Agroforestry, forestry and agriculture with oaks and hemp can improve soils, biodiversity and water balance. Greening Deserts launched the projects Agrarhanf.com, Bodenrettung.com and Eichenwald.org to support the worldwide agroforestry and global greening movement. Oaks harbor and enhance biodiversity more than any other trees.
The contributions and projects are intended to support forestry and agricultural managers with useful ideas, impulses and innovative solutions. We recommend planting tree rows more densely in the beginning and then singling out individual trees as the years go by. In the beginning, larger trees can be planted and slightly smaller ones in between, which are then useful as replacements and for the region. This technique is very proven in Eastern Europe and the agroforestry is therefore also a kind of tree nursery. Agroforestry systems are less susceptible to forest fires.
Mitigation of climate change impacts through healthier and stronger ecosystems, higher soil and air moisture are essential for survival, especially with the increasing loss of cropland worldwide. Flowering trees and wildflowers on trees can attract more pollinators and important insects (beneficial insects) which, like birds, also reduce pests. Agroforestry is therefore one of the best ways to adapt to climate change and extreme weather events such as droughts.
Vertical Farming and Urban Greening Camp Rooftop I with chestnuts, oaks, palms and wallnut trees.
Alternative tree species with nutritious berries and nuts as well as hardy palms can be found on Greening Deserts project pages and naturally on the Leipzig Palms Project. In the meantime, there are also plenty of suitable industrial hemp varieties, just read the official regulations for the cultivation of hemp in Germany. We recommend undemanding, tall-growing and narrow hemp varieties for the production of hemp fiber. Bushier sorts for more leaves and hemp seeds, such as for food and feed. Commercial hemp can significantly reduce nitrogen and methane emissions, this has been confirmed many times by international researchers and studies. Some hemp varieties require very little water and can improve long-term biodiversity, nutrient supply and soil moisture. Similar to lupines, hemp can also be used as a green manure, for example if there are times when yields or growth are not so good in individual years, the plants can be added to the soil after harvesting together with compost and / or leaves. For hemp cultivation, no pesticides and very little fertilizer are needed.
There are multiple options of tree planting, especially drought-tolerant oaks! Planting of pre-germinated seeds, e.g. germinated acorns, transplanting of young plants and cuttings around old trees in open areas in the forest or at the forest edge. Purchasing perennial oaks and seedlings from nurseries especially for urban regions and urban areas where larger trees are needed. If there is extreme abundance of oaks and saplings in some years, they can be taken from old trees. Otherwise it would be a pity if they die in the forest due to lack of light or are destroyed by mowing on meadows in the park. As a result, many millions of oaks are probably lost every year. The projects, campaigns and initiatives should also change or improve this, for example by showing how to do it, giving useful tips and having many people follow the movement. Not only people from the concerned areas but also people from all areas and branches, also from the educational area, for example young people from schools and students from universities. After all, collecting and planting oak trees is not only a nice balance to intellectual work, it is good for health and properly implemented also a kind of sport. In addition, one is more outside in nature and can learn a lot.
One can harvest acorns very effectively in places with the raking and a special vacuum cleaner, sustainably and only a part at a time, especially at half mast and blast mast. As some clever farmers, foresters and forest owners have already done. Every year there are acorns in abundance, according to estimates several thousand tons, sustainable harvesting would not harm ecosystems, on the contrary… too much acorns are not good for soils! You can harvest acorns very effectively in places with raking and a special vacuum cleaner, sustainably and only a part at a time, especially with half mast and blast mast. As some smart farmers, foresters and forest owners have already done.
With healthy and natural feeds like hemp and acorns you can replace many of these feeds in the short term and in the long term! Especially oaks with large fruits are suitable for agroforestry, where rows of trees are planted in fields. Useful crops can then be grown between the rows. Acorns are good not only for animals, but also for humans, as a healthy addition to the diet or medicine. Acorn meal is very healthy and acorns with residual bitter compounds are good for the stomach and intestines.
The potential for more sustainable livestock production is enormous. In Spain, animals are partially fed on oak trees. Iberian acorn-fed pigs eat only acorns, grasses and herbs from pastures. Acorn fattening and pig fattening could also in Germany not only reduce feed costs, costly and environmentally harmful procurement of feed. It would protect together with increased hemp cultivation soils and forests worldwide, since soils are destroyed less by deforestation and harmful crops. Of course, meat consumption or production should also be reduced globally – especially overproduction and senseless waste.
There is simply too much food being wasted, thrown away or going bad; improved distribution and preservation through better or faster drying could help. At the same time, less environmentally damaging crops such as corn, canola and soy should be grown along the way. Particularly intensive agriculture damages soils; oily plant parts can seal soils or repel water. This is fatal when prolonged droughts dry out the soil severely and rain then does not seep in well in many places or even runs off completely on the surface.
In order to bring forward topics such as species conservation, biodiversity, education, climate and environmental protection, as well as to promote a more sustainable forestry and agriculture, we want to increasingly involve schools and universities in our actions as well as projects in the years until 2030. The OakPark and OakForest project Eichenwald.org was established together with the Schools Forest Initiative in 2019 and 2020.
We want to plant about 50,000 trees for and region, together with schools and school classes. The floodplain forest could be extended by a few meters at the edges! If one the relationship of the enormous meadows and open spaces which lie around the Auwald and forests in Saxonia one asks oneself why no or so few forest extensions were made until today. There is enough space around the alluvial forest and forests in Saxony. One does not need therefore necessarily a new forest to plant. Already on a meter band more forest at the edge of the forest thousands of new trees could be planted! If the work and projects are finally financially and actively supported, the actions and projects can be implemented more quickly, even by the end of 2023. Otherwise, due to lack of money and time, all the work and other important projects of the founder can unfortunately not hire helpers, get equipment or stuff is needed and will plant the oaks themselves over time and then plant out somewhere else. Then, unfortunately, there will be no Leipzig forest expansion with many important tree species and oak varieties. Because without any payment and support it simply does not work, especially under the current circumstances and plight of the founder, which lives since spring at subsistence level. The Oak park and forest actions since a few weeks takes almost all working time and free time, if there comes no support thousands of sprouted acorns will be planted in buckets, pots and bags. This saves a lot of time and ways.
Almost 40,000 oaks have already been planted over the years in Germany and regions of Europe. These are now well adapted to the drought, because they were planted out early and thus could root deeply. In Leipzig and region about 12,000 oaks were planted out! The founder of the Urban Greening Camp and Vertical Farming Startup has collected acorns from many different trees, these can then be easily put into the ground when they have germinated. The germination rate is very high and the mortality rate very low because oaks root very quickly and deeply – so they survive drought years quite well as we have unfortunately had more often now.
Oaks support more biodiversity than any other German or native trees. Individual specimens with hundreds of species have been discovered and recently even a world record with well over a thousand species! As some Greening Deserts articles and projects have already well shown or extensively explained. Projects and programs like the Trillion Trees Initiative have been exploring these relationships for years, especially the relationship between biodiversity, healthy ecosystems and trees that are essential for the survival of many other species. If we save, protect and propagate key tree species on which many other species depend, we also protect many thousands of species in the plant and animal kingdoms, as well as soils, waters, microorganisms, insects and fungi! Key species and endangered tree species should be primarily introduced into ecosystems and forests. Various EU organizations and official bodies were informed the years several times – also directly by email and contacted with many letters, unfortunately ignored by many or answered only superficially. The Urban Greening and Vertical Farming Startup not only wants more creative urban greening with tree containers or raised beds and planting walls. It also wants to establish more mini-forests in Leipzig and the region, also to create hotspots for biodiversity. Municipalities, farmers and forest owners from all over Germany are invited to provide parts of their area(s) for this project.
It is a win-win situation for everyone as such a mini-forest promotes a good climate and insect diversity in the region, in addition various tree species can also be planted more densely to use them in the future for further reforestation or forestation in the region, this is not only logistically sensible, but also saves money, time and resources. The small forests can serve as a diverse nursery or growing forest, so to speak. Greening Deserts founders have been creating the concept for several years and to date it is mature, because it is to be implemented together with the emerging movement of agroforestry and agrovoltaics throughout Germany and then Europe. The main project can be reached under GreeningCamp or GreeningDeserts.com, in addition the Trillion Trees Initiative and various forest projects will support this movement in the future.
Greening Deserts founders and researchers explore with various projects not only drylands and arid ecosystems, but also wetlands such as floodplains, alluvial forests, wet forests, bogs or swamps, lake and river landscapes. Long-term studies of marsh trees and wetland plants have been carried out, including photographic studies and in such a number of wetlands of Europe. Swamps and bog forests have been documented over many years. Results will be published with the projects and project developments like Eichenwald.org, MoorForest and SwampForest.org in the future. The international platform will then be accessible at WetForest.org. For years we have been recommending the reforestation and expansion of peatlands, which can store more carbon CO2 than any other ecosystem, and to further reduce emissions, especially methane emissions, trees should be planted. Swamp or bog trees such as swamp oak or bald cypress grow relatively fast and together with organisms such as bacteria and fungi can stabilize the water bodies or wet soils, in some cases even bind methane as well as convert it. Wetlands without trees warm up faster than moist forests which cast shade and are much cooler than open areas. This is also a reason why wetlands release more methane, forest ecosystems suffer from droughts or extreme drought, store less carbon and can even release it – especially through forest fires and dried out or destroyed soils. Mixed forests and tree species that favor soil moisture also have a much lower risk of wildfire. Trees can cool the area by many degrees, even in urban areas, almost all cities should know this by now.
Air pollution, insecticides and pesticides are not only a threat to bees, they also endanger many other species, especially near agricultural and livestock farms. Many of the trees and forests typically found in forestry are monocultures and conifers such as Douglas fir, spruce, pine, larch and fir – unfortunately, these do not provide much nectar. Nearly 80 percent of conifers were felled because of damage. At just under 70 percent, the share of damaged wood in total logging in 2019 was more than three times higher than in 2010. As already described in the article on the Leipzig Oak Park of Diversity project, strong tree species such as oaks are also affected. Whether due to pests, powdery mildew or drought stress, the plants suffer greatly from the drought. Like many deciduous trees, oaks belong to the deep-rooted species, which fetch water from lower soil layers. What they do not need themselves, they release closer to the surface. This makes oaks good soil regulators, for example through pronounced symbioses with microorganisms and fungi. Oaks and other robust trees are suffering from climate change, as are many people and animals. Tree damage and forest degradation result not only from fires, drought and heat waves, but also from fungal infestations, pests, snow breakage, storms, floods and environmental toxins – as well as air and water pollution.
According to climate research, long-term studies and weather experts, extreme drought is becoming normal in Europe in the summer. In spring, many places around the world also lack the water needed for healthy plant growth. Soils and forests can hold less water because the important reservoirs are not only dried out but damaged, i.e. the storage capacity is reduced and in some cases reduced for years. When middle and deeper soil layers harden, humus layers turn to dust or are destroyed, even a lot of rain will not help for the time being. It then takes years of moderate rain and some plant growth until these soil layers are loosened and watered again. Trees, hedges and other plants that can form complex, strong and deep roots need several years to loosen medium and deep soil layers again. This is why ground cover, soil conservation measures and deep rooting plants like thistles are so important. Greening Deserts has therefore started the project SoilRescue.eu and TrillionTrees.eu.
The destruction of soils by extensive agriculture, surface mining and drainage accelerates land degradation. A major problem is the hardening and water repellency of soils due to greasy or oily surfaces. Fats, oils, and waxes from plant parts fall to the ground with the particulate matter. Rain then cannot penetrate the top layer of soil and runs off superficially. Factors such as soil type, plant species, temperature and the degree of desiccation determine how water repellent the soil becomes. Often, soils cannot be loosened by plowing until after harvest. However, if the drought lasts for a long time, there is a risk of soil erosion by wind – especially in the fall there are more winds and storms. We can all only hope that there is not another winter drought, as this would damage the soils for years to come. Already in 2018, more soil conservation measures should have been implemented, such as covering with ground covers, emergency irrigation with extra canals, ponds and rainwater storage above ground or underground. There are some other effective and innovative methods such as agrophotovoltaics, hemp cultivation, and desert bamboo.
Due to tree mortality during drought years, Germany is missing billions of trees; these cannot be replanted quickly by private and state forestry companies. This is compounded by more difficult conditions due to extreme weather and future droughts. Many of the new forest plantings since 2018 have died, often far more than half of all young trees. Movements like Fridays for Future and school groups should be involved in a variety of reforestation and planting activities – such as collecting seeds, planting trees and wildflowers. Especially for children and young people, it makes sense to combine healthy exercise, nature and fresh air with meaningful actions for people and the environment. During the actions you can not only learn a lot but also get a better understanding of nature and the environment. Especially in this autumn there is a chance to collect millions of acorns for new plantations and to plant perennial trees. This can be done basically all winter long if it gets as mild as 2019, there were even weeks in January and February with spring temperatures.
Reforestation and other tree planting activities should be concentrated more in the fall and more in the spring with the current climate conditions. This will give the young trees more time to root deeper and have a higher chance of surviving in a new drought year. Of course, extra watering can be done, and often a simple plastic bottle with drip irrigation is all that is needed. This simple irrigation technique is often seen in Africa and India. So you don’t need to buy new products or techniques for watering trees, there is already enough plastic waste! SchoolsForest and ‘Schools Reforest’ is a project idea of Greening Deserts and together with other planting actions, in a community, could plant the areas with forest damage faster than you think.
Contributions and quotes of Greening Deserts founder:
Agroforestry is one of the best ways for forestry and agriculture to adapt to climate change and extreme weather events such as droughts. It allows for more sustainable agriculture and ecological forestry, as an agroforestry using only trees as a type of nursery is also possible. #ClimateAdaptation
Climate protection, nature conservation and environmental protection is species protection, so it is also human protection.
Europe should finally wake up and promote more hemp cultivation to support biodiversity, CO2 storage, ecosystem restoration and soil improvement – especially in drought regions and areas with deforested or degraded soils. More sustainable agriculture is possible if hemp production increases in European countries. Healthy agriculture with hemp also requires no pesticides and very little fertilizer or some green manure and mineral fertilizers such as rock meal every year.
