Envirotech Blog

Photo by Sarah Dorweiler, Evano Community.

Since the use of steam during the First Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s, development in the modern world has become unstoppable. Infrastructure, mobility, and access to basic necessities have drastically improved, and such improvements have relied on the use of technology. However, as these progressions have provided people opportunities to advance their way of life, can we also say the same with the state of our environment? 

It cannot be denied that technology and “gray solutions” (man-made solutions like dams and infrastructures) have largely relied on nature in terms of production and utilization. While there are real benefits from these kinds of solutions, the over-reliance on nature has inevitably led to deforestation, pollution, degradation and depletion of natural resources in the long-term. Even if nature has the capability to replenish itself, the rate of the damage is gaining momentum, making it impossible for nature to fully recover.  

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature or IUCN, nature-based solutions are actions to “protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural and modified ecosystems that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits”.  

Aside from the obvious environmental profits, an article from The Solutions Journal highlighted the financial and economic benefits from adapting such solutions by showing how “the City of Philadelphia found that the value of green infrastructure for storm-water control reaped them a benefit ranging from $1.94 to $4.45 billion, while gray infrastructure benefits ranged from only $0.06 to $0.14 billion over a 40-year period”.  

Have we piqued your curiosity about Nature-Based solutions already? Below are 4 examples on how challenges can be solved by working with nature, rather than against it. 

Mangrove forests are slowly disappearing due to several reasons such as the expansion of agricultural and commercial lands, aquaculture, and logging. However, while dams and storm walls can protect coastal areas from flooding, mangrove reforestation can provide more use to the coastal ecosystem. Because of the far reach of their root system, mangroves can hold in much soil to prevent erosion while serving as a habitat to various types of land, sea, and air animals. They also prove to be effective barriers and reduce effects of storm surges and floods, such as what was witnessed during the Indian Ocean tsunami last 2004. Mangroves also have the capacity to absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide and store it in its soils for years making it a great potential in combatting climate change around the world.  

2. Green roofs can help manage rainwater and energy use in urban buildings. 

During heavy rains, roofs and pavements can be further maximized to help manage water overruns that could potentially cause pollution and flooding within communities. In both green roofs and bio-swales, plants and other natural elements, such as soil and stones, are used to absorb heat and water. Green roofs, or planted roofs, utilize plants and vegetation to help cool surroundings in an urban environment because of shading and insulation and manage floodwater as it helps reduce water flow to up to 65% before spilling over drainages. In a report done by the US General Services Administration last 2011, building owners can save $4.15 per square foot of costs by investing in a planted roof instead of a conventional one.  

3. Bioswales and porous pavements can help minimize rainwater runoff. 

Bioswales utilize nature while porous pavement mimic how nature works to filter rainwater and prevent flooding in urban areas. Instead of installing and only relying on sidewalk gutters, bioswales serve much like a raingarden or water catchment area wherein plants and vegetation help reduce water flow and reduce peak water run off while allowing microbes in the soil to filter and digest organic nutrients present and help reduce water pollutants. Porous, or permeable, pavements also help manage floodwater by draining it through its layers and filtering it into groundwater as opposed to conventional pavements in which rainwater run offs are spilled over to sidewalks and walkways. 

4. Taking care of forests give off socio-economic benefits to communities surrounding it. 

Aside from being a host of most of the earth’s biodiversity, forests and rainforests also offer people habitat and income from its wood and non-wood products. Forests also give protection from soil erosion and prevents flash floods and landslides, especially in mountainous areas. However, because of agricultural and commercial land expansions and illegal logging, forests are exploited and being wiped out in tremendous rates over the past years. One way to work with forests, as an example, is to elevate its status and legislate them into national parks or national forests. This allows communities to preserve the land and at the same time benefit from them through promoting eco-tourism. Based on Pakistan’s experience on reforestation, by planting 1 billion trees since 2015, they have noticed that rivers were also sustained, and glaciers were prevented from melting in the mountains. 

There has been a constant debate on how technology has been affecting life on our planet and how it works against the environment. Well, the reality is that technology is here to stay and, as exemplified above, there are ways that people can offer technological solutions while working with nature.  

Our path of development should not cause the planet to degrade but should rather find sustainable ways on how to invest and then benefit from nature’s fruits; and it all begins with how we effectively design solutions. As the environmental activist Judy Bond has accurately put it, “there are no jobs on a dead planet”. Taking care of nature and working respectfully with it is the best investment a company can make.