impact on global climate change? If so, what impact did humans have 20, 000 years ago on climate?

[edwardmiessner]

This is an ingenious solution for regeneration of deforested or burnt-down areas. I hope the authorities, federal, state, and local, are applying the lessons in California. The Marin Headlands especially can be reafforested.

[anglosaxon]

funny enough, ..i was born in gran canaria, ...and live in its actually here in chile where the locals invented the idea, with the fog sails....
glad to see, they are implementing the Chilean idea in my

[luisd.]

The indigenous people in the Andes Mountains also use fog collectors and have been for some time (centuries), there are also different kinds of natural collectors made out of gardens in what is now Mexico and Guatemala.

[janniswins]

The effect of condensation is naturally happening in a forest. That’s allowing a forest to recycle water and create its own rainfall. We have to plant trees everywhere. The dry lands in Spain were covered with vegetation not to long ago

[veramae]

The Romans used to build "dry wells" in critical areas. At night, cool dark air sinks into the dry well, condensed on the stone sides, and dropped as water to the bottom. Given long enough, the well filled up. These were emergency water stores for military use.

(shrug) Don't know why that isn't still being done. This above ground moisture collection is basically the same thing.

[bknatureafrica]

I really love seeing nature greening every season

[elguapodelmonte]

I've seen this method before, of collecting the condensation through some type of "mesh material", usually near a
mountainous terrain, apparently used in Chile and other places, it should for sure start to be used in some parts of
Spain that are currently experiencing "drought" and bush-fires, as the lower rainfall makes it a higher risk for fires.
In the example shown in Gran Canaria, they have what can be called a complete water collection, with all the meshes
collecting the dew, and then it drips into the pipes or conduits, and are then collected in those 1000 liter tanks, it's a
brilliant idea, but the entire system would be costly, with the plumbing, tanks, electrical gauges, transport to collect
the tanks, plus any other costs. It is ideal for some situations that face drastic water shortages, while other places
a cheaper and easier way of "bringing water and moisture into the environment" can be installed.

In some places where they are trying to "regenerate" the forests and trees that once stood, but have been reduced
through "bad practices", water shortages, droughts, blights, funguses, diseases, wildfires, soil erosion, introduced
pests that ravage the natural landscape, the gradual "deforestation" that has occurred in many places, whether by
accident or by design, sometimes some people and some cultures seemingly and willingly destroy the environment
either for quick profits, or to make the surrounding lands "undesirable" for people to visit and stay there long-term,
they purposely deforest the environment, so that there are no natural resources, there are no places to visit, hang out,
go fishing, go hunting, go bush walking, not even any places to sit under a tree and get some shade, there's nothing
there that makes it interesting, that is their aim, it is an extremely small mind-set, that thinks by creating a barren
landscape, they themselves will then become more powerful, as all natural resources have been decimated, the only
resources that are left, are man-made resources, which those responsible for the "environmental cull" hope to be
snug as a bug in a rug, in a place that has shade, and they will proclaim themselves "the monopoly of resources"

Without an over-explanation about this type of water collection system, I personally think it is perfect, as they say in
the doco, the meshes, the "square nets" that collect the water, are effectively mimicking the trees themselves that
use a similar method, collecting the water through it's leaves or needles, after water droplets falling onto the ground,
which the trees use for watering. The "mesh nets" should be installed, by themselves everywhere that needs some
more water, moisture into the atmosphere, into the ground, and the water droplets then water the "planted trees and
seedlings", without all the other costs of the water collection, just the "meshes" with the new planted trees, which can
afterwards do the job of the meshes. The "ecosystems" of Mountains, and Forests are quite delicate, they are like a
"chain" of natural phenomenons, when one part of the cycle, when one link of the chain is broken, the whole ecosystem
breaks down, and then you start the "desertification" process, sometimes human intervention is needed to reverse this
process, just like human intervention, started the process. Everyone that lives in an area that is prone to droughts, or a
drying landscape, should be looking at "horizontal precipitation" - it will bring "vertical vegetation"

[cipres]

I didn't knew this was already being used in the canaries, I always look here in my town to the mountain wich is covered regularly with fog, and think how much water could be extracted for agriculture.

[peacepeaceful]

Ancient way of collecting water. Been doing it in Chille for years. Good idea

[abrahamsoto]

I really hope this project works not just for the sake of the environment but also for the people

[Dweller]

Some Native American elders view the desert as a garden. But most people see a barren wasteland and succumb to the heat without noticing plant life and places where water can be found beneath the surface of the soil.

[LearningZoneLanguages]

This is a great idea👍🏼👏🏼 It should be started collecting water in even more countries

[grovermartin]

This is a well researched, well presented mini- documentary about a critically important topic. I am grateful for all of your information and work.

[michelec]

This seems like it would be so easy and cost effective to implement along the coasts in the USA. Agriculture is such a big consumer of water, and it’d make perfect sense for farmers to implement.

[kimbershulme]

Thank you for producing these videos it is great to find out what it happening in some of the most arid areas of the World.

[daisyy]

Fascinating and practical new technology. 5 years from now, what a change will be there!