Greening Deserts and Trillion Trees Initiative has been informing EU and parties for years about the problems of burning fossil fuels like wood and coal. Don’t burn trees and forests, use hemp and rice straw for building, animal feed…. #agriculturalhemp.com #hempcultivation #industrialhemp.
Greening Deserts has launched new sustainable organic farming projects. One of them is called #Agrarhanf.de, a German project for industrial hemp that can improve biodiversity, animal and soil health – and reduce carbon and methane emissions! #organic farming #hemp fodder #hemp pellets.
Hemp can help improve air, climate, soil and water quality. Hemp plants support biodiversity and protect forests. Global hemp cultivation can reduce climate change impacts such as deforestation, desertification and global warming.
Hemp paper like hemp toilet paper can reduce deforestation and global warming worldwide! Prevent forest dieback with #hemppaper, improve biodiversity and soils with hemp farming. #agricultural hemp #soil saver #soil conservation #climate saver #utility hemp.
Feeding agricultural hemp to cows can lower their stress levels and improve their overall health. Hemp could replace corn, soy and other polluting crops – saving forests, soils and rainforests! Like sea grass, agricultural hemp can reduce methane emissions from cows!
Greening Deserts projects like agricultural hemp help farmers, growers and foresters with biodiversity, soil and climate protection by providing useful hints and advice, such as soil improvement, effective plant breeding, sustainable nutrition, cheap and environmentally friendly feed sourcing.
Greening Deserts projects and facilities such as the Urban Greening and Vertical Farming Camp have achieved a breakthrough in drought research! Some indicator plants have been researched which can show early signs of drought. #DroughtResearch.com #droughtresearcher
For several years, Greening Deserts projects have been recommending politics and business to finally promote / encourage soil improvement with agricultural / industrial hemp on a large scale. See article Hemp cultivation in surface mining. Not much has happened to date. #agricultural hemp #hemp paper #hemp seed
Many companies in Germany are dedicated to paper production, hemp paper production is largely absent. The machines or production is set on waste paper or pulp. German machinery and paper manufacturers do not produce hemp paper on a large scale. #hemppaper
We don’t have much time left to stop global warming and the loss of biodiversity, of which cities and urban areas are a very large part. The simple formula applies: Urban Greening = Urban Cooling. That is why the projects like Greening Camp and the private organization GlobalGreening.org, among others, were founded. Global greening is the only large-scale and nature-based solution to noticeably cool the planet and particularly affected regions. With this, it may be possible to get back below 1.5 degrees by 2050.
We have briefed hundreds of climate scientists and researchers on the drought issue and why there are so few research facilities. Especially science parks in Africa that could use such professional facilities. So we decided to start a campus for #DroughtResearch.com! #DRR #RM #WM
We hope that Europe and Germany will finally use more hemp for biodiversity and large-scale soil improvement and drought protection. Drought or drought tolerant plants and trees such as sweet chestnuts, oaks,.. can improve agroforestry and ecological forestry in the long term and sustainably.
*Acorn fattening, also commonly called eckerich in German-speaking areas, was a widespread agricultural practice in Central Europe until the 19th century. Domestic pigs were driven into the woods to gorge themselves on acorns, beechnuts and chestnuts. The word “fattening” originally referred to the tree fruits used as cattle feed. Later it was restricted to acorns and beechnuts used as pig feed. Today, the word mast is generally used to refer to the “fattening” of animals. In addition, the seed production of oaks and beeches was called, for example, eckerich, ecker, acker or acker. From this, the acker was derived from an agricultural point of view. – Wikipedia
The article version was published in October 2022 by Oliver Caplikas.
UPDATE: REOPENING des Leipziger Palmen Startups LEPALMS an der Hornstraße 3. Ab 15 Uhr am 12.08. und 14.08! Kleines Event mit Kunst, Musik und Rundgängen, sowie Präsentation der neuesten Projekte. The Greening Deserts startup LE PALMS is still in its initial startup phase to date July due to countless hindrances and disruptions among other things – plus the crises and extreme weather. The drought in Europe shows how important Vertical Farming, Energy Efficiency (EE) professional greenhouse and water management is. Fantastic results were achieved at the research facility, unfortunately also significant losses, such as in outdoor areas, field research and lack of funding or appropriate support. Under all the circumstances, and in terms of research aspects, leap innovations and scientific breakthroughs, a few dried out pots and died plants are to be tolerated. After all, the goal is to improve a more ecological forestry and agriculture, more sustainable and resource-saving plant cultivation in Germany or Saxony. To this end, the climate researcher Oliver Caplikas has devoted all his spare time to species, climate, disaster and civil protection. He was weeks in Leipzig and in the Leipzig region on the way, informed many people and locations about important fire and disaster protection and disaster prevention measures. He has developed an extra mindfulness and civil courage campaign for this purpose, which is now being expanded throughout Germany. Further sponsors and supporters are always welcome. In addition simply over the official channels contact take up or over the new project Brandschutzkanister.de. More on the topics can be read in the article “Climate Emergency, drought disaster and international call for more peacebuilding actions, climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction in Europe 2022“. You can use translators, translate and share the text in any language you want.
Back to the latest developments and a new world innovation that will build bridges between cultures, nations and even continents. The startup project and innovative development is called Palmkaffee.de in Germany and since it is an international community, the brand PalmCoffee.org is being developed since last year. It’s not just a new startup or palm coffee product(s), the founder and initiator of Leipzig Palms has thus initiated a worldwide movement and opened a completely new market. The Palm-Coffee-Project has therefore fair priority claim to a trademark called PalmCoffeeTM – among other things because of the many years of commitment to social humanitarian, cultural and socio-economic actions. We invite other interested parties, international partners, investors and sponsors to participate in the innovative project development and product development(s) in this early phase at particularly attractive conditions. It is a one-time chance until October, after that no more participation offers for investors will be accepted. The GM, innovation and project developer has over ten years of experience in the field as well as comparable markets. The project developments and the new market could work completely without investors and sponsors, this is one of the great USPs the concept includes – similar like the PalmForest project. Looking forward to interesting offers.
Global Palm and Coffee Culture United — Palm Coffee Artworks and Projects for a more diverse and social coffee and palm world
Social networks, photos and videos will underpin the venture in the future, and there will be plenty of info materials. Interested parties will be invited to public actions and future events. Active and proper support as well as constructive feedback is of course always welcome. For this purpose, the official communication channels and contact options via the networks and platforms can be used.
Part Two – Recommendations and innovations for drought-tolerant forestry and agriculture.
After the last four years and extreme droughts, Greening Desert’s drought and climate researchers have conducted many interesting studies, including long-term studies under extreme and real drought conditions – such as on oaks and chestnuts outdoors and indoors, in the open pit, extra garden, greenhouse and beds. To this end, various drought-tolerant tree and plant species were researched in the region, in floodplain forests, rivers, open-cast mines and lakes, as well as in urban areas in parks, forests and meadows. Thus, very robust trees could be bred and further suitable plants for a better future of forestry and agriculture could be found. Particularly suitable climate change woody plants for future droughts will be further researched and even more adapted to climate change. Climate change adaptation as well as disaster preparedness issues are a continuous process and part of the research facility as well as the research programs, which the founder and initiator of the Urban Greening Camp always continues.
The forestry and agriculture sectors are strongly advised to protect their soils and to carry out damage limitation, so that the soil, the soil life and the plants in the affected regions are not damaged for years to come. Many soil layers are already preloaded since the last drought years and hardened in places. If no appropriate and quick action is taken now, many of the affected soils or deeper soil layers will be severely damaged for many years – then no deeper digging or humus build-up will really help. For professional advice and recommendations on the right methods, plants and techniques for soil protection and more efficient soil building and improvement, you can always contact Greening Deserts and DesertForest.org.
Check some very helpful tips on soil protection and faster soil improvement. If time is now or timely action is taken this year, many can protect or save their soils until the milder season and long-awaited rainy periods – depending on the degree of damage.
1. leave particularly susceptible open soils alone, do not dig or plow until longer rainy days come.
2. who has the necessary change can lay out white fleece, but then a little thicker so that it does not crumble after a lot of intense sunlight
3. build up protective layers with proven methods, for example with hay or similar cuttings such as tree trimmings, mulch, hedge trimmings, leaves or other “garden waste”
4. build protective layers with ground covers, such as meadow clover and, in woodlands, plant large-scale and drought-tolerant blueberries, mosses and cranberries
5. carry out deep loosening with appropriate hardy plants over the winter – more instructions follow and on request
6. mow lawns or mow meadows only just before rainy days, otherwise leave and use for mulch
7. forestry operations and forest owners can also grow ground cover after major logging, and hemp if clearing is complete
8. agroforestry with oaks, chestnuts, walnuts, etc. can feed whole populations! See e.g. also ecological livestock farming and acorn fattening
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More information and updates will come when own work is completed and the founder can work and live again under relatively “normal” circumstances. I.e. with appropriate support and less suffering from the extreme circumstances since April. Like some affected industries, the research facility or some of the projects are in crisis mode. Despite all this, the scarce resources, no free time, no vacation, the inventor and founder continues to work for the socio-economic and socio-cultural developments.
Protection of climate, nature and environment is also protection of species – thus also protection of people.
We need more environmental awareness and sustainability, sustainable living and sustainable working, in all areas. We need to create a world of understanding, logical acceptance, respect, tolerance, compassion and awareness. – Author Oliver Caplikas, Leipzig, 28.07.2022
The Green Games Community, Greening Deserts and Trillion Trees Initiative shows solidarity for Ukraine and supports the ongoing peace process. Read more on the social pages of Green Change Games social projects and @GreeningDeserts project account. Twitter blocked Greening Deserts project since late February until end of March and later again in April. We are calling international communities and society for help. #CulturalRights #FreeSpeech #FreedomRights #HumanRights #PeaceBuilding
You can download a simple overview of all tweets and retweets of Greening Deserts project account on Twitter! If the account won’t be restored this year we can mirror the complete work for scientific purposes on several networks and platforms in future. All tweets were downloaded completely and in a short summary like you can see below.
AllMyTweets_Greening_Deserts_on_Twitter_2016-2020-2021-
Greening_Deserts_latest_tweets_and_retweets_on_Twitter_April_2022
AllMyTweets_Green_Change_Games_Forests_Peacebuilding_Projects_03_2022
Original Article and Global Climate Emergency Call:
Europe’s and the world’s first vertical farming startup for threatened or endangered tree species as well as important crops or plants develops further concepts for energy and resource-saving species conservation, climate and environmental protection. Botanical gardens, national parks and nature reserves are invited to join the Greening Deserts Species Rescue CES-RPP, Greening Camp and the Trillion Trees Initiative and related projects. The emergency program and projects to save species, restore biodiversity and ecosystems need international support. The goal is to save more than 300 tree species from extinction by 2025 – for example through professional tree breeding, seed storage, distribution and joint tree planting activities. Some international species protection, climate protection, nature conservation and environmental protection organizations have already showed their interest. We are looking forward to new partners in the future to master one of the biggest tasks and challenges of the decade. Reducing species extinction by mitigating its causes and promoting global biodiversity is at the forefront, also in urban regions and cities! With the Urban Greening Camp, the Urban Greening Network for healthier and greener cities was launched – many have followed the good example.
Species extinction, climate change, environmental degradation from monocultures, forestry and agriculture are increasingly evident. Droughts and heat waves have made many impacts and causes clearly visible. The problems with old bad habits or systems such as excessive deforestation, draining, pollution,and destruction by agriculture or monocultures in rainforests or similar ecosystems rich in biodiversity and crops are complex. Yet solutions can be very simple – as explained in these and other articles. New techniques, technologies, products or services are not always necessary, but can of course accelerate and / or improve sustainable developments. Greening Deserts has over the years presented good solutions to many of these world problems – such as really effective developments and sustainable solutions to stop deforestation by monocultures. Diverse concepts for desert greening, tree planting campaigns, urban greening, vertical agriculture and innovative project developments like the Greenhouse Ship show great possibilities and potentials how to combine biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, productive eco-agriculture and eco-forestry. Here are some ideas, methodical and sustainable thinking using the palm oil issue as an example. It are a few excerpts from the concept paper for the palm forest project Palmforest.org.
It is unrealistic to reduce the demand for palm oil on a large scale in the next few years and palm oil boycotts or sanctions can be problematic, especially to solve the main problems or causes, many good solutions have been elaborated. The points are not firmly decided or fixed resolutions, but suggestions and of course can be added to or improved.
The world does not really need more food production, but a better sharing, distribution and preservation of food by cooling, drying, pulverizing and processing of food waste around the expiration date – for example with new infrastructures, logistics and startups for food waste preservation. Also local or regional cabinets and preservation machines or facilities in food retail outlets could be established – similar like Norway’s deposit return scheme for plastic bottles or similar plastic recycling machines! Current food sharing solutions are already quite good, but there is a lack of holistic solutions that solve the global supply chains, logistics or transport systems in connection with food waste preservation and food waste at expiry. The problems or solutions already start with the causes like overproduction, transport over long distances and environmental destruction by intensive agriculture. See, for example, monocultures and livestock or factory farming, as well as the excessive waste of food in supermarkets instead of preserving it, storing it and distributing it to the needy. A suggestion would be cooling and drying machines for perishable goods such as fish, meat, vegetables and fruit to make them durable before expiration. There are old tried-and-true methods for this, such as pulverization, cookies and chips – there are already vegetable chips, so why not make them from food waste. Retail itself, new startups and jobs could benefit from this innovation of direct preservation of “food waste”, just before or after the expiration date. The respective countries or EU and UN could even promote this and regulate it accordingly! It is really time to reduce the global famine of over 800 million people and hundreds of millions of children through better preservation and distribution systems – especially since the world produces food for well over 10 billion people! The suggested lack of food is hypocritical and a big lie. There is enough energy, food and water for everyone worldwide. The artificial limitation, commercialization and denial of these resources in certain countries or regions is systematic and violates ethical, moral and humanitarian principles, rules and laws – such as international Children’s and Human Rights. You can see many of Greening Deserts also as humanitarian projects and social work.
