The market
The World Bank's Carbon Market Report indicates that the total market value of carbon credits in 2010 reached $142 billion, a slight decrease from the $144 billion recorded in 2009. Only a small fraction of carbon sequestration projects focused on afforestation, reforestation, and sustainable agricultural land management. The World Bank's BioCarbon Fund has invested a total of $91.9 million since 2004 in forest growth initiatives that have reduced carbon emissions by 8.6 million tons from degraded land, with the aim of restoring newly planted forests for fuelwood and/or construction timber. The fact that carbon finance is only released once trees are standing and sequestered requires significant upfront investment, which limits the system's popularity. The total area of forests worldwide is just over four billion hectares, or 31 percent of the total land area. Only a third of this is primary forest due to the destruction of 40 million hectares since 2000. This original cover is only half of what it was 50 years ago. Asia is the only region that has seen a net gain of 2.2 million hectares per year over the past decade, while South America and Africa have experienced net annual losses of 4 and 3.4 million hectares, respectively. The net loss of forest area between 2000 and 2010 was 5.2 million hectares. Israel and Bhutan are the only countries that entered the 21st century with a net gain in trees. Bhutan has protected its forests in a newly adopted constitution, which covers at least 60 percent of the total landmass. Israel planted 240 million trees as a prerequisite for attracting and supporting 250,000 new settlers. This implies that each settler's livelihood depends on planting a thousand trees.
Innovation
The challenge with reforestation projects is that they pursue only one objective: firewood or construction timber, now supplemented by carbon sequestration. This focus on a single product steers companies toward maximizing output, with the temptation to seek quick fixes through genetically modified species seeming like an obvious choice. In response to growing awareness of the damage caused to land and soil by monoculture tree plantations, several organizations have undertaken to certify sustainable forestry. Unfortunately, these certifications reduce aggressive land management but do not generate additional benefits such as food. After all, today you either own a forest and live off the trees (timber), or you cut down the forest, sell the timber, and cultivate the land. Is it possible to escape either trap? Javier Herrero grew up on the island of Mallorca, part of Spain's Balearic Islands, and has always been interested in combining his passion for nature with education. He wants children to develop their innate human potential through contact with the outside environment. He has developed a learning system that revolves around initiatives that emerge from the children themselves. He was greatly inspired by the work of Fritjof Capra and the concept of ecological literacy. He decided to contribute to the creation of a pedagogy where the best learning environment is the forest. However, forests always come at a cost, and a productive forest that recoups its investment requires maintenance in an urban or peri-urban environment. Therefore, he decided to rethink existing garden models that rely on annual cycles of planting and harvesting to create a perennial edible forest in order to learn more about nature, grow food, and participate in the production process of an ecosystem. He bridges the gap between the traditional forest and farmland, emphasizing that it's not just about harvesting but about enhancing the land's regenerative capacity, both in terms of food and forest. Javier then experimented for 15 years in various environments and concluded that a tiny forest can be established at home, even on a balcony, or in an open space in the heart of a city. And, if space is truly too limited, he applied the age-old philosophy that problems are opportunities and began planting vertically, covering an entire wall that not only provides nutrients but is also beautiful. Javier realized that one of the challenges is time. Creating an edible forest requires patience. The preparatory work can take a year, sometimes two, since establishing a small forest in a family garden is very different from developing a two-hectare plot. It might take five years before the forest begins to yield its first harvest. After 15 years, a mature forest can be enjoyed, which—if properly maintained—will provide edible fruits and nuts indefinitely. Javier ran some simulations and concluded that if every family home and every school in the world embarked on creating an edible forest on the land and in the available space, both indoors and outdoors, the concentration of carbon in the atmosphere could be reduced to pre-industrial levels. Javier believes that humanity could even move from a constant risk of world hunger to self-sufficiency.
The first cash flow
Javier had the opportunity to present his concepts at the Urobia Ecological Park, located in the town of Orba, between Alicante and Valencia, Spain. He carefully selected and planted 700 varieties of species, ranging from fruit trees and timber trees to medicinal, aromatic, herbaceous, and shrubby plants. A rainwater harvesting system channels 450,000 liters of fresh water annually into and around the newly planted forest, providing more than any commercial irrigation system could ever afford. The canals—once constructed—provide an abundance of water by gravity in a region that has traditionally suffered from long summers with heat waves and a lack of humidity. Thanks to the abundance of water, animals and birds have returned. In cooperation with the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Javier and his team are currently assessing the rate of biodiversity recovery. While Javier was planting the trees, he created a system that received free additional seeds brought by birds and bees, which generates multiple incomes from a forest, serves as a learning tool, where water scarcity is converted into surplus while regenerating biodiversity, and which should work forever without additional cost is a beautiful example of the blue economy.
The opportunity
Over the past few decades, it has become accepted, and even standard practice, that all schools should have a gymnasium. Sitting in uncomfortable chairs for hours without being allowed to move has negatively impacted children's physical and mental health. The gymnasium has become an integral part of school buildings. Now, it's time to move on to a second essential element that every educational infrastructure should have: access to an edible forest. At a time when children are undernourished and suffering from hunger, or overfed and suffering from obesity, parents and teachers must provide a learning platform so that children understand that fruits and nuts grow on trees, with sufficient water and light. The forest has multiple layers of nutrient production, from the soil with roots, through the undergrowth with mushrooms and berries, to the canopy with fruit. In this way, children can take control of their future. In a country like South Africa, where there are twice as many churches as schools, we could ask everyone to join forces and ensure that the art of food production isn't the privilege of a few multinationals and mega-farmers, but a fundamental skill to which all children should be exposed. As Javier has demonstrated, with knowledge and patience, it's possible to create an edible forest that will produce indefinitely once it reaches maturity. Every time unproductive land can be converted into a food-producing space, its value increases. That's why edible forests shouldn't just be seen as an essential learning tool; they could very well be an opportunity for those who can envision a new economic model.
