COP27 in Egypt: Regreen the Sahara

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Seth Itzkan

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Nov 12, 2021, 3:02:09 PM11/12/21
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COP27 in Egypt: Regreen the Sahara On this final day of COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, Nov. 12, 2021, Soil4Climate Inc., a US-based not-for-profit environmental organization, asks the parties to the UNFCCC and other world leaders and INGOs to capitalize on the location of next year's COP in Egypt as an opportunity to focus global attention on the realistic endeavor of regreening much of the Sahara Desert as well as The Sahel. In most of the world, desertification is a human exacerbated condition that can be reversed. Regenerative grazing coupled with agroforestry and permaculture can restore a great deal of the biological fecundity that used to exist in these dryland, semi-arid areas. Of course, not every hectare can be regreened, but large scale restoration is likely within our means and essential to help humanity avoid a civilization ending climate catastrophe. Regreening deserts not only sequesters carbon in newly formed soil, but the added plant cover provides localized cooling, improved water retention, and enhanced food security for growing populations. In the vernacular, this is a "Win. Win. Win." Please join Soil4Climate and sister organizations committed to ecological restoration, as we begin today on purposing COP27 in Egypt, 2022, toward this objective. Let COP27 be the international climate conference which finally focuses the narrative on the other half of the solution - drawdown via restoration. We can do this. With your help, we will. Thank you, - Your colleagues at Soil4Climate (Background / Green Sahara image source, https://www.earthlymission.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ancient_lakes_of_the_sahara.jpg)

--
Seth J. Itzkan

Cofounder, Soil4Climate Inc.
Join the global movement of scientists, practitioners, and engaged citizens working to make soil a climate solution
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Teddy Fagin

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Jul 19, 2022, 9:24:04 PM7/19/22
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Dear Seth,

My name's Teddy Fagin, and I've been part of the soil-age Google Group for a few years! It really presents an outstanding perspective that introduced me to many very important and fundamental concepts.

I found the "COP27" "Regreen the Sahara" post particularly interesting, and I've since paid extra attention to the keywords regenerative grazing, agroforestry & permaculture. Near the end, the post notes that it's a conference "which finally focuses the narrative on the other half of the solution - drawdown via restoration."

Just wondering, are there any neat updates about this effort?

Also, I'm sure you've heard of Dr. Elaine Ingham and her "Soil Food Web" school. They've been offering free webinar series this year (they're all posted on the Soil Food Web School YouTube page), and they are currently halfway through one called Rescuing Mother Earth webinar series.

The Soil Food Web School recently began partnering with John Liu's Ecosystem Restoration Camps. What's most interesting to me are the things brought up that seem to corresponding with what I read about the Regreen the Sahara effort in the soil-age post. 

In the first webinar, John Liu mentions "Sekem," an organization active in Egypt for 45 years (30 minutes and 15 seconds into the webinar), and the Sahara gets discussed at the 1 hour and 25 minute mark and around the 1 hour and 28 minute mark. 

P.s. here are some notes from the webinar:

How to Accelerate Soil & Ecosystem Restoration | John D. Liu | Dr. Elaine Ingham https


Around the 47 minute mark, Dr. Elaine Ingham talks about compost and soil for sequestering carbon.

Another concept they discuss during the webinar relates to applying mulch to lower global temperatures.

"There is no place on this planet that we can't grow plants..." (1:21:07)

"...we can grow things in places that nobody knew they could grow things..." (1:24:10)

"...definitely suggests that we can restore all the degraded lands on the planet" (1:24:50)

1:25:00 - "The Sahara desert is not going to be a problem, if we get the right microorganisms in there, we can do it. Right you can't just dig a hole and plop a tree in there and cover it up and walk on. Sorry you've gotta worry about where that tree's going to get its water. So what that means is we've got to start on a smaller scale; the last thing to go in is trees."

John Liu says they've got two camps in Egypt now and a major project starting up...

1:25:30 We have a major project starting up now...you can look at the Holy Grail of restoration...and see how that's happening...already now six years in development

1:27:50 - more about Sinai peninsula

Additional note: if you factor in "soil food web" as a component of permaculture (which it certainly seems to be; in fact, Adam from the Soil Food Web School says he works there because of the fact of "soil food web" being a keystone principle), then "Regenerative grazing coupled with agroforesty and permaculture" sounds amazingly good to me.


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Teddy Fagin

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Aug 22, 2022, 3:39:32 PM8/22/22
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Here's the link to the upcoming webinar: 

Transforming Desert Landscapes Into Functional Ecosystems

(where you may register)
https://webinar.soilfoodweb.com/reg-webinar-transforming-desert-landscapes-into-functional-ecosystems


Transforming Desert Landscapes Into Functional Ecosystems

11:00 A.M. PACIFIC TIME ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24 (THAT’S 7:00 P.M. LONDON TIME)

Join us in learning about the Ecosystem Restoration Camp SEKEM Wahat during the August 2022 Soil Food Web School Webinar. Camp SEKEM Wahat is a social innovation project that integrates ecological, economic, cultural, and community life to restore arid land in the Bahariya oasis of the Egyptian Western Desert. Camp SEKEM Wahat is part of The SEKEM Group, the umbrella initiative of a group of sustainability-minded companies and non-governmental organizations. 

 

Kseniia Popova, Sustainable Development Project Manager at The SEKEM Group, will speak during the webinar about how Camp SEKEM Wahat was founded and developed based on the SEKEM initiative’s vision. 

 

Currently, the camp’s restoration activities include:

  • Tree planting

  • Seed saving

  • Compost making

  • Regenerative gardening

  • Water supply and retention

  • Renewable energy

  • Waste management

 

Other camp programs include:

  • Child/adult education

  • Adult vocational skills training

  • First aid and integrative medicine

  • Community building and governance

  • Artistic activities such as photography, videography, and graphic design

 

Ashleigh Brown, Co-Founder and Education Coordinator of Ecosystem Restoration Camps, will also join the webinar panel. She will speak about the new partnership between the global Ecosystem Restoration Camps Foundation & The Soil Food Web School.

 

John D. Liu, creator of the Ecosystem Restoration Camps concept, and Dr. Elaine Ingham, Founder of The Soil Food Web School, will be there to answer your questions with our panelists.

Seth Itzkan

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Aug 22, 2022, 4:02:05 PM8/22/22
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Excellent. Thanks for sharing. 

I’m curious why there is no mention of regenerative grazing in the methods section. In dry land areas like Egypt, that will be the most effective procedure. 

Any thoughts about that?

- s



--
Seth J. Itzkan

Cofounder, Soil4Climate Inc.
Join the global movement of scientists, practitioners, and engaged citizens working to make soil a climate solution
soil4climate.org | soil4climate.org/donate
facebook.com/groups/soil4climate
twitter.com/soil4climate | instagram.com/soil4climate/
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