Climate and environmental protection, nature conservation and species protection are also important issues in the climate crisis. The human-induced impacts of climate and environmental change, such as desertification, global warming and other extreme weather events can be reduced through a more balanced climate or weather system. Glaciers, ice sheets and reflective snow layers play an important role in this – as do large grasslands, wetlands and global forests of course. All the trees and forests in urban areas are also important, as is the coastal greening, marine conservation at the coasts – so like the protection of the lakes, rivers, seas, oceans and other waters. The Greening Deserts and the Trillion Trees Initiative, actions, campaigns and projects moved many nations, organizations and people to plant millions or even billions of trees! Some countries have followed the advice and announced that they will plant one or even several billion trees in the next few years. There is evidence of the advice and recommendations that have been sent to various ambassadors, ministers, institutions and organizations. In some cases, it is easy to see that direct action was taken after being contacted and communicated. Some initiatives and projects even have prominent imitators.
Further important statements, facts and opinions on the topic of climate crisis, nature and environmental protection
Greening Deserts projects are part of the global climate emergency program and offering many solutions to really reduce and solve the global problems. Many of the projects also supporting real values and the Global Goals. Human impact on climate, environmental, natural and weather systems is significant. The excessive disruption, destruction and pollution of natural environmental systems and life forms has made the world what it is today!
Certain industries, institutions, organizations, people and other responsible parties that have destroyed ecosystems and important parts of the environment and polluted the planet are also partly responsible for the extinction of countless species and the destruction of the biosphere. They have caused not only an unstable atmosphere, but also more toxins, greenhouse gases and water vapor. People should be aware of these true facts, logical arguments and reality and care more, learn from them and do much better. It is never too late to change and improve the world together as humanity in a sustainable way. Negative actions and impacts can be prevented or reduced by nations together. Destroyers and polluters are thus prevented or even stopped from causing further pollution and environmental destruction. They should comply with laws, policies and global development goals on their own of course.
Climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, education, resilience and understanding of the true causes or circumstances should be a priority – as should the regular revision and updating of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Download the complete article here.
Further opinions and statements:
For general understanding, many Change Games and Greening Deserts projects are environmental, educational, scientific, social and truly sustainable developments. Most of them were developed by the founder in his spare time. Many are or were non-commercial and private projects. The Greening Deserts and the Trillion Trees Initiative are still private initiatives and can be transformed into organizations or startups at any time.
Many conservationists, environmentalists, climate and nature activists want to protect species, some even the really important and endangered species. That is commendable and there could be many more of these activists. But it is much more important to save the really critically endangered species and protect them at the same time! Still hardly anyone understands how important species rescue is and how unimportant species protection of unimportant species is – at least in comparison and relation to the rapid species extinction of the truly threatened or critically endangered species. Every gardener is a species conservationist. What good does it do the biosphere, nature and mankind if we save the few species we hear about every day – such as the elephant, tiger, panda and co.. On the other hand, countless, much more important species are dying out every day, including many keystone species on which many other species depend. Unfortunately, there is also a lack of awareness and understanding of the biosphere in terms of biomass and species diversity. All life forms in organic soils, grasslands, wetlands, and global forests, as well as water bodies, which even significantly regulate climate and weather systems, are the main component of the biosphere!
If humans really want to prevent species extinction, they must maintain healthy ecosystems and restore important habitats and landscapes, especially wetlands and real forests. This will allow the atmosphere, biosphere and all parts of nature to recover, naturally regenerate and better self-regulate. The connection between species recovery, species protection, climate protection, environmental protection and biodiversity, biosphere and ecosystem services is often not seen accurately. To this day, many people do not realize that climate protection is also species protection and thus contributes significantly to the preservation of the biosphere – because the biosphere consists of species, i.e. biomass. One of the best ways to protect and save species is to preserve the important habitats of these species and to restore ecosystems through greening, reforestation and species protection camps or similar projects on a global scale. The founder and initiator of Greening Deserts has explained these important issues in several articles and offered innovative solutions with global initiatives or international projects such as the Trillion Trees Initiative.
Another important issue is the lack of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) on so many levels. One example is flood protection through nature-based solutions. It is logical that, for example, after drought years, dry and water-repellent soils make erosion and flooding even more extreme. Another problem is the lack of trees and wetlands that have been destroyed. The problem in Germany is and has been the lack of disaster preparedness and management for extreme weather events such as droughts and floods, DRR should be an established system worldwide. Urban flood protection through additional water reservoirs, waterways and underground reservoirs can also help reduce these risks – similar to the concept of sponge cities. Another problem is the lack of trees and wetlands, which have been destroyed primarily by extreme drainage for agriculture and strip mines. Many important ecosystems such as wetlands have been destroyed as a result, including wet forests, marshes, swamps, and floodplains. Facts and scientific advice on how to protect against land degradation, erosion and prevent flooding through disaster preparedness, nature-based solutions and sustainable water management can be found on the Greening Deserts project pages.
Many people from the climate movement, in governments, and even parts of industry have followed and been inspired by Greening Deserts’ articles and projects – especially the articles, master theses and projects. On the topic of soil improvement and the global greening, a lot of experiences have been gained and many experts have been exchanged about meaningful actions. Since 2017, Greening Deserts recommends desert greening with hemp, desert bamboo and thistles, which loosen the soil to great depths as well as improve the soil overall. Appropriate ground covers or special grasses also protect new tree plantings from drying out. Green manure plants such as special field beans and hemp can quickly build humus-rich topsoil. This even works in drylands and wastelands! Read more in Greening Deserts articles “Hemp toilet paper can reduce deforestation, climate change and global warming” and “Hemp cultivation in open-cast mines for sustainable soil improvement and organic farming with hemp“.
Climate, nature and environmental protection is also species protection.
All suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others when they selfishly seek their own happiness or satisfaction.
Love and compassion are the foundations for world peace – at all levels.
The way to change others’ minds is with affection, not anger.
Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education, knowledge; and through humane ways. – Dalai Lama
Greening Deserts projects have inspired and moved many millions of people to do something for their environment and others who need greener and healthier habitats.
Greening Camps can reduce deforestation, land degradation, desertification and global warming by global greening, conservation as well as promotion of biodiversity, ecosystem restoration and ecological reforestation!
Human ignorance will kill us and all life forms on planet Earth. The only way to prevent this dilemma is more awareness, education, environmental consciousness, respect and tolerance or even understanding.
Mankind does not need to travel to the desert planet Mars, if desertification continues at the current rate, we will have a desert planet Earth in 100 years!
Urban Greening is also Urban Cooling, so Global Greening is Global Cooling. – Oliver Caplikas
Ignorance, the root and the stem of every evil. – Plato
Ignorance, hatred and greed are killing nature. – Masanobu Fukuoka
Ignorance leads to fear, fear leads to hatred, and hatred leads to violence. This is the equation. – Ibn Rushd
It is better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war. – Miyamoto Musashi
Lasting peace cannot be prepared by threats but only by an honest attempt to establish mutual trust.
Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding. – Albert Einstein
The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you know absolutely nothing about. – Dr. Wayne Dyer
The journey of every ignorant and obedient society always ends in the same place: In the desert. – Mehmet Murat Ildan
We can never achieve peace in the outside world until we make peace with ourselves.
Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace. – Dalai Lama
Please support the global greening, peace process and human progress by supporting our sustainable projects and developments. – Greening Desert
The original article draft was written in January and February 2022, the first public version was finished on 21.02.2022.
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Some comments, opinions and statements of Greening Deserts peace-building projects on social pages:
Children’s Rights and Women’s Rights are Human Rights. – DJOGC
@GreeningDeserts projects calling since February for more peace-building communications and negotiations by less provocations,.. support de-escalation and peace diplomacy! #BuildPeace #Humanity #Peace #Solidarity #UniteNations #UN #StopWar #RussiaUkrainePeace #UkraineRussiaPeace
Further pollution and heating of climate and environment by responsible industries and humans leads to more conflicts and crises! Telling these issues since years, offered solutions so many times. #globalcooling #globalgreening #peaceprocess #urbangreening
More nations must continue with war de-escalation diplomatic, logic, reason, humanitarian and cooperation for peace- building! Reasonable and strategic communication to #CreatePeace #Humanity #PeaceBuilding #PeaceProcess #Solidarity #StopWar #RussiaUkrainePeace #UkraineRussiaPeace
International women organizations unite for peace-building in Europe, Ukraine and Russia. Share more words and actions for #PeaceBuilding #UkraineRussiaPeace #RussiaUkrainePeace #PeaceBuilders #PeaceDays #PeaceProcess can #StopWar until April ! #BreakTheBias #WomensDay
Some Important words for real peacebuilding: Peacemaking and peacekeeping women make for a safer world. #BreakTheBias #InternationalWomensDay #InternationalWomensDay2022 #WomensDay International #PeaceBuilding #PeaceMonth #Peace #StopWar #UkraineRussiaPeace #RussiaUkrainePeace
The Greening Deserts and Trillion Trees Initiative’s community supporting the #globalgreening and peace process in Europe, Russia and Ukraine. We humans and nature forces call for peace-building peace speech! A peaceful end to the war is possible this month! #Peace #PeaceMonth #PeaceProcess
The parties and leaders of some European countries do not understand the seriousness of the situation and the coming consequences, as do many news media. First and foremost, emergency prevention, mental health and disaster risk reduction #DRR should be promoted more every day now – on all levels, especially in the media, news and talk shows! – 10-03-2022
There are many chances and ways to peace. But if things escalate by so much human egoisms and ignorance, profiling, provocations and escalations a point of no return can happen. Reason, de-escalation diplomacy, neutrality, honest compromises,.. and apologies for the mistakes on all sides can create trust, understanding,.. and real peace at the end. Many other actions we can see and have seen lead into more conflicts, escalations, suffering and more wars or even rising world war risks!
We need global disarmament, de-escalation and damage limitation, not rearmament, more escalations and provocations. Certain media, nations, politicians and parties are partwise responsible for escalations who made the conflicts more worse and even rises risk of world war danger!
Since February, we have been calling for more health issues, especially to care more about mental health, peace speeches and real or continous solidarity on social media. Unfortunately, not much has happened in this regard to date 15-03-2022. This can be seen just by the hashtags like #UkraineRussiaWar and many similar fear and war-mongering actions in various media. Certain media, people and parties or politicians have even further escalated and worsened the situation – they poured oil on the fire. It is once again the typical symptom fighting problem instead of cause solution and crisis prevention by reasonable de-escalation diplomacy, language or actions, risk minimization, foresighted action and farsightedness. We need more peace speech and less war speech or spreading of war in the digital or media space! Support peace promoting actions like more peace speech and less war speech, hate speech and other destructive or provocative actions that make the situation worse and more worse. By many of the unnecessary actions, provocations and escalations certainly many people have fallen ill and additionally died! In addition the risk of a world war has increased enormously. If the world war and thus nuclear war breaks out, this will probably be the last.
There are many chances and ways to peace. But if things escalate by so much human egoisms and ignorance, provocations and escalations a point of no return can happen. Reason, de-escalation diplomacy, neutrality, honest compromises and apologies for the mistakes on all sides can really solve the conflicts in a sustainable way. Continuous actions to build understanding and trust can additionally accelerate and improve peace developments as well as peace negotiations.
Everyone who ignores that, pushes or shares the war instead of peace speech is also responsible for suffering people, destruction of environment and humanity. Anger and hatred will make everthing worse, so try to prevent it if you can’t or won’t help. Each action, human and life count, to do nothing won’t help to bring back peace! Share and support #PeaceBuilding #PeaceProcess #PeaceSpeech #Solidarity #StopWar #RussiaUkrainePeace #UkraineRussiaPeace
More peace speech and less hate, military or war speech will lead to real and sustainable peace! Share and support more #PeaceActions #PeaceBuilding #PeaceSpeech and not #HateSpeech #WarSpeech or other escalating, corrupted, influenced, manipulated and provocating “war media”. #X
Main problems of the world are pushing or multiplication of war speech, themes and actions in digital, mental and real life. Many media act very one-sided, push war topics and too little peace. If talking about war, don’t forget peace! #PeaceBuilding #PeaceSpeech #PeaceMedia ?!
Political parties and leaders of certain countries have failed to recognize the seriousness of the situation and the consequences, as has much of the news media. The primary concern is emergency prevention, mental health, and reducing the risk of further escalation and disasters.
