Dick Grimshaw writes:
I have frequently written about the need to use the Vetiver System to rehabilitate eroding land and thus stop eroded sediment from moving downstream to coastal waters where it destroys coral reefs and coastal fisheries. VS is particular useful for small island erosion rehabilitation.
Since erosion on small tropical islands tends to be massive and close to the beach and sea, stabilizing a particular area will generate immediate benefit to the adjacent water and coral. Don Miller, a New Zealander who works on Vanuatu in the south Pacific, has, over many years, inspired local people to reforest a particularly badly-eroded area near Port Patrick. [By the way, Vanuatu is 1,090 miles east of northern Australia, 310 miles northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and south of the Solomon Islands. Thank you, Wikipedia!] The results have been spectacular. View a modified Power Point presentation at http://www.vetiver.org/VAN_REEF/VAN-reef2.htm).
In my travels around the world I've seen many instances of coastal waters turned brown by sediment flows. If you don't travel, take a look at Google Earth images of Hawaii, Fiji, Jamaica, Honduras, the Indonesian islands, and many more. The Vetiver System is the best, cheapest, and greenest way to address the problem. In addition to halting sediment flows to the sea, it prevents sewage and other pollutants from reaching pristine beaches, improves groundwater (reduced ground water on many islands is becoming a major problem), increases crop yields and generates biomass for fuel, forage, and, as value-added products, handicrafts. The Vetiver System is available to everyone who wishes to use it, and, if applied correctly, it will work.
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Remember how long it took Kaneohe Bay to recover from the runoff generated by massive development in the 1980s? Turtles were deformed and suffered from malignant tumors caused by the contamination. Even untrained eyes notice the expansive brown water that pollutes coastal waters many yards off the Windward coast long after hard rains have passed.
ReplyDeleteThis year is the international "Year of the Reef," and mere acknowledgement cannot solve the problem. Silt suffocates coral reefs, and thoughtful use of the Vetiver System can maintain topsoil where it belongs and prevent the needless death of our reefs.
Great to see that vetiver is finