How to green the world's deserts and reverse climate change | Allan Savory

"Desertification is a fancy word for land that is turning to desert," begins Allan Savory in this quietly powerful talk. And terrifyingly, it's happening to about two-thirds of the world's grasslands, accelerating climate change and causing traditional grazing societies to descend into social chaos. Savory has devoted his life to stopping it. He now believes -- and his work so far shows -- that a surprising factor can protect grasslands and even reclaim degraded land that was once desert.

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[ladyaurelia]

Here on the high plains ( Dakotas, Wyoming, Nebraska) we have had ranchers who have done exactly this for quite a while now, by mimicking the habits of bison. It has brought back trees and brush and a more varied, lusher landscape. I am so happy that this old technique works in other places. ✨🍃✨

[JaiUneGuruDeja]

Makes me want to buy some dry land and fix it

[stevenstart]

The great herds were moved to fresh pastures by the predators. Rotational grazing using fences and smaller paddocks is mimicking this process. I will always remember an ag adviser telling me that if all I changed was moving to a rotational grazing method I would grow 30% more feed. He was right. In Australia we have had a trend of not grazing our crop stubbles over summer, but I have observed that if I heavily graze those paddocks over summer the following winter crop is better and also not needing near as much urea fertiliser.

[RandallFencer]

As a fence builder of course I'm all for intensive rotational grazing. The truth is I got into this business because of rotational grazing and HRM, I've been a student of both since I was young. Naysayers who claim it ruined their land missed one or more key points. Stock density (the number of animals on a given area of land while it is being grazed) must be quite high, grazing duration must be quite short, and rest before re-grazing must be long enough to allow the grasses to grow to maturity or very near before being eaten again, this perhaps the most critical because re grazing too soon depletes root reserves and prevents seed production. All three of these parameters vary greatly depending on rainfall and the soil condition when you start, all three will change as you go along. Don't expect big government or big business to get behind this, there is no power or money in it for them, it has to come from the people, grass roots, no pun intended. We need actual leaders, not politicians.

[malignusrex]

The most amazing thing I saw in this video were humans who weren't waiting for politicians and governments to come save them. They came together as communities, got up off of their collective backsides, rolled up their sleeves and made this happen. Sitting back on our phones complaining that someone else should be correcting our situation doesn't seem to be working out very well for us. I wonder what would have to happen between now and a future where we have turned the tide and saved ourselves. I believe this video holds some answers in more ways than one. There is no one in a cape on their way to save the day. The work will never get itself done. There is only you. No matter your differences, be good to one another and watch each other's backs because no one else will.

[themadcountrywoodsman.]

to admit your wrong is powerful enough to give your life meaning.

[leehansen]

When I was 15 years old, in the 50's my uncle farmed this way!
Dairy cattle, manure from the cattle droppings in the fields, manure from the barn spread onto the fields, hag and chicken manure spread onto the fields, raised and ground his own feed for the livestock and used mechanical cultivators to weed his crops.
Then the chemical. Companies came in and every thing was sprayed by tractor and plans and only corn was raised with no crop rotation or fallow fields.
Balanced agriculture needs livestock, diversified crops and fallow fields and trees.

[frankwestphal]

This video just shows us once again that natural systems are complex and have a balance to them. Every single time we disrupt that balance we get a short term gain, and a long term loss. Science and technology are allowing us to see further into the future. We don't have to keep making the same mistakes. Great video.

[bronwynesterhuizengreensha]

Allen. I literally have tears in my eyes. I am a horticultural scientist currently focused on teaching and researching permaculture and this method you are preaching as a scientist has been a principle of permaculture for over 40 years. Permaculture is considered a pseudoscience but it seems to have many answers for us to save our planet and still feed us. I am now inspired to repeat this experiment on a small scale with goats here in bahamas. I have never had much sympathy for livestock, but the value of their manure is immeasurable in a remote location. Here I dont have desertification. Its a bit different. The land is all reclaimed from the ocean with quarry fill which is predominantly lime and the only non mechanical way to breakdown and rebuild soil is with livestock. This tedx talk has inspired me to try my own experiements. Thankyou. Also. I too am from Africa!

[FoMoCo]

I'm so glad I found this Talk . I have been advocating for years that the single biggest issue to our planet is the management of the land and ecosystems. Governments have allowed building houses on floodplains for decades to solve the immediate problem of homes for people. This has been a disaster and over exaggerates the problem of climate .
We simply need to re-focus on the management of the land and how water is saved and used correctly. We need to get smart fast.

[MrYorickJenkins]

Fascinating and the more general lesson is not to be caught up in dogma, to be always open to new facts and realisations and to be prepared to admit that one was wrong. This guy is doing work infinitely more valuable than a whole bunch of politicians

[lightbulb]

terraforming deserts would be 1000x easier than terraforming mars

[jeringatai]

8 years later and now its on my youtube. Good work yt algorithm. Couldve seen this 8 years ago

[anthonylemkendorf]

I try to watch this at least twice a year. I also share this at least 20 - 30 times a year in my health food and organic produce business . It’s almost always received positively!

[sandrabyrd]

Another thumbs up. As a child in the late 1960's while driving on Northern New Mexico's back roads, my Grandfather gave me very sage advice. He said, "Look at that bare, dried up land. It's like that because they graze too many cattle or sheep there." He went on to say that if you want the land to be fertile, you need to move the animals grazing area every year or to give the animals a more balanced animal to land ratio. Little did I know then that plants would become my passion. I'm so glad to see ancient knowledge being restored. It's my belief that some* Natives that had been forced to migrate Northwards from South America learned & retained this knowledge. He was a highly intelligent, curious, & thoughtful man of French-Spanish Basque (sheepherders), & some Apache ethnic descent. For any Botanists or Landscape Architects out there, UNM has a Master's Program in Reforestation.

[TheSarokar]

Youtube should recommend this to every user out there.

[robertjoseph]

I’m just a retired firefighter and I had tears. I worry for my grandkids. This gives me hope. God bless.

[roberthiggins]

This honestly the best video or program, presentation I've ever seen.
This man is amazing at explaining and needs to train others up so they can do this work.
In all honesty he should be the leader of the world climate change thing but then I suspect they wouldn't have him as he talks seems. This is Nobel prize worthy!

[Salazarsbizzar]

I've watched this talk a few times. It makes me feel like there's hope, I love all the wonderful work that the good honest and decent people are doing to save us from ourselves.

[RajeshYadav-viuf]

Sir, I am an Indian living in Delhi with upbrining in an Indian small town. I have seen farmers using these techniques in their fields. In my country and basically in Delhi, when every Winter the farmers of nearby States burn their crops to clear their fields for next crop, I wonder how and why they have forgotten the lost art of conserving the soil. It is a proven fact that unless the soil has enough of humous, it will not absorb water and it takes time to develop humous and animal excreta helps in increasing the nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous, calcioum etc in soil. I wish my fellow citizens, even if not paying heed to the knowledge of our great grandfathers at least listen to your TED video and stop burning crops in their fields.

Regards