Support more peace-building peace speeches and real peace actions, not anger-driven, hateful, harmful military or warlike actions and pseudo-solidarity as seen in so many cases. True peace needs understanding, peaceful and healthy action. #PeaceBuilding #PeaceProcess #PeaceSpeech
The only way to real and lasting peace is de-escalation diplomacy, compromise, diplomatic, non-provocative and reasonable communication with all parties. Create honest trust and understanding by reasonable and trustful dialog or exchange. #PeaceBuilding #PeaceKeeping #PeaceSpeech
We need now more as hope, we need people and nations for daily peace-building actions! Other unimportant things we can do later. Think logical and reasonable, all other actions make no sense if actual crisis escalates into world war. #AssistNature #PeaceBuilding #PeaceProcess #UniteForces
Support@GreeningDesertsbiodiversity, conservation, cultural, humanitarian, peace-building, social and sustainable projects for a greener and better world. Share more solidarity for real peace actions. #GlobalGreening #PeaceBuilding #Peace4Ukraine #PeaceSpeech #ReForestation
An international day of forests or trees is too less for all the global forest ecosystems, life forms and people who provide so much healthy air, food, medicine and water. That’s why we start today the first Global Forest Week with daily news and updates. #ForestDays #ForestWeek
#IntlForestDay #ForestDays #FreshWater #WorldWaterDay #WaterDays
Most of the global fresh water comes from forests. World’s waters and weather cycles depend on trees. #TrillionTrees Initiative .. We need water and we need these forests. Wangari Maathai
Unite for #ForestDays #ForestWeek #IntlForestDay.s The death of the forest is the end of our life. – Dorothy Stang The tropical rain forests are a telling example. Once cut down, they rarely recover. Rainfall drops, deserts spread, the climate warms. – James Lovelock loves trees
Forests provide fresh water, clean air, food, habitats, medicine, ecosystem services and much more. #ForestDays #GlobalForests #IntlForestDays #Trees We’ve all got to come together, and we’ve got to protect what’s left of our ancient forests on this planet. – Stella McCartney
#Biodiversity #ForestDays #IntlForestDay #TrillionTrees #WorldWaterDay Protect the forests for those who can’t speak for themselves such as the birds, animals, fish and trees. – Qwatsinas We can learn a lot from the forests, regrowth, change and beauty. – Catherine Pulsifer
Need a sense of peace and relaxation, take a walk through the forest. – Byron Pulsifer Support the #GlobalGreening, #PeaceBuilding and reforestation projects of Greening Deserts and Trillion Trees Initiative. #ForestWeek #PeaceTrees #Peace4Ukraine #Trees4Peace #TrillionTrees
About 75% of crops depend on pollinators, 75% of our freshwater comes from healthy forests, and more than half of the world’s population depends on healthy ecosystems for their livelihoods. #IntlForestDay #ForestDays #WorldWaterDay
Coasts, forests, grasslands, lakes, mountains, rivers, seas and many different ecosystems are connected to forest ecosystems. Trees are one of the main species who have conquered the whole world and nearly all habitats – even in deserts and wetlands like swamps. #Tree #ForestDays
#DesertGreening #GlobalGreening #IntlForestDay #PeaceDay #WorldWaterDay If you go to a desert, you will hear this mysterious voice: Be wise, protect your forests! The journey of every ignorant and obedient society always ends in the same place: In the desert. – M. Murat Ildan
Greening Deserts 1001+ Critically Endangered Tree Species Seed Storage and Tree Cultivation Project. The Trillion Trees Initiative will help to share trees and seeds worldwide in the future, especially in regions where more biodiversity.. #trilliontreesinitiative
Droughts and heat waves of recent years clearly show that the climate crisis has a significant impact on our lives, the environment, consumption and our economy. Climate change adaptation with greening, reforestation and resilient plants, trees or forests can help. #IntlForestDay
The forests are the lungs of the world. – Woody Harrelson We need to protect our forests to protect all of life. – Samantha Lynch What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another. Chris Maser #ForestDay
#GlobalForests #IntlForestWeek #IntlForestDay s #Together4Forests ? https://trilliontrees.medium.com Since years we informed so much responsible organizations or people @ EU, WEF, WWF,.. for support. Until today they ignore our ecological, environmental, non-profit and social projects.
Since years @GreeningDeserts and Trillion Trees Initiative called several officials, organizations and institutions to stop further harm from injurious subsidies – especially in Africa, Americas and South Asia! Don’t burn forests, build! #EcoForestry ?! https://twitter.com/TrillionTreesEU
Share if you really care #Biodiversity #ForestDays #GlobalForests #IntlForestDay s #IntlForestWeek The cutting of primeval forest and other disasters, fueled by the demands of growing human populations, are the overriding threat to biological diversity everywhere. – E.O. Wilson
Nature-near boreal forests can have much biodiversity, many tree species like coniferous and deciduous trees, diverse plants like herbs, shrubs, grasses, and species of fungi, lichens, insects, animals and.. #BorealForest #ForestDays #IntlForestDay #TrillionTrees #WorldWaterDay
#Biodiversity #ForestDays #GlobalForestWeek #IntlForestDay s To be without trees would, in the most literal way, to be without our roots. – Richard Mabey We’ve all got to come together, and we’ve got to protect what’s left of our ancient forests on this planet. – Stella McCartney
#ForestDay #TrillionTrees Forests are the flags of nature. They appeal to all and awaken inspiring universal feelings. Enter the forest and the boundaries of nations are forgotten. It may be that some time an immortal pine will be the flag of a united peaceful world. E.A. Mills
Organizations, people and especially politicians talk a lot about tree planting, forests and reforestation – most of them have never planted a single tree or only for profiling. #ForestDay #ForestFacts #TreeFacts #GlobalForestDay #IntlForestDay #WorldForestDay s #WorldWaterDays
Greening Camps and the Trillion Trees Initiative for biodiversity conservation, ecological education, ecosystem restoration, reforestation, environmental and species protection camps can reduce deforestation, global warming and mass extinction. #EndangeredSpecies #TrillionTrees
Some nice African quotes to International Forest Day. Trees we plant today are forests we enjoy tomorrow. – Matshona Dhliwayo. Until you dig a hole, you plant a tree, you water it and make it survive, you haven’t done a thing. You are just talking. – Wangari Maathai #ForestDay
I know there is pain when sawmills close and people lose jobs, but we have to make a choice. We need water and we need these forests. – Wangari Maathai Support African efforts to reduce coal and wood burning! Solar heating, lights and renewable energy generation @GreeningDeserts
The Greening Camps and Trillion Trees Initiatives can plant diverse trees and endangered tree species to support biodiversity conservation and real forests. We can support forest owners with advises for #agroforestry, #biodiversity #ecoforestry and real sustainable reforestation!
We recommend to upgrade monoculture tree plantations or “forests” with more diverse plant and tree species. It’s possible to add so many useful species from real and healthy forests, involve botanists, conservationists, biodiversity and ecosystem experts! #EFCM #biodiverseforests
God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools. – John Muir Humanity is cutting down its forests, apparently oblivious to the fact that we may not be able to live without them..
For years we recommended the use of hemp and rice straw for feed pellets. You can also use rice straw pellets for clean cooking and heating! Many households have pellet heating, they are efficient, optimized and relatively sustainable. #food #hemp #feedpellets #ricestraw #pellets
Humanity should not remain insensitive to the forest fire or wildfire every year. Unless we act, the loss of biodiversity and extinction of herbs, birds and animals and the pains of the trees, birds, animals and the poor is also alarming signal for the extinction… – Amit Ray
Remember Forest Lawn Memorial Park at Hollywood Hills in Southern California? It would be great if the Academy Awards or Oscars 2022 showed a little more respect for America’s ancestors, environment, forests and history. #Hollywood plant trees for a #Hollyforest #MemorialForest?
The Trillion Trees Initiative will start a special campaign and tree planting actions to create a memorial forest for the victims of the war in East Europe and European Russia. Let’s plant a tree for everyone who died by the war in Ukraine. Plant trees for #Peace #Trees4Peace !
Do Hollywood and Oscar Celebrations care the world’s forests? Maybe plant some trees for a new wood or even a Hollywoods forest to remember the history or roots of art, culture, environment? #Academy #Awards #BollyWood #ForestDays #ForestWeek #HolyWood #HollyWood #Oscars #woods
Hemp can help to improve air, climate, soil and water quality. Hemp plants supporting biodiversity and saving forests. Hemp paper products can reduce climate change effects like deforestation, desertification and global warming. #Hanf #Hanfpapier #hemppaper #hemp #trees #cannabis
Rewet, restore, reforest and regreen worldwide ecosystems is a mission of the upcoming global greening and ecosystem restoration camps, especially in Africa, Europe and MENA region! #drylands #wastelands #wetlands #DesertGreening #GreeningMENA #ReGreening #ReForest #TrillionTrees
#ForestDay #IntlForestDay #WorldForestDay s We must protect the forests for our children, grandchildren and children yet to be born. We must protect the forests for those who can’t speak for themselves such as the birds, animals, fish and trees. Qwatsinas, Native Nuxalk Nation
We want to support African and European nations to plant diverse fruit and native trees. Three greening camp and tree nursery projects for millions of trees are running, including important native plant species. #biodiversity #conservation #palmforest #palmtrees #treespecies
@GreeningDeserts.com informed officials of Germany and EU about climate change effects, global warming, deforestation, desertification, droughts, floods, soil degradation,.. since 2016! Sad that they ignored advice to reduce and avoid some of these risks. #AI #EE #DRR #Greening
Replying to @Greening_Camp
Very interesting, thanks for sharing! Nature near and green places or spaces for better biodiversity, conservation can be established by more wild meadows, wild flower beds, botanical garden sections, parks and city biotopes. #UrbanGreening #UrbanForest #UrbanTrees #raisedbeds
It shows that the world’s cities need much more biodiversity, nature-near forest ecosystems, natural places, spaces and trees. Urban Greening means also creating blue or freshwater habitats #UrbanForests #UrbanTrees #UrbanGreening #IntlForestDay #WorldForestDay #WorldWaterDay s
Greening Deserts started the Greening MENA project to reduce desertification and land degradation by sustainable desalination, irrigation, greening and reforestation especially in North Africa. #GreeningMENA #GM #GreatGreenWall #NorthAfrica #TrillionTrees
Greening Deserts projects like the Greening Camps can support agrophotovoltaic, floating solar, greentech, water and wind energy in each region were we start with greening and reforestation. It will improve biodiversity, protect soils and water reservoirs. #DesertGreening
Greening Deserts projects will improve the climate and reduce global warming in a large scale. @EnergyStoragePR #CleanTech #EE #EnergyStoragePark #GreenTech #GreeningCamp #GreeningDrone #GreenhouseShip #GreeningCoasts #SciencePark #SolarPark #TrillionTrees #WaterPark #WindPark
We will start another global forest week in future. What sounds better for you, a Global, International or World Forest Week? Share constructive feedback and interesting tweets in the comments if you want. #ForestWeek #GlobalForestWeek #InternationalForestWeek #WorldForestWeek
Since years we call Europe or EU to do more for biodiversity in forests and for more resilient forest ecosystems. @GreeningDeserts.com To be without trees would, in the most literal way, to be without our roots. Richard Mabey #European #ForestDay #ForestWeek #IntlForestDay s ?
Men and women, people and institutions, organizations or even nations show courage and solidarity. You have good ideas about trees or forests to share for the Global Forest Week? Scroll down and tweet in the comments. #ForestDays #ForestWeek #GlobalForestWeek #GFW #IntlForestWeek
A tree has roots in the soil yet reaches to the sky. It tells us that in order to aspire we need to be grounded and that no matter how high we go it is from our roots that we draw sustenance. – Wangari Maathai – African Forest Week #ForestDay #IntlForestDay s #ForestWeek Africa?
Regreen and revive soils with bamboo, grass, hemp, or other soil-improving plants. Saving rainwater and using seawater for sustainable irrigation will improve tree plantings and healthy forests. Composting and mineral fertilizers can accelerate the plant growth. @GreeningDeserts
Each day should be #IntlForestDay #PeaceDay #WorldWaterDay ! When humanity really understands these connections or links, the importance of real nature, forests, peace and water, we will all enter a new era of human progress. A world of developers, explorers and space explorers.
Today we finish the Global Forest Week we started on the International Day of Forests. If you have good ideas about biodiversity, conservation, nature, forests and trees you can share it in the comments! #ForestDay #IntlForestDay s #ForestWeek #GlobalForestWeek 21-28 March 2022
An international day of forests or trees is too less for all the global forest ecosystems, life forms and people who provide so much healthy air, food, medicine and water. That’s why we start today the first Global Forest Week with daily news and updates. #ForestDays #ForestWeek
Greening Deserts Trillion Trees Initiative started the first Global Forest Week on the International Day of Forests and World Water Day to show the importance of biodiversity, healthy forest ecosystems and fresh water. #DesertForest.org #IntlForestDay #WorldWaterDay #WetForest.org
You want support biodiversity, real sustainable tree planting and forest actions, reduce droughts and urban heat islands effects? Follow and share Greening Deserts projects @TrillionTreesEU @TrillionTreesIn #TreePlanting #Together4Forests #UrbanForest #UrbanTrees #ReForestation
Greening Deserts Projekte fordern seit 2016 mehr Artenschutz, Artenvielfalt, Klimaschutz, Umweltschutz,.. in Deutschland und Europa! @TrillionTreesEU #Artenschutz #Auen #Biodiversität #Feuchtwald #Feuchtgebiete #Klimaschutz #Moorschutz #Stadtwald #Umweltschutz #Waldtag #Waldwoche
Facts and scientific advice on flood protection and prevention with disaster risk reduction, nature-based solutions and sustainable water management. #coalexit #conversion #DRR #forests #greening #masterplan #mining #restore #wetlands #Tagebau #Feuchtwald
You can download the latest article and updates here: Global Greening Deserts Trillion Trees Initiative Climate Emergency, Peace Building and Species Rescue Update
The founder of the Leipzig palm startup and Urban Greening Camp for greening and vertical farming developed a world innovation to improve urban habitats. This innovation called ‘Energy Storage Tree‘ can reduce costs of tree planting in cities and generally make urban greening more efficient and cost-effective. It involves innovative, mobile, modular, energy- and water-saving raised bed systems. Extensive concepts have been developed for initial energy storage raised bed systems. These mobile and modular raised bed systems for sustainable recreation, energy and water storage will make urban regions, large cities, small towns but also rural areas more livable. In fact, the raised beds can also be placed in village squares, tram or train stations and bus stops. Several innovations are combined in one general raised bed system and charging station. Energy and water storage enables sustainable and environmentally friendly operation. Ecological components, durability and low maintenance allows very efficient and long operation for decades – at least with minor corrections or repairs every few years. More details on the most important points will follow on the social and project pages. A comprehensive description of the basic concept and the standard variant were already published in August 2021.
The raised bed system is an energy storage station, a space or place to relax and recharge the batteries. The raised bed is equipped with small-growing tree species up to 5m. The special construction and processing of weather-resistant woods allow a long standing time, of course, it varies depending on the stand and location. The stability is increased by extra reinforced outer walls and inner walls with squared lumber in the corners, it is just taken usual measures for stabilization as it is common for raised bed construction. Due to the scalability, it can also be planted with many flowers, bushes, herbs and special shrubs or larger trees. The raised bed provides enough space and sufficient watering for the plants to grow well, also by good energy and atmosphere.
The standard dimensions for the standard design of the basic raised bed construction is 1.20×1.20×1.20m. The minimum basic or standard equipment consists of a mobile raised bed with foldable, robust and weather-resistant wooden benches or painted chipboard. If possible, the woods are treated with ecological or environmentally friendly varnishes or oils. The benches have a small angle of inclination towards the raised bed, so that rainwater can flow into the raised bed through latticed openings. All the inner sides of the raised bed are lined with pond liner and there are holes at the bottom as is common with large pots or planters. Below the raised bed there is an extra tray to catch rainwater. Excess water can drain down the side via drains a few inches above the bottom tray to prevent waterlogging in the raised bed, but at the same time water is available at the bottom for larger plants such as trees or shrubs. The lower compartment is accessible, the water can be drained at any time via a closable drain or water can be taken out for watering. The lowest side of the raised bed is extra reinforced with a solid plate, and is attached with rotating rollers with platforms made of metal or steel. Alternatively, a prefabricated rolling board can be attached at the bottom. These constructions provide extra stability and tilting of the raised bed becomes very unlikely, even with the simple standard variant, the raised bed stands firmly and stably. Due to the weight of the tree and the soil, the benches can be well loaded.
