SHC ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION PROJECTS
ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION PROJECTS
- Landless people organized into a self-help corporation would be in a unique position to occupy land that has been depleted by previous uses. Using depleted land for the purposes described in the [ Biological Potential Project ] would work to restore the land to productivity while giving the participants in a self-help corporation space to live and work. Restoring unproductive land to productivity will increase the value of the land and that increase in value would be available to the self-help corporation for further expansion.
- Human activities have left certain parcels of land unproductive. There is land that has been turned to desert, mined, logged, eroded, or polluted to the extent it has minimal value for any purpose. Much of this land could be restored to productivity if steps were taken to control the flow of the available water. Sometimes the problem is too much water, other times the problem is not enough water or there may be water that is brackish or polluted. In many case, by controling where the water flows, the land can be put to productive uses.
- Where the problem is too much water, the first issue is to control erosion. Denuded hillsides can be terraced or ditched to retain as much water as possible. The terraces would drain into a series of ponds. The terraces will allow for the accumulation of organic matter to support plant growth. The ponds can be used to grow additional organic matter and fish. The hillsides can be planted to plants that produce seeds or fruit to feed animals. Raising animals at the site will produce manure that can be digested for methane and then composted for use in intensive gardening.
- Where the problem is too little water, the first issue is to preserve what water there is. Overgrazing has turned to desert many acres of fragile grasslands. By raising chickens, hogs and rabbits instead of cattle, goats and sheep, the grasslands can be allowed to recover. The grass will recover even faster by ditching hillsides to retain what rain does fall and planting drought resistent hedgerows to delay the drying effect of the wind. The grasses, the grass seeds and the fruit or seed from the hedgerows could then be collected and fed to animals. Water for human consumption and intensive gardening could be stored in a series of retention ponds or, where feasible, piped into shallow aquifers to be pumped out where needed.
- Where the problem is brackish or polluted water, the first issue is to find ways to separate usable fresh water from the salts or pollutants. For almost any type of pollutant there is a series of biological or chemical processes to remove the pollutant from the water. Different kinds of plants absorb salts and pollutants. There are people working on biological treatment of acid mine drainage, excess nitrogen from feedlots and other types of polluted water. Polluted ground water needs to be pumped out, biologically processed and used to grow a permaculture or intensive gardens. A self-help corporation would be able to invest the labor to process the salts and pollutants and thereby utilize the polluted water and the land it pollutes.
- Once the water issues are resolved, it would be profitable to move people and animals onto depleted lands. The land owner, whether individual or government, should desire that the land be made productive again and it should be possible to negotiate terms that are benficial to both the landowner and the corporation.
- By restoring a mix of plant life, a self-help corporation will be restoring habitat and increasing the complexity of the ecosystem. Through some research and care, the corporation can also purposely create habitat for animals that can be useful for food, or as a draw for tourists. In particular, developing aquatic habitats can both produce food sources and attract visitors. See [ Environmental Principles ].
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