Embarking a Green Mission

I am honored to join the green mission of Desert Control as CEO. Together we will make a global impact by addressing some of the greatest threats and challenges facing humanity and our planet.

The consequences of accelerating climate change are increasingly visible by the day. Rising temperatures create more significant storms, floods, and extreme sea-level rise. At the same time, we experience surging heatwaves, wildfires, and even more extreme droughts.

Twenty of the warmest years on record have all occurred in the last 22 years.

Higher temperatures and droughts increase soil erosion. Land and soil suffer tremendous degradation on a global scale causing diminishing crop yields and thawing permafrost near the poles; which, in turn, accelerates climate change in a vicious circle. As a result, deserts are spreading faster, and substantial land areas in Asia, Africa, Australia, the Americas, and the Mediterranean are at risk.

Land degradation is currently happening in at least 110 countries. 12-million hectares of land, an area the size of Benin, capable of producing 20 million tons of grain, are lost every year. Fertile soil is lost 10 to 100 times faster than it is forming. Global food supply is suffering, posing increasing threats, especially considering food production has to increase by 70% by 2050 to feed the growing global population.

Landmasses, the size of South America, are already degraded. Drylands are home to 2.1 billion people, and 500 million live in places that are rapidly turning into desert. Near 800 million people worldwide are chronically undernourished as a result of droughts, land degradation, declining soil fertility, and unsustainable water use. 2-degrees of global warming could push an additional 100 million people into famine.  

Droughts kill more people than any other single weather-related catastrophe, and conflicts over water scarcity are gathering force. 1 billion people today lack access to water. By 2025, estimates are that 1.8 billion people will experience absolute water scarcity, and 2/3 of the world will be living under water-stressed conditions.

Water scarcity and food production go hand in hand. Research indicates that producing 1kg of beef requires between 5,000 and 20,000 liters of water. 1kg of wheat between 500 and 4,000 liters. A kilo of olives some 3,000 liters and a kilo of rice some 2,500 liters. Producing one cup of coffee can require some 4,500 liters of water. Using our scarce water resources wisely will, therefore, have a tremendous impact. 

40% of all intrastate conflicts in the past 60 years occurred due to the control and allocation of natural resources. The exposure of more people to poverty, water scarcity, and hunger; increases the pressure on fragile states and fuel local and regional conflicts that will have far-reaching, global implications. People won't stay and die where they are; people migrate. Some 135 million may be forced to leave their homes and countries by 2045 as a result of desertification according to a recent United Nations report. 

From a climate change perspective, restoring the soils of degraded ecosystems further has the potential to store up to 3 billion tons of carbon annually. The land-use sector represents almost 25% of total global emissions. These emissions can be reduced significantly through improved, smart, and sustainable land management (SLM), which under the right circumstances, could close significant parts of the emissions gap.

Desert Control will make a global impact on these issues by restoring degraded soil, arid areas, and deserts to fertile land, protecting ecosystems and simplifying intelligent SLM-practices across the globe. Enabling more efficient use of resources to ensure food and water security will strengthen land and community resilience while sequestering carbon to slow down and reverse climate change.

The solutions provided by Desert Control have so far proven successful in multiple projects of turning desert and arid land into fertile soil. Treated areas have shown increased crop yields and significantly improved resource utilization. Recent accomplishments include accreditation by the international research and certification organization ICBA; documenting up to 50% reduction of water consumption to irrigate and maintain optimal growth conditions for plants and crops. 

We are now accelerating initiatives with impact investors, responsible corporations, NGOs, and governmental organizations to give our green mission a truly global footprint.

Let's work together for a green planet and a sustainable future!

www.desertcontrol.com