👷🏽♂️This week the installation of innovative Fog Water Collectors has begun on the north of Gran Canaria as part of a 4 year project to use this innovative method of water collection in an attempt to prevent further soil degradation or loss of vegetation.🛠️.
Deforestation and desertification have long been recognised as two of the principal causes for biodiversity loss and soil degradation. These phenomena are mostly caused by a mixture of ongoing climate change and human activity. A decrease in rainfall and, therefore, groundwater infiltration leads to desiccation and increasingly more difficult environments for plant life.
LIFE NIEBLAS started in early 2020 and is taking place on Gran Canaria and in Portugal.
The aim of the project is to improve degraded landscapes, reforesting using the endemic vegetation of the area. They are working closely with Natura 2000 Network, protecting and promoting endemic and native species as laid down by Annex I of the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC.
Other objectives include testing of different types of irrigation systems and water collection. It is expected that 100% of the water requirements for the project will be covered by these Fog Water Collectors (FWC).
The project, funded primarily by the European Commission and the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, is committed to sharing results and findings, as well as involving different research entities and local communities in their work.
These newly installed collectors (i-FWC) compare well to their traditional counterpart models, and earlier designs in:
– 💦 higher fog water collection capacity
– 🍃 lighter total structural weight (around 25kg)
– 🪢 easier anchoring systems without the need to build underground foundations
– 🧮 they are cheaper to produce and maintain
🌬️ After lab tests in our own wind tunnel, field trials seek to collect some insightful data about i-FWC under real atmosphere conditions.
💡Additionally, a new mesh has been installed in one of our traditional FWC in order to test different materials and their collection capacity.
#innovation #lifenieblas #canaryislands #fogcollectors #fogwater #grancanaria #life #lifeprogramme
