In Cape Verde, the Biflis association hunts fog to fight drought

2023-11-06 18:46:05

The Cape Verdean association Biflis will “chase fogs” to fight against the drought and lack of water on Brava Island. The objective is, in particular, to reinforce food security, capturing water from the atmosphere to use it in agriculture

Biflis, a Cape Verdean biodiversity conservation association, is carrying out an innovative project to fight drought and water shortages. The objective is twofold, as the association’s director, Dheeraj Jayant, explains to us: to strengthen ecosystems and improve food security on Brava Island in Cape Verde.

The idea is to fight drought and increase food security, because in Brava the economy is mainly rural, people practice agriculture, livestock farming and fishing. But, unfortunately, due to the drought we suffered 20 years ago, it is very difficult to practice these activities.

We then looked for possibilities to supplement the amount of water by capturing fog in the high areas of Brava. It is a way of preserving the environment but also of continuing agriculture and livestock farming.

Increasingly intense periods of drought are also a cause of the abandonment of agriculture, which in turn leads to population emigration.

Simple and effective water collectors

Through the Biflis project, water is channeled for agriculture and livestock farming, through structures that capture water without major technological needs. These ‘water catchers’, Dheeraj Jayant describes the structures used as “a very simple system, with two wooden posts and a condensation net”.

When it hits the net, the fog condenses, transforming into water that will then be channeled into a tank.

But, to hunt fogs, there must be fogs and all places are not adapted for the practice.

Two conditions are needed: wind and fog, therefore in high areas. The high areas of Brava have these conditions almost all year round. We have already formed a partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment on a project in which we managed to capture between 300 and 400 liters of water on a day with good conditions, that is, a lot of fog and wind.

“Classic” fog water collector. © Dheeraj Jayant, director of Biflis association

The long-term objective is to replicate this project on other islands in the archipelago. Currently, three members of the Biflis association, including Dheeraj Jayant, are on the Canary Island, where they traveled as part of a project financed by the European Union, Life Nieblas (Nieblas, which in Spanish means fog), to improve this technique of capturing water from the atmosphere.

The Life Nieblas project began in 2021 and optimized existing technology. It is a project financed by the European Commission and the Autonomous Government of the Canary Islands to study the potential of capturing water from fog for reforestation. We are participating in the exchange, with a theoretical aspect and a practical aspect in which we go into the field, every day.

For now, the Biflis association is organizing a pilot project, in an area of ​​20 hectares, in Brava. The team will analyze the capacity of water catchers to see if it is possible to replicate the practice on a larger scale.

We intend to share this information with the National Directorate of the Environment and natural parks. Islands such as Santo Antão or São Nicolau have all the potential to capture water, carry out reforestation, preserve species and increase resilience against drought.

Despite being naturally optimistic, Dheeraj Jayant is still realistic, and therefore points out that the challenges that arise are numerous.

These are important challenges, logistical challenges such as the availability of material and equipment in the local market. We may have to buy the material in Europe and organize transport, which could be expensive. On the other hand, Brava is a very isolated island within the Cape Verdean archipelago and is difficult to access.

Another point is that we don’t have historical data about the climate on Brava Island, so it’s harder to know where there will be more fog and wind.

The Biflis association works on several other projects, from reforestation, to agroecology projects with local farmers, and, in the marine area, with fishing communities and other organizations for the designation of marine protected areas.

Water harvester for the Liufe Nieblas project, in the Canaries. © Dheeraj Jayant, director of the Biflis association “Individual” water collector, on Brava Island. © Dheeraj Jayant, director of Biflis association