The extended standard variant contains three water reservoirs in the outer walls. One side has closable openings and extra compartments, the spaces between them are about 10-25cm wide, depending on the variant. The dimensions as well as designs are generally variable. Wide, high, rectangular or square raised beds can be made. Wide raised beds are suitable for shallow rooted plants and high ones for deep rooted plants. The benches or solar benches are set at about 50-60cm, so all people regardless of size can sit comfortably. Depending on the application, budget and location, smaller or larger raised bed systems are possible. Various casters can be attached or even replaced at the bottom of the solid top, depending on weight and size. Casters with locks and stoppers are available, or no casters for permanent and long-term installations. More details and sketches are in the utility model, concept and design papers.
Modular functions of the mobile raised bed allow a wide variation and a lot of additional applications. Lockable compartments and flaps provide access to spaces on the sides, for example, to perform cleaning, remove drains or add special fertilizer, mineral and water mixtures. The idea of give and take is harmoniously combined with the raised bed system. The spaces for the water storage tanks and lockable compartments for the modules are easily accessible and watertight. The modules such as adapters, energy storage, climate station and measuring devices are interchangeable – the latter are good for analyzing the tree or other plants, for example. The data can be retrieved, various devices and e-bikes can be charged via adapters. An expansion of the raised bed to include a mobile climate station for the city and regional climate would be conceivable, so like a connection to the power grid. The raised bed system will support the transition towards climate-neutral, greener and smarter cities and urban habitats. Sustainability and environmental awareness is additionally trained by the raised bed. The raised beds are also a meeting point for young people, pupils and students to get inspired by nature-based solutions and ideas. The raised bed system encourages raised bed construction at universities, schools and in school gardens.
Background on the sustainable and ecological developments
Ecological and recycled materials are preferred for raised bed construction. Inexpensive variants can even be realized with simple pallets or chipboard. These are previously oiled, painted or impregnated, as well as lined with pond liner so that they last for many years.
It took months and years to develop, studying raised beds and urban trees from around the world. The basic idea was born in 2017 and matured during the last months, the main reason and intention from the beginning was to make city tree planting more affordable, because especially in western countries like Germany a planting of a city tree can cost up to 3000 euros or even more – worldwide the price in big cities is at least around 1000 dollars. This was also one of the reasons to develop a mobile raised bed system which can reduce the price worldwide to far below 1000 dollars, depending on the country and material costs even below 300!
A raised bed for trees can of course also be realized with used barrels, rain barrels or IBC containers. This is especially suitable for communities and cities with little money, similar to poor regions in Africa or places with great poverty and poor soils. For this purpose, trees can even be kept for a few years in large sturdy garbage bags, as is done in some nurseries or tree plantations in developing countries.
The pattern of the simple standard variant of the raised bed system serves as a model for all cities in the world and is at the same time a good example for public use. More efficient and sustainable greening, resources and energy use is possible in the long run with different variants of the energy storage raised bed system. There is also some space under the raised bed, for example for stones. The concept and some design variants have been further developed by the Urban Greening Network project developer and founder of the new Leipzig palm startup since 2020. In August, final designs and excerpts from the general concept were published on various platforms and made available to the international community.
The world’s first nursery and vertical farming startup for endangered tree species was started by the Leipzig Palms and Urban Greening Camp project. The urban gardening company is connected with the scientific and private project for vertical farming. It is an ongoing project development until we expand into bigger halls of the building and start with the urban farming facilities for special herbs and vegetables. First we have to test a lot of vertical farming and lighting systems. We will keep you updated here and on the other official pages and channels.
There are also good news during the crisis, such as the creation of a successful startup for urban greening, green and clean technologies combined with innovation and knowledge management. Urban agriculture and vertical farming as well as plant cultivation with hydroponics is traded by futurologists as the future of agriculture. This was also a reason to develop an extra Urban Greening Camp in Leipzig years ago and to build it up since 2020. In the run-up, the first tree and plant species have already been cultivated, including particularly endangered species. Herbs and medicinal plants will be cultivated in further grow rooms which are in preparation. There is actual no vertical farming company worldwide who combines biodiversity conservation, urban farming, tree cultivation and species protection. It is also a model project and pilot for various innovative developments — for a more ecological farming and sustainable forestry worldwide, we call it Ecosystem Restoration Systems. #ecorestorsys
Urban Greening Camp vertical farming startup example for endangered trees.
The greening camps will cultivate many native plants and important trees for agriculture and forestry. Cities will be supplied through home improvement stores and garden centers. The camps will simultaneously serve education and training, development and research. Urban and vertical farming is being taken very seriously in some major Asian cities, and complete greenhouse buildings (Urban / Vertical Farming Towers) are even being planned. With sufficient support, we can also realize a vertical greenhouse over several floors in Leipzig. The Urban Greening Camp will not only cultivate plants under artificial light, but also with direct daylight. Innovative solutions and developments in the field of aquaponics, hydroponics and optics will be developed and tested – barrels, canisters and water tanks are already available. A suitable building has already been occupied, and initial talks have been held with the owner. It is not just about endangered tree species, vegetables or a few herbs, but about professional greenhouse facilities, storage and logistic systems – which are also needed for some important species conservation projects. The Urban Greening Camp is a center for biodiversity and species conservation, not only locally or regionally but internationally! Many species conservationists, conservation organizations, botanists, botanical gardens and environmentalists have already been informed and invited. Berlin and Leipzig has many flat roofs, these should be used much more for rooftop greening and roof gardens.
The Urban Greening Camp and Leipzig Palm Project is a platform for cultural, socio-economic and scientific exchange, online as well as directly on site. Active participants are welcome to join the innovative developments and projects. The garden market and tree nursery will cultivate not only palms, but also other important plants such as herbs, ethnobotanical and medicinal plants. Endangered tree species and important flowering plants for bees are also in the program. Permaculture, urban farming, community and urban gardening are not just trendy terms, they are global movements that can make cities more livable and environmentally friendly. In principle, the allotment garden movement which started with the poor gardens and allotments in the 19th century is the first urban gardening movement. For years we have been supporting the movement and cities on urban greening issues. Kindergartens, schools and universities also have the possibility to establish allotment gardens on their premises, talked with a lot of people about how to establish more horticulture, community and rooftop gardens in inner cities.
Green roofs and rooftop solar applications are together possible, so like community and rooftop gardens.
Since 2016, the founder of Greening Deserts has been developing projects such as the greening and research camps for sustainable reforestation, greening, green and clean technologies (cleantech and greentech). Species protection, climate protection, nature conservation, environmental protection and especially sustainable actions as well as economic activities are important tasks of the future ventures. Ecological education and environmentally conscious actions are also important points on the Global Greening Agenda developed by Oliver Caplikas together with colleagues from the EU and UN over the years. The international Greening Act and the new Green Deal have already been successfully implemented in some countries. It is about an honest and conscientious transformation of environmentally harmful economic sectors, the reduction of global overproduction and the improvement of consumption and environmental awareness of societies and the world population as a whole. That is why many innovative projects have been founded over the years, successful campaigns and initiatives have been carried out worldwide. Many people and organizations got inspired and followed the good example.
The crisis has set back some developments and projects, but brought others forward. Like the new Urban Greening project in Leipzig, which is currently focusing on innovative plant cultivation, storage and cooling systems – especially with regard to green building, sustainable architecture, energy storage and economical water management. All of this will be incorporated into future vertical farming solutions and systems that will be developed at the Urban Greening Camp. Solar, wind and water energy applications will play a crucial role. A research facility on a larger roof could show that green roofs and solar systems are possible at the same place and time, for which the Agrovoltaik project was founded. Another important topic is the education and increased promotion of facade solar systems, hydrogen energy storage, transparent solar technologies and Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT). Very interesting in this context is the combination of highly efficient processes for hydrogen production from solar and wind energy. It is so innovative like facade greening and solar facades for cooling and heat storage. Energy efficiency and energy storage plays a special role in the urban cooling and urban greening process. Insulation materials made of hemp and hemp wood are further innovations that are being promoted particularly strongly in Canada and Austria. Germany should not lose touch in many respects.
Another good urban vertical farming example to produce healthy food – depends on light, minerals, substrate and water quality.
The founder has informed many international institutions and universities about the potentials, especially in the field of building technology and energy storage solutions. In the future, buildings could be efficient energy storage devices and decentralized power plants; it is the future of a truly sustainable energy economy and more economical use of natural resources. Facade greening and photovoltaic facades can also protect against high heat and store heat. Urban greening in general can help cool cities and, of course, provides fresh air. More light-colored surfaces, such as lighter asphalt and concrete are also a good option; in New York and other cities, roofs have already been painted white to cool buildings. Greening cities and urban regions is key to urban cooling and thus global cooling.
We invite interested investors, strong partners and sponsors to join the further project development. In late summer, the first round and official meeting of interested parties will take place. Representatives of the city of Leipzig, Halle, Dresden, Berlin, Hamburg and other interested cities are also invited. We are looking forward to a successful start of the new startup and a greener future. Check also Greening Deserts other innovative projects like the Greenhouse and Recycling Ship! Together with other Startups we develop(ed) mobile greenhouse solutions so like greenhouse, solar and water containers which can collect and filter rainwater. We want to establish desalinization plants and applications for coastal greening and reforestation. Years ago we published some great concepts to use nature-based solutions like bamboo for loosen hard soils, to filter sea water and to improve the groundwater levels. @ #ecofarming #ecoforestry #ecorestorsys #greeningcoasts
Some more important points and summer updates:
The Leipzig Palms project and Urban Greening Camp is the world’s first nursery and vertical farming startup for indoor arboriculture and endangered tree species! Herbs and medicinal plants are cultivated in further grow rooms. We will use innovative cleantech, greentech and vertical farming techniques for tree cultivation and plant breeding of important plants.
There is no other vertical farming company worldwide who combines biodiversity, conservation, cleantech, greening, greentech, tree cultivation and urban farming. Welcome to the future of arboriculture!
The Urban Greening Camp, nursery and vertical farming startup for endangered tree species saving much energy, place, time, water and other resources by innovative management and real sustainable solutions.
The indoor farming startup in Leipzig works on the next room for critically endangered tree species, herbs and seed storage. Vertical farming will reach new dimensions with cleantech and greentech developments.
The vertical farming company office and workshop are connected with a large corridor to the other rooms and the main hall. The next room for critical endangered tree species is in progress. There are much more rooms, halls and floors in the building we can use in future – or we move to another similar building.
More classic and modern plant growing systems with good soils and substrates will be tested together with new grow lights and hydroponic systems. Manufacturers and sponsors are welcome to send us their products for testing and presentation.
We will test new light systems, not just LED, LEC, HID and CFL lights with optimal light for each plant or tree species and phases of growth — we call it the right light management. Lasers, robotics, sensors and webcams will improve the vertical farming results in future.
You are also welcome to visit the official business and social networks on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, and…
Big thanks to the colleagues from Max Planck Society, New York and Toronto University for showing some support during the years — thanks going also to all the other institutions and organizations who don’t ignored the information letter. To all interested parties, welcome on board! You are always welcome to visit the camp in future. Your friend of nature from Leipzig in Saxony, Germany. Oliver G. Caplikas
Since 2018, new records have been set in terms of droughts, hottest months and driest years in centuries. The drought, heat and pests have been affecting the forests more and more since 2019 and unfortunately there is no improvement in sight in 2020 either. In Germany there was the most severe forest damage in over 200 years. Fires and storms have greater effects, because of the large amount of damaged wood and the tree damage, there are more problems with pests and fungal attack. Fine dust and environmental toxins from agriculture give many plants and animals the rest, especially insects such as bees suffer from environmental destruction. Air pollution, insecticides and pesticides are not only a danger for bees, they also endanger many other species, especially in areas of agriculture and livestock farms. Many of the typical trees and forests in forestry are monocultures and conifers such as douglas firs, spruces, pines, larches and firs – unfortunately they do not offer much nectar. Almost 80 percent of the conifers were felled because of damage. At just under 70 percent, the proportion of damaged wood in 2019 was more than three times as high as in 2010. As already described in the article on the Leipzig Oak Park of Diversity project, even strong tree species such as oaks are affected. Whether from pests, powdery mildew or drought stress, the plants suffer very badly from drought. Like many deciduous trees, oaks are deep-rooted, which draw water from the lower soil layers. What they don’t need themselves, they release closer to the surface. This makes oak a good soil regulator, for example through its pronounced symbioses with microorganisms and fungi. Oaks and other robust trees suffer from climate change, as do many people and animals. Damage to trees and forests is not only caused by fire, drought and heat waves, but also by fungus, pests, snow breaks, storms, floods and environmental toxins – as well as air and water pollution.
There are around four billion hectares of forest on earth. There are around 60,000 tree species worldwide and over 10,000 of them are threatened with extinction. According to an assessment by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), more than half of European tree species are endangered. Of the approximately 450 tree species, 265 do not occur on any other continent. More than 150 species are threatened, 66 species are at the highest level of endangerment and therefore close to extinction. In total, more than 28,000 animal and plant species are listed as endangered worldwide. These are data and statistics from recent years and some of the figures are already out of date, especially after the massive droughts and forest fires. It can be assumed that many more species are now threatened and in some regions even extinct.
