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ZERI - Zero Emissions
Research & Initiatives
Zero Emissions Research & Initiatives (ZERI) is a
global network of creative minds seeking solutions to world challenges. The
common vision shared by the members of the ZERI family is to view waste as
resource and seek solutions using nature's design principles as inspiration.
ZERI has spent 10 years in the field developing
projects that demonstrate how we can do so much more with what nature provides,
meeting the basic needs of all species in co-evolution with nature. After much
trial and error and the influence of many scientists, entrepreneurs, and
educators, ZERI offers a hopeful vision for the next 10 years.
Science: Learn more about the science behind
ZERI including important insights into the 5 Kingdoms of Nature and the 5 Design
Principles.
Projects: See the future of ZERI in action including the Gaviotas reforestation
project in Colombia and Living Labs.
Education: Find out more about ZERI's
groundbreaking educational initiatives including the Masters Program at the
University of Torino, Italy and a comprehensive curriculum implemented in
Brazil.
Reforestation: Las Gaviotas, Colombia
Imagine miles and miles of desolate savannah in
Eastern Colombia, without a tree or bird or child in sight, a veritable no-man's
land. For Paolo Lugari this was the perfect place to implement a vision: if a
sustainable community could be created in such adverse environmental, social and
political conditions, it could be done anywhere on the planet. Las Gaviotas has
done just that, and much more.
In 1992, in conjunction with the Kyoto Protocol and the Japanese government, the
Environmental Research Center at Las Gaviotas began substantiating the concept
of carbon sinks to sequester carbon dioxide and stabilize the climate. Based on
the cash generated by its renewable energy project, complemented with funding
secured through the Japanese government, Las Gaviotas, founded and directed by
Paolo Lugari, planted 8,000 HA of Caribbean pine trees in a savannah that had
been unproductive for centuries. It was considered impossible to plant trees in
such acidic, inhospitable soil (pH 4) but thanks to the innovative use of
mycorrhizal fungi which acts as the saliva for the tree, the forestation was
successful. More than just successful, this initiative to initiate economic
activities and to validate carbon sinks unleashed a chain reaction of positive
effects that surprised even the initiators of the program...
Today, more than a decade later, the forestation of 8,000 HA has resulted in 10
percent more precipitation (some 110,000 m3 per day), converting Las Gaviotas
into a net supplier of drinking water, a crystalline water of superior quality.
With the cost of drinking water exceeding the cost of petroleum, Las Gaviotas
demonstrated that reforestation allows us to address one of the most critical
issues the world is facing: access to natural potable water!
For more information, see:
http://www.zeri.org/ |
