Bio-mimicry for a green economy

John Scanlon, principal advisor, United Nations Environment Program (based in Kenya), believes that while desert communities have not been a huge contributor to climate change, they can offer a wealth of knowledge to move forward in a green economy.

He presented his ideas on mimicking desert plants and animals at the Desert Knowledge Symposium in Alice Springs this month.

"One method to deal with climate change is bio-mimicry, where we look at nature and how it does various things, and mimic it. This is currently being investigated in many desert species around the world," Scanlon said.

"Unique properties of the Namibian Desert Beetle can teach us how to recycle steam from cooling towers, based upon the way this creature harvests water from fogs. The Arabian Peninsula Sandfish Lizard and how it manages to move through the sand is helping us to develop friction-free surfaces and modern electrical devices based upon properties of the lizard's skin.

"Then there is Africa's Resurrection plant, which dehydrates itself when there is no rain and then rehydrates again after rain. Somehow this plant can go into a state where it is dehydrated and it stays alive, and bio-mimicry is looking at producing vaccines that can stay alive without refrigeration, based upon the plant's properties."

Bio-mimicry is being pursued based on 'Mother Nature' perfecting certain techniques over many years, so we could mimic nature first before going down other expensive paths to get to a greener future, according to Scanlon.

"However, this new technology is just a small part of the pie. We are currently faced with a global financial crisis, fuel crisis, energy security and climate change issues and an ongoing water crisis," Scanlon said.

Scanlon suggests that the world needs to recalibrate itself in order to deal with these multiple crises. Australia and its desert regions have a massive opportunity to develop an entire green energy economy that is based on solar, wind and geothermal technology.

He gives the example of a proposed development in Northern Africa, where just 0.6% of the solar energy that falls on the desert there could be used to supply the whole of Europe's energy needs if it was converted into electricity.

A side benefit of this would be to use the heat that is generated from this process to desalinate water, important in the Middle East and North Africa. These are the opportunities that are available on a large scale for desert communities.

Another opportunity for mitigating climate change in desert regions is extending the notion of REDD (reduced emissions through deforestation and degradation). Desert lands could be used and managed in a way that they could be part of the opportunity to capture and store carbon through natural means.

Recent research has shown there can be significant gains made through more effective management of grazing lands, and to rehabilitate them and bring them back to their more natural state so that they can sequester carbon.

"This presents significant opportunities for many desert regions around in the world. I am suggesting that we look at this natural sequestration in addition to more technical means to combat climate change," Scalon said.

"Australia needs to consider making transformative decisions in relation to moving towards a 'green economy'. There are big opportunities for economic development, job creation and environmental benefits, but you have to be prepared to think big."