According to climate research, long-term studies and weather experts, extreme drought is becoming normal in Europe in summer. In spring there is also a lack of water for healthy plant growth in many places around the world. The soils and forests can hold less water because the important reservoirs are not only dried out but damaged, i.e. the storage capacity is reduced and in some cases reduced for years. If middle and deeper soil layers harden, humus layers decay to dust or are destroyed, even a lot of rain does not help at first. It then takes years of moderate rain and much plant growth until these soil layers are loosened and watered again. Trees, hedges and other plants that can form complex, strong and deep roots need a few years to loosen middle and deep soil layers. Many plants lose branches, leaves and fruit during a drought or extreme drought. The proportion of trees with significant crown thinning increased to about 35 percent in 2019. If the trees and plants are generally weakened, they are more susceptible to parasites and other pests such as bark beetles, jewel beetles and processionary moth. In most cases, the damaged wood cannot remain in the forest. Much of this wood is not suitable for wood processing or high-quality products for the construction and furniture industries. Often the only option left is to process it into inferior wood products such as chipboard or wood pellets. A lot of damaged wood has been coming onto the market since 2018 and the price of wood has collapsed dramatically, the forecasts for 2021 and 2022 do not look any better. There is currently so much wood per year that would normally be enough for three years or more. The forest and wood industries are recording massive losses, and even cheap oak is already being sold as firewood. Forest companies and forest owners will have to work for a long time to compensate and repair the damage of recent years.
Future challenges, conflicts, wars and crises because of the worldwide water availability and water supply
The water reserves in the soil are becoming increasingly scarce, the soils are becoming drier overall. It has been relatively dry in Germany since 2015. The past two years exceeded the previous record drought of 1976. At that time it was exceptionally dry for five years and some tree species were replaced or supplemented by drought-resistant species such as hornbeam, service tree and field maple. But the adaptation of forests to the crisis and forest restructuring makes no sense if the groundwater will levels sink, lakes, rivers and water reservoirs partially dry up. Dry periods in winter are also a big problem, because when there is no snow there is much less water due to the melting of snow. The problem has been known for a long time, for example the lack of water supply due to the disappearance of glaciers and large areas of snow or ice. When mountains and oceans absorb more sun, the planet heats up even faster, especially at the North Pole. Fires and very hot times in northern areas of Russia also accelerate the thawing of the permafrost soil. Similar to the largest share of the greenhouse gas methane from agriculture or livestock farming, methane is released by the decomposition of the thawed biomass. As this happens in a very short time, the atmosphere, biosphere and weather systems cannot simply compensate for this, resulting in extreme climate changes and an increase in extreme weather conditions. For some years now, climate researchers have been able to prove the connection between extreme drought and severe flooding. In the meantime, there have been several fires, droughts and floods of the century, not only in Germany and Europe – but unfortunately also in Africa, America, Asia and India.
According to various surveys, around 80 percent are very concerned about the persistent drought. In France, Poland, the Czech Republic and other European countries, the spring was marked by low rainfall this year. French forests are very much endangered by the drought years and the hot summer of 2019. It was one of the deadliest heat waves in all of Europe, killing thousands of humans. The harmful effects of the droughts can be clearly seen on satellite images, many brown and gray fields in Europe and many large cities such as Berlin are affected. It affects especially regions in the north and east, in principle all federal states are affected. The cities in particular need more greenery, as they can heat up much more as the surrounding area. What you see more and more often are dry meadows, trees and bushes. The parks and water areas are therefore just as important as the greening of roofs and facades. The soil moisture, the total groundwater level and the groundwater levels in different regions of Germany are too low, at least in relation to normal amounts of precipitation and water levels. In April 2020, there was far too little rainfall in almost all federal states; the states of Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia were particularly affected. The soil moisture in the topsoil and total soil is simply too little for many plants. Due to the lack of water available to plants, drought stress or water stress quickly occurs. The photosynthesis of the plants and the growth decrease. If the usable soil water continues to fall, plant water stress occurs and the plants begin to dry up.
The drought monitor of the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research showed that the total soil in large parts of Germany was characterized by extreme to extraordinary drought in April and midsummer 2020. Similar to the drought monitor from the Environmental Research Center in Leipzig, there is also a research project in Switzerland called Drought CH or Trockenheit.ch, where information on the current situation is shown. The colleagues also summarize a lot of interesting data from the last few years. Such information is becoming more and more important, especially if conflicts over water resources increase in the future, whether in the energy industry for cooling or in agriculture for agricultural irrigation. It affects many European countries. If the water reserves become increasingly scarce, conflicts of use over water resources can be intensified considerably. The use of water, water resources and water management must become more economical or more sustainable so that there is not another water crisis in the next few years. Using ponds, water towers and underground water reservoirs to collect rainwater makes more and more sense, especially when you consider that around 80 percent of all irrigation throughout Germany is done with groundwater. An increasing demand for water from agriculture contrasts with other usage interests and problems, such as the public supply of drinking water, over 70 percent of which is obtained from groundwater. In addition, forests consume a lot of groundwater in dry times, this can affect rivers and other waters. The drought year 2018 and 2019 severely dried out many soils and water reservoirs, to compensate this it takes many years of rain above the usual annual average. Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony are the federal states with the lowest rainfall. Specific figures can be found on the relevant weather portals and statistics pages.
Forest dieback, desertification and expanding deserts in Europe
Due to the third year of drought in a row, there will also be considerable problems for the plant world in winter and spring 2020, as many soils and plants will not be able to recover so easily under these extreme conditions. The garden, park and forest maintenance is therefore more important than ever this year, every citizen should lend a hand in his spare time, even if it are just a few buckets of water for the tree in front of the door or some irrigation for bushes, hedges or trees at the streets. Unfortunately, awareness of sustainable use and the problem of water waste is still not taken seriously. The production of one kilo of beef requires around 15,000 liters of water, pork almost 6,000 and chicken 4,300 liters. The average water footprint in Germany is 3,900 liters per person per day. This figure includes the amount of water that is used for the production of consumed food and goods in one’s own country, but also the water that is needed, for example, for the manufacture of clothing or electrical appliances abroad. This also applies to ‘more ecological’ electric cars, which unfortunately are still made with a lot of coal, plastic and oil. The coal electricity for car production and rail traffic alone is astronomical.
2019 was the hottest year in the history of Europe, according to scientific findings, with the drought year 2018 and the drought summer 2020, it is now the worst drought in a row for 250 years. The droughts and heat waves of recent years clearly show that the climate crisis is having a significant impact on our lives, the environment, consumption and our economy. An adaptation of the plants to the more extreme climate occurs naturally, but should be supported and improved by sustainable strategies of climate change adaptation. This should not only apply to crops or to livestock, but also especially to endangered species. The selfish nature, way of life and work in certain areas of society and industry, such as fossil energy, monotonous agriculture and forestry, is harming the environment. Selfishness, ignorance and little will to change in the direction of sustainability, nature and environmental protection have produced a destructive chemical industry, energy industry, aviation, shipping, heavy industry, monoculture agriculture and monotonous forestry.
The biodiversity, soil and water quality have suffered extremely, valuable landscapes and habitats have been destroyed or have been lost due to rigorous greed for profit and environmental degradation. If things continue like this, even regardless of the climate crisis, there will soon be no more fertile land, only dust and desert. Greening Deserts Climate analyses and long-term studies, in coordination with international climate researchers and climate models, have repeatedly confirmed an increase in extreme weather conditions – even before the drought years or floods of the century, as in Europe and India in 2018 and 2019. There have been several warnings that extreme droughts and floods will become more frequent in Europe, initially in southern Europe and, with further drought years, also in central Europe. This has now even been confirmed in a study by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig. Now all we need are realistic solutions and feasibility studies to counteract these extremely rapid changes. A wind of change is blowing.
Usually the jet stream with the high and low pressure areas moves from west to east and brings Central Europe a mix of sun, clouds and rain. However, with the accelerated climate change, the high pressure areas tend to persist for weeks over some European regions in summer. As a result, there are long heat waves and droughts, in the low-pressure areas there are more frequent heavy rain and floods. Various temperature and heat records have been set over the years, in 2020 there were many cold summer nights and very large temperature fluctuations. Due to the many dry and windy days, the drought has increased overall. The logging caused by wind and storm damage amounted to 18.5 million cubic meters in 2018. That is four times as much compared to the previous year. There are many forest fires because the soil and top layers with branches, leaves or needles are very dry. The risk of fire is also very high for agriculture, especially when dry fields catch fire, for example from careless drivers and smokers or from broken glass. A field fire, forest fire or forest fire is no fun because it can spread to settlements.
In many German cities there is a state of emergency, as the asphalt and concrete deserts often heat up more than the surrounding areas can quickly reach heat records of over 40 degrees. Many people, animals and plants die. In the Frankfurt metropolitan area, thousands of dead trees will probably have to be felled due to the weeks of drought and heat in the midsummer 2020. Particularly in the driest areas of Germany, many villages and towns are affected by the tree death. Due to the drought stress and plant water stress that has damaged and weakened the plants over the years, a relatively short heat phase is enough to give the plants the rest, then often watering them does not help. On the contrary, too much water at once can even damage the plants, for example if the plant cannot absorb much water due to a large part of dried up leaves, there is then a risk of accelerated root rot at the high temperatures, which can occur more often with tap water and dried out roots. If many of the deeper soil layers have completely dried out, the water cannot drain off properly, and waterlogging then forms in some places. Gardeners and plant experts know the problem. So if possible use rainwater and then not too much at once, preferably over a large area and spread over a few evenings. If the soil is not too hard, you can put drainage in some places with a pointed stick. If the soil is slightly damp overall, the rainwater can then penetrate better into deeper layers and root areas.
Climate change knows no borders, large parts of Europe are affected by drought and water scarcity. We need an adaptation and improvement of the water management or regulation as soon as possible in order to secure the public drinking water and industrial water supply in the long term. The fear of the consequences of a third year of drought is great, especially if the water table drops, entire rivers and lakes dry up. The drought threatens historical gardens and even well-known parks, the drought also has an indirect effect on all plant growth in the area. Only if the spread of healthy and relatively wild nature is promoted by favorable conditions nature as a whole can recover and regenerate. In the case of monoculture agriculture and monotonous forestry, this is difficult, but not impossible. Some consequences can only be felt years later, as environmental and weather systems sometimes react very slowly. It is similar to the nitrate or slurry problem, where in some extreme cases the groundwater wil be polluted over the years.
Really serious consequences for agriculture are still to come, probably in the years 2025 to 2030. From 2013 to 2015 there have been massive changes in global weather systems and cycles. Many of these changes also occur gradually and over long periods of time, so they cannot be seen as clearly as the consequences of a drought summer. So that you can really change something sustainably and positively, you should think in time windows of over 10 years or even decades. It is frightening to see even natural mixed forests which are suffering from climate change. The drought years even have a strong impact on humid areas, as the groundwater level often falls due to the long dry periods. Wetlands and bogs can dry out, which increases the likelihood of bog and forest fires. In addition, there are the problems of peat extraction and the drainage of landscapes for agriculture. The diverse forest conversion and the expansion of wetlands such as floodplains and moors must finally be given priority. Many nature reserves, national parks, natural regions and near-natural landscape protection areas should be expanded and connected, if possible for example with flower strips and wild meadows. Protected areas in nature and landscape protection should also be expanded and include urban regions and larger city parks or city forests. Special wilderness biotopes for a relatively free development of really ’natural nature’ should be made possible in the protected areas. Because nature is not the same as nature, at least according to the understanding of society and people.
Soil quality and healthier soils through more ecological forestry and sustainable agriculture, as well as better water management, are important to mitigate the negative consequences and effects of climate change. The already often mentioned building up of humus, cultivation of deep-rooting plants, soil improvement and green manure plants can contribute significantly to soil formation and improvement of the overall soil. Protective layers with ground cover and wildflower meadows can protect the soil in particularly hot and dry times. The principle applies, just let it grow and support nature in the development of biodiversity with natural seeds. Naturally with suitable species depending on the region and vegetation zone, i.e. suitable plants of / for mountainous areas, wetlands, grasslands, meadows and forests. To do this, one should think more about aquatic plants and then use them to improve water bodies. Because a large part of the rivers and lakes in Germany is in a precarious state, at least when it comes to the ecological aspect, neighboring agriculture, shipping and biodiversity. Without ecosystem services, human life on earth would not be possible. Worldwide, around 60% of the ecosystem services examined by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment are in a critical state; they are at great risk from environmental pollution and environmental damage.
We all have to help make whole landscapes more diverse and resistant to climate extremes, including urban regions and cities – for this purpose, among other things, the Urban Greening Camp project started. More urban greening, solar and water surfaces as well as lighter surfaces can cool down urban areas, so-called for near-natural recreation areas and biological diversity. Agriculture based on solidarity and community gardens are also good solutions that can bring more biodiversity and community profits.
Here are a few more suggestions for improvement.
Professional advice and recommendation to good addresses and contacts in the above areas for corresponding consideration is possible, for this you can simply contact the author of this article by email.
Greening Deserts analyses and research projects have been dealing with climate change and extreme weather conditions such as exceptional heat, drought and floods since 2016. Despite all the optimism, the prognosis for the coming years does not look rosy. It takes a lot of effort, motivation and support to be able to work and live normally throughout the crisis. Cohesion is more important than ever in these times, egoism and ignorance only make things worse. We need more solidarity and courage, whether through useful information, the exchange of experiences or other meaningful actions. Simply going out into the streets unfortunately does not bring as much as taking part in constructive actions and actively participating in constructive actions for species protection, climate protection, nature conservation and environmental protection. For example planting trees, watering urban trees and plants, sowing wildflowers and caring for parks and meadows. Leaving this to others like the green space authorities or city cleaning is not a solution. In some countries or regions the corona crisis can result in massive financial problems and financial crises. There will be a lack of funds and resources for many of important environmental tasks or work in future. We all need to hold together in relation to the health of us all and the environment. Healthy ecosystems are the basis for a healthy life.
The global economic crisis and COVID-19 recession (Great Lockdown) will occupy society and the economy for many years to come. In principle there are several crises, e.g. the education crisis, health crisis, cultural crisis and social crisis. Greening Deserts articles also deal with these topics, especially in relation to the effects, consequences and causes of climate change. Many potential solutions are offered, but most of them can only be solved together – some of the suggestions have already been implemented personally or privately. I hope that many will follow. Good additions, ideas and suggestions for improvement are of course always welcome. @ feedback.greeningdeserts.com. Your friend of nature, Oliver Gediminas Caplikas. The next article deals with climate change adaptation and urban greening on many levels, for example with vertical farming. Heat-resistant and drought-tolerant plant species as well as special climate change woody plants will play an important role. Some of the plants are even drought-resistant or have a high ‘drought resistance’.
Climate protection, nature conservation and environmental protection is also species protection. These topics are important not only for the International Climate Week and international world days such as Arbor Day, World Tree Day or World Forest Day. In these times humanity has to deal with important climate problems in relation to the economy, ecology, environmental protection, nature conservation and sustainability almost every day, week, month and year. Like the corona crisis, the climate crisis knows no borders. It concerns us all. Global environmental awareness, sustainable living, more sustainable work and production can improve the climate and reduce human-made climate change effects, such as man-made deforestation, desertification and global warming. We can cool planet earth with more green landscapes, urban greening and diverse forests worldwide. Grasslands and wetlands play a special role in this.
Show that you can live and work really sustainably by saving energy, food, water and other natural resources. Reduce waste and pollution, especially plastic waste. Use alternative packaging and ecological products like bamboo or hemp products like Hemp Papers or Rice Straw Papers. Reduce deforestation, desertification and land degradation by using alternative heating and ecological building materials instead of wood. Do more for green places in your city, try to establish more community gardens, city parks, city forests, urban farming areas, fascade and rooftop gardens. The future of sustainable agriculture is ecofarming, aquaponics, hydroponics, permaculture, organic and vertical farming – even in urban areas. With urban greening on a large scale urban areas can help to cool down planet earth. Cleantech, greentech, green building, sustainable living, sustainable working and sustainable architecture is the future of sustainable building, sustainable production and sustainable cities. With large-scale urban greening, urban areas can help cool down planet earth. We all can learn a lot of desert cultures and desert cities, bedouins and indigenous people in arid landscapes or drylands. Many towns and regions around the Mediterranean Sea are also good examples, doing things like choosing light colors for their houses and roofs – but still missing more green roofs and rooftop solar on the buildings. Fascade greening and fascade solar could be a good addition to urban development in future. We need to be fast because of the desertification and rising droughts in Europe. The deserts and drylands of Africa are moving toward South Europe!
House boats or ships, mobile housing and underwater buildings can expand architecture and environmentally friendly habitats. Bamboo, hemp wood, rice straw building materials and fuels could reduce deforestation significantly. These methods would accelerate the process towards more climate neutral houses and urban areas. And again, the future of real sustainable cities, energy and traffic transition is AI and Cleantech, Energy Efficiency and Green Building, Greentech and Sustainable Architecture, Sustainable Living and Urban Greening, Sustainable Production and Sustainable Consumption, Sustainable Transport and Sustainable Working, Transparent Solar concepts and designs. Sustainable Agriculture, Ecological Forestry and Organic Farming in relation to community gardening, aquaponics, hydroponics, worldwide greening and permaculture projects can support the changes or transitions. Not to forget Sustainable Aviation, Sustainable Shipping and Sustainable Tourism. Think about new markets like a Plastic Fishing Market and Recycling Ships for example.
A good formula for real sustainable living and sustainable working is: Repair, Reuse, Recycle, Replace and Upcycle. – especially plastic. #RRRRU
Greening Deserts sustainable projects and initiatives such as Greening Camps and the Trillion Trees Initiative focuses on climate protection, education, research, the environment and species protection. We not only want to reforest or regreen the man-made deserts, arid areas and wasteland in Europe and Africa, we want also to create international platforms for sustainable economy, education, culture and science. The greening camps will also be climate camps and research camps for innovative cleantech and greentech developments. The camps will involve every region and culture in the greening and development process. The camps will also be a platform for the respective regions, with training and education in the foreground. There will be additional spaces or rooms for a library, lounge, workshop and a media room. This can enable many community activities and different types of events to be carried out, also online and virtually. International institutions, organizations, partners, projects, investors and sponsors are cordially invited to join our community network and projects!
There is a wide range of information about these topics, including innovative developments and real sustainable solutions to solve climate crisis, food, energy and water problems with global impact. Most of the solutions were confirmed by science and feasibility studies or similar concepts. International institutions and organizations were informed many times about Greening Deserts concepts, project developments and connected projects. @Agrophotovoltaik, Desert Bamboo Africa, Greening Coasts, Greening Drones, Greenhouse Ship, Green Ring Africa, Great Green Wall North Africa, Seeding Balloon, Transparent Solar,…
We not only need more actions, initiatives and innovations in the field of climate protection, nature and environmental protection. We need more action and effective solutions in relation to sustainable living and sustainable working in all areas, from big to small! Because the main problem and the main cause of the pollution are not only the car, coal and heavy industry, as well as agriculture, but it is every single one who causes and pushs the global warming and other negative climate changes by its consumption. This over-consumption and overproduction especially in areas of unhealthy monoculture food, IT technology, X-cars, smartphones and other pointless products are not just excessive waste but a meaningless destruction of resources and lives. Why should every year billions of animals and other life forms (animals and plants) die for humans if they can not even consume so many products. In some countries more than the half is thrown away, much products outdate or spoil because it is not effectively distributed or shared. Hundreds of millions of children go hungry every day and at the same time so many destroy and waste foods. In terms of food for example, one should improve preservation, logistics and distribution systems, use sustainable transport, drying and refrigeration systems more effectively worldwide instead of continuing to produce more – clearly, the solution is generally fairer distribution or sharing. If you extrapolate everything, the world produces food for over 10 billion people, countless mobile phones and notebooks for every single person.
Why do humans need so many products – more than they can even consume? Most of it becomes garbage. Metals, plastics and toxins get into the environment and sometimes even into our food. Recycling uses a lot of energy and resources. We need radical changes through more sustainable, cleaner and more sensible procurement, energy use, supply chains and production; we need intelligent, on-demand systems everywhere, so that products worldwide will be produced only as needed. In some cases, of course, essential products must be stored or produced for stock, like basic food or products like rice, for example. There should be reserves and storage for emergency cases, fast–rising demands or other critical things. But we and the world really don’t need hundreds of the same products that will become junk or scrap. Producers worldwide need to improve their operations in these areas, establishing Cleantech, Greentech, Sustainability, AI and On-Demand Systems. Large companies, as well as corporations, should simply produce less and only based on real demand by real consumers. At the very least, products which are constantly not consumed or thrown away – many meats such as chicken, pork and beef – should not be overproduced. They produce not only manure and methane which produce particulate matter, but they or the production wastes water and pollutes the groundwater and the environment in the long term.
We finally need a rethink in forestry and agriculture in terms of a more sustainable economy like Agroforestry, EcoFarming, EcoForestry, Mixed Culture and Permaculture. According to the latest findings and long-term studies, agriculture is responsible for most of the air pollution (approximately 40 percent) and the resulting water pollution! Years of deforestation had dried out whole landscapes and caused massive loss of wetlands, bogs and marshlands which can convert toxins and store up to fifty times as much CO2 as rainforests. Additionally, liquid manure and methane are a massive problem because the gases in the atmosphere create new fine dust, contaminating the groundwater for many years to come. In the coming Greening Camps, not only should these areas be researched, but also research the fields of green and clean technologies. The focus is on aquaponics, hydroponics, greenhouse, biowaste and water management, as well as new urban farming innovations.
Droughts in Germany and Europe: Drought threatens soils, agriculture and forests
It has been relatively dry in Germany since 2015, and the drought and heat waves in 2018 have seriously affected the environment. The soils of the forest are partly drier than the soils of grassland or greenland. The soil has dried out, even down to the deep layers. The groundwater very often sinks below critical levels, which significantly effects forests and bodies of water such as rivers and lakes. The water reserves are becoming increasingly scarce. Conflicts of use because of water scarcity can be exacerbated considerably. Water use and water management must become more economical and more sustainable so that there won’t be a real water crisis in the years to come. Using ponds, water towers and underground water reservoirs to collect rainwater makes more and more sense. This can be done with foils, trenches, solar pumps and agrophotovoltaic surfaces. Intelligent drip irrigation also saves a lot of water, because in dry times an incredible amount of water is wasted through irrigation or evaporation.
The fear of the consequences of another year of drought after 2019 is great, especially when drinking water becomes scarce and entire rivers or lakes dry out. After the exceptionally dry April and July, the probability of another year of drought becomes greater, but this cannot be definitively said until the end of 2020. Persistent drought threatens biodiversity, botanical gardens and well-known parks, even if many plants are watered; the aridity of the surrounding area has an indirect effect on all plant growth. An unhealthy environment in the neighborhood also affects healthy areas in the region; only if the spread of healthy nature is promoted by favorable conditions, can nature as a whole recover and regenerate. This is difficult, however, with monocultures, polluting agriculture and monotonous forestry. It is possible to change into a more sustainable agriculture and ecological forestry, still this year.
Since environmental and weather systems sometimes react very slowly, some consequences can only be felt years later, similar to the nitrate or slurry problem, where in some extreme cases the groundwater is still polluted years later. Many of the slow and creeping processes will have really serious consequences for agriculture. We will all have to live with the short-term and long-term effects of the climate crisis. Like nature, we can adapt to a certain extent, but active reduction of the problems and causes are of critical importance. Air quality is particularly important, because this also affects bodies of water and groundwater. According to the latest scientific research, air pollution from agriculture is even higher than pollution from traffic and the coal industry combined. This is not only due to the fine dust from dry fields, slurry spreading, keeping four, etc.; a big problem is the ammonia, which creates new fine dust in higher atmospheric layers. In the end, everything ends up in the water affectingthe water cycle and water quality.
Soil quality and healthier soils through more complex or versatile forestry and more ecological agriculture, as well as better water management, are important to mitigate the consequences of climate change. The use of humus generating plants, deep roots, soil improvement and green manure plants can significantly contribute to soil formation and improvement of the overall soil. Some plants even have the potential to save the climate. Industrial hemp, for example, and hemp plants promote biodiversity and improve the moisture content; the leaves and plant roots can also form humus. The pronounced roots loosen the soil. The hemp fibers of the stems can be used for hemp paper, hemp cardboard and other packaging. Undemanding types of hemp are suitable for this, as they can cope well with drought and do not have to be fertilized.
Protective layers with ground cover and wildflower meadows can protect the soil in particularly hot and dry times. The principle applies, just let it grow and support nature in the development of biodiversity with natural seeds. Work naturally with suitable species depending on the region and vegetation zone, i.e. suitable plants for mountainous areas, wetlands, grasslands, meadows and forests. To do this, one should think more about aquatic plants which can be used to improve water bodies. A large part of the rivers and lakes in Germany are in a precarious state, at least when it comes to the ecological aspect, neighboring agriculture, shipping and loss of biodiversity. This is also a problem of other European states. The economy and politics really need to care about the ongoing desertification and rising droughts in Europe. The deserts and drylands of Africa moving towards South Europe! The southern regions need fast climate adaption models and resilience plans to prevent worst case scenarious. Droughts, floods and rising fires are just the tip of the iceberg.
We all have to help make whole landscapes more diverse and more resistant to climate extremes, including urban regions and cities. For this purpose, among other things, the Urban Greening Camp project started. Solidarity agriculture and community gardens are also a good solution which can bring more biodiversity and community profits. Show courage, solidarity and support for a healthy nature and more sustainable life on planet Earth. Show that you can really live and work sustainably by using energy or electricity, water and natural resources sparingly. Avoid overconsumption and pollution, especially plastic and air pollution from cars, planes and ships. Avoid environmental pollution of any kind, especially through the use of fossil fuels and polluting fuels such as coal. Reduce plastic waste and uses alternative materials such as bamboo, hemp and rice straw paper. Remember your human connection to the planet, and work for a better and fairer climate.
Clean air, fresh water and a healthy environment are human rights. Climate protection, nature protection and environmental protection are also plant protection, animal protection and human protection or species protection, in general! We should all be more aware about climate justice and environmental justice; especially in future when a huge part of humanity will be affected by the climate crisis, extreme weather and rising sea levels.
Short summary:
Greening Deserts sustainable projects and initiatives such as Greening Camps and the Trillion Trees Initiative have been working on sustainable projects for society, a healthier nature and a more diverse environment for years. The projects mainly serve the protection of species and environmental protection. We want to reforest or regreen man-made deserts, arid regions and wastelands in Europe and Africa, as well as create international platforms for more sustainable research, economy, education, culture and science. The greening camps will also be climate and research camps for innovative cleantech and greentech developments. The camps can include almost any region and culture in the greening and development process. Larger camps will have an energy storage park and maybe even expanded to a cleantech and greentech campus or science park.
Hemp paper becoming more and more popular as the eco-friendly alternative to wood-paper, reducing deforestation and saving a lot of trees. Many studies revealed that if the old paper industries switch to hemp paper, it could help the world to reduce global warming and bad climate change effects. The worldwide hemp cultivation can improve the climate, environment, soils and waters significantely.
Approx 93% of paper comes from trees, but this will change in near future, starting with hemp toilet paper production. First industries have understand the advantages and potentials of the fast growing hemp paper market, not just because of profits and sustainability. The time to change is now, you can be a part of it. Help saving trees, support climate and environmental protection. Use recycled toiled paper until hemp toilet paper will replace it. The use of hemp paper will improve sustainable living and responsible consumption, because hemp is not just a strong symbol for sustainabilty, the using of hemp has a long history with a lot of good experiences. Sad that so many humans and nations have forgotten and missed so much opportunities during the last decades. The Chinese were mostly responsible for the advancement in toilet paper since in the 14th century, the use of hemp is known since 20,000 years! It is time to use finally all the experiences of hemp production and innovative hemp products to improve the economy, society and whole life on planet Earth.
Environmental impacts of paper production
Countless trees being used for toilet paper production, also in rainforest areas. This has a massive impact on these forests and negative consequences for the biodiversity, ecosystems, indigenous peoples and wildlife. The paper industry is partwise responsible for extinction of species and environmental pollution. For processing trees into toilet paper huge amounts of energy and water is needed. The number of people using toilet paper around the world has increased significantly. Toilet tissue accounts for 15 percent of deforestation, of one tree over a thousand rolls of toilet paper can be produced. The paper production requires a large amount of bleach, formaldehyde and organochlorines. Paper accounts for 25% of landfill waste and 33% of municipal waste. 40% or more of all trees are being cut down to make paper. Alone in the USA, approx 20% of all air toxics come from the production of paper pulp. A ton of conventional paper contaminates over 70,000 liters of water. Approx 50% of the waste of businesses is composed of paper. US offices use over 12 trillion sheets of paper a year. Every minute, Americans throw away approx 32,000 toilet paper tubes. Almost 270,000 trees are either flushed or dumped in landfills every day. Decomposing papers can produce methane gas, one main cause of global warming.
Trees contain only 30% cellulose, hemp has approx 80% cellulose content. Wood can contain 40-50% cellulose, 25-30% hemicellulose, 20-35% lignin, approx 5% resins and oils. It needs much energy and many toxic chemicals to seperate the cellulose from trees. Hemp has lower lignin content as wood. Hemp produces four times more cellulose fibers per hectare compared to trees and takes 4-5 months to grow, while trees take 8-100 years. Hemp plants for hemp paper production don’t need any pesticides to grow, these special plant varities need very little water and have the ability to balance out the nutrients in the soil. Hemp paper is more biodegradable and better to recycle as regular paper.
Industries, media and politics discussing about the paper wastes worldwide. Some presenting questionable arguments, for example that the electronic revolution and digitalisation will reduce the paper usage, but this is wrong. Demand for paper is expected to double before 2030. Others argue with the conflict with actual agriculture and used land areas, but this is not the main problem. Many unused areas can be used for hemp cultivation, so like wastelands. Degraded lands and depleted soils can be improved. Hemp plants are also good for catch crop cultivation (intercropping), they can improve following tree plantations.
Hemp toilet paper can reduce deforestation, climate change and global warming. Hemp paper in general can improve the climate, environment, soils and waters. Let’s save the world’s oxygen-releasing trees and forests who filtering the air, transforming toxins and cleaning parts of the water cycle.
More facts and further information about hemp paper and hemp toilet paper
Contains information and statistics from sources:
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/how-many-trees-does-it-take-to-make-1-roll-of-toilet-paper.html
https://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/Paper-Waste-Facts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp_paper
http://hemppaper.ch, hemppaper.shop, hanfpapier.shop
http://www.hanfpapier.ch, hanfpapier.eu, hanfpapier.org
Hemp is even good for Chemical Cleaning and Soil Aeration. “Cleaning up nuclear disasters such as Chernobyl or the Fukushima Power Plant leaks require unique tactics. Hemp presents one such unique solution in how it can recover the soil in affected areas. The process, known as phytoremediation, uses live plants to clean up existing radiation. Due to hemp’s quick growth cycle and toxin resistance, it is a natural solution to these human-created problems. Some suggest that hemp could also be useful in cleaning up oil spills by absorbing cadmium. Speaking of hemp’s soil benefits.. Hemp features deep roots. These combined with the natural process of growing helps to aerate the soil with carbon dioxide deposits. Due to this feature, a new crop can be planted immediately after hemp harvest. There is no need to leave the ground fallow. Since hemp also grows in a variety of soil types and climates, this could have huge implications for farming on a global scale.” Read more:
https://edgy.app/13-reasons-why-industrial-hemp-will-be-part-of-industry-4-0
Here are some more information about Greening Deserts projects like Greening Camps, Hemp Papers and the Trillion Trees Initiative. These projects can reduce negative climate changes, deforestation, droughts, desertification, land degradation and global warming significantely, especially in human-made deserts, drylands and wastelands. The camps are used for professional plant breeding, to reforest and to regreen large areas. The greening and research camps will be green spots to cultivate plants and trees are needed in each concerned region, for example ground cover, flower trees, wild grasses, wild flowers and medicinal plants. Together with hemp and other soil improving plants top soil layers will be created in just a few years – the basis for the following plantations and forests. It will support to establish a real sustainable agriculture and ecological forestry. Hemp will be a side product of the forestation or greening processes, it can be delivered to hemp product producers like the hemp paper branch and hemp wood industry. All would win at the end – the poor people or regions, the degraded lands or soils, the forestry, paper and wood industry – even big wood paper consumers like the book, newspaper and packaging industry. Hemp and rice straw paper books could reform the book and paper branch in many ways. If you want to know more about, don’t hesitate to contact. Greening Deserts want to found the official company fast as possible and continue the project developments for more Greening Camps in Europe and Africa. TrillionTrees.africa
Constructive feedback and support is always welcome.
The hemp plant is not only the most useful plant in the world, hemp is also a potential climate saver and can even significantly reduce global warming, climate crises and land degradation with appropriate applications. Greening Deserts projects such as the Greening Camps and research stations will use bamboo, hemp and other key plants extensively to improve soil quality and water quality. Various greenhouses and research fields can be established together with the camps for education, research and product development, the projects also serve the climate, nature and environmental protection. At each camp can be special biotopes, botanical gardens, greenhouses and parks for endangered species – especially for cultivating or saving plants, insects and other animals of each climate zone or region.
The groundwater, global waters and water circle can be improved by sustainable hemp cultivation, ecological agriculture, organic farming and innovative water management. Only natural fertilizers will be used and pesticides are avoided, there are many good alternatives. Different bamboo and hemp sorts can be used in almost every climate and under all possible conditions or events. Global hemp cultivation can really contribute to climate, soil and water improvement as well as for a better cultivation of crops and a variety of afforestation or reforestation. The founder and project developer of Greening Camp projects has been developing these innovative and sustainable solutions for years. Climate protection, nature conservation, species protection and plant science are a few of the primary tasks.
Since the Greening Deserts Masterplan in 2017 many of the innovative ideas, developments and solutions have been presented and realized – not only in relation to open-cast mines, open-pit mines and surface mining. Through connected projects, most developments and ideas have been established internationally, even if only conceptually or theoretically. Many of the developments or products can be realized with hemp, e.g. hemp books, papers, nets, tarpaulins, ropes, textiles, packaging materials and other hemp products. Hemp fibers have been used for many centuries in fishery and shipping because of their flexibility, tear resistance and resilience. Nowadays, there are well over 50,000 industrial hemp applications, but far too few are really used. That is why many of the most useful applications are analyzed with the greening and research camps and applied accordingly. Hemp paper, hemp wood and hemp plastic are interesting products, so like the ingredients CBD, THC, etc. – not just for science. Industrial hemp can be used for hemp paper and hemp packaging, saving more trees and forests and reducing global deforestation. It could even reduce the plastic waste, especially the plastic bags. In this relation is the hemp cultivation not just interesting for developing countries with soil and water problems like in Africa, it also has enormous potential for European countries and whole Europe who missed many of these developments.
Hemp papers and hemp books are the future.
More information about hemp plants and hemp paper:
For about 12,000 years people have been using the raw material. Hemp paper was invented in China over 2,000 years ago and reached Europe in the 13th century. For 500 years it was the most widely used raw material in paper-making. Hemp books such as the Gutenberg Bible and other well-known works were printed on hemp papers. Hemp paper is much more stable and durable than wood paper. Hemp paper books last much longer and do not turn yellow fast. Hemp fibers are naturally lighter than wood fibers. Hemp is therefore better suited for paper production than wood.
The cannabis or hemp plant produces several times higher yields than trees in terms of cultivated area and growing time. One hectare of hemp field can replace about 120 hectares of trees. Sustainability, the forest conservation or preservation of the forests, as well as the improvement of the soils, are further advantages of hemp production. In principle, almost all varieties can be used for hemp cultivation. Particularly suitable for hemp fiber production is high-growth industrial hemp. Depending on the variety, hemp plants can grow several meters in just three to four months. Hemp leaves an optimal field or soil for subsequent plants. According to farmers and hemp farmers, a wheat or potato field can produce up to 20% more yield in the following year. The hemp plant is therefore a perfect catch crop and is also very well suited as a bio fertilizer. In some regions even two harvests per year are possible. Hemp is the ideal plant for ecological and organic farming or sustainable agriculture. In Germany, hemp is not allowed to grow for everyone. The cultivation of hemp is just allowed with certain permits and only for certain agricultural companies. All other companies in agriculture are not allowed to grow hemp, not even private or forestry organizations. This clearly contradicts the positive qualities and benefits for the environment, nature, medicine and society.
Further ecological and economic advantages of the raw material hemp:
Hemp is very undemanding and grows on almost any soil, the root system loosens up the soil.
Hemp plants are very resistant to fungal attacks.
Hemp cultivation creates a slightly wetter climate, hemp fields support biodiversity, especially with respect to insects. The pollen of the male hemp plant is interesting for bees or wild bees.
Hemp plants suppress weeds and improve the soil climate.
Hemp can clean up poisoned soils, sometimes even from some heavy metals.
The hemp blossom has many valuable ingredients.
The hemp plant can be fully utilized, including the foliage, flowers, seeds and stems. There are thousands of applications and products, e.g. hemp tea, hemp oil, hemp paper, hemp textiles or hemp fabrics.
Hemp fibers are very resistant and therefore usable in many areas.
Hemp fibers are among the most stable natural fibers in the world.
Hemp paper can be recycled more often than wood paper, almost every type of paper and cardboard can be made from hemp.
Hemp books, magazines and newspapers are the future!
More information you can find on the Hemp Papers project pages.
Please care the soil not just on the World Soil Day on 5th December, care it everyday like your fresh water. If we care more about our soils we care more about ourselfs, our planet Earth and the humanity. The Latin name for man, humans or homo, derived from humus.
Interesting quotes:
About a third of the world’s soil has already been degraded. Soils are the basis of life, ninety five percent of our food comes from the soil. – Maria-Helena Semedo
A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. – Franklin D. Roosevelt
A tree’s most important means of staying connected to other trees is a “wood wide web” of soil fungi that connects vegetation in an intimate network that allows the sharing of an enormous amount of information and goods. – Tim Flannery
Collaboration has no hierarchy. The Sun collaborates with soil to bring flowers on the earth. – Amit Ray
Civilization has its roots in the soil. Each soil has had its own history. Like a river, a mountain, a forest, or any natural thing, its present condition is due to the influences of many things and events of the past. – Charles Kellogg
The Earth and soil is the basis of all life, even on the deep undergrounds of the oceans. The deforestation, land degradation and the pollution of air, water and soils by humans is responsible for many climate changes, human-made global warming and even a mass extinction in only 100 years! If humanity will fail to save and protect the most important species, the endangered and keystone species, the human species will also die out – maybe also in just 100 years. – Gediminas Caplikas
History is largely a record of human struggle to wrest the land from nature, because man relies for sustenance on the products of the soil. So direct, is the relationship between soil erosion, the productivity of the land, and the prosperity of people, that the history of mankind, to a considerable degree at least, may be interpreted in terms of the soil and what has happened to it as the result of human use. – Hugh Hammond Bennett
If we pollute the air, water and soil that keep us alive and well, and destroy the biodiversity that allows natural systems to function, no amount of money will save us. – David Suzuki
I saw all the people hustling early in the morning to go into the factories and the stores and the office buildings, to do their job, to get their check. But ultimately it’s not office buildings or jobs that give us our checks. It’s the soil. The soil is what gives us the real income that supports us all. – Ed Begley, Jr.
It helps to think of soil as a living organism covered with skin like a human. We can live with a certain percentage of our skin damaged, but if too high a percentage is damaged, we die. So, too, does soil and thus most life. – Allan Savory
People in cities may forget the soil for as long as a hundred years, but Mother Nature’s memory is long and she will not let them forget indefinitely. – Henry A. Wallace
Soil is not usually lost in slabs or heaps of magnificent tonnage. It is lost a little at a time over millions of acres by the careless acts of millions of people. It cannot be saved by heroic feats of gigantic technology, but only by millions of small acts and restraints, conditioned by small fidelities, skills, and desires. Soil loss is ultimately a cultural problem; it will be corrected only by cultural solutions. – Wendell Berry
Soil organic matter sustains agriculture, which sustains civilization. Soil organic matter generates and regulates every ecosystem service that sustains life on earth. Topsoil loss in excess of topsoil formation has been the defining characteristic of agriculture. The rapid formation of carbon-rich topsoil is the greatest priority and opportunity of our time. If you harvest a crop you are removing nutrients from that ecosystem – for sustainable production they need to be replaced.
Standing on soil feels so much different than standing on city pavement; it lets you look inward and reflect and see who you really are, while you see a beautiful, unspoiled land as far as the eye can see. It allows your inner life to grow. – Ricardo Montalban
The only truly dependable production technologies are those that are sustainable over the long term. By that very definition, they must avoid erosion, pollution, environmental degradation, and resource waste. Any rational food-production system will emphasize the well-being of the soil-air-water biosphere, the creatures which inhabit it, and the human beings who depend upon it. – Eliot Coleman
The fate of the soil system depends on society’s willingness to intervene in the market place, and to forego some of the short-term benefits that accrue from ‘mining’ the soil so that soil quality and fertility can be maintained over the longer term. – Eugene Odum
The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. It is the healer and restorer and resurrector, by which disease passes into health, age into youth, death into life. Without proper care for it we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life. – Wendell Berry
Understanding is the soil in which grow all the fruits of friendship. – Woodrow Wilson
We must come to understand our past, our history, in terms of the soil and water and forests and grasses that have made it what it is. – William Vogt
Greening Deserts Sustainable Projects Summary:
Greening Deserts projects are cultural, economic, educational, scientific, social and sustainable projects in the field of horticulture, hydroponics, sustainable agriculture and ecological forestry – but also in the fields of clean technology, green technologies and renewable energy such as solar, water and wind energy. Electricity access, availability and reliability together with energy efficiency will be optimized at the greening and research camps. The focus is on education, sustainable developments and scientific research. Conservation, environmental protection and species protection plays a very important role, too. Main goals of the projects are to reduce deforestation, desertification, pollution and global warming on a large scale. Goals are also to improve the energy and food security, to offer innovative management, ecosystem and greening services. The projects will reform the agriculture and forestry with Ecofarming, Ecoforestry and Permaculture methods, technics and techniques. The projects can include each region and nation in the process, especially in relation to Cleantech, Greentech, environmental protection, a real Sustainable Infrastructure and Sustainable Investments – Green Finance and Sustainable Finance. The worldwide cleaning and greening process can accelerate the global peace building process significantly.
More articles and news will come! Feel free to comment and to add interesting quotes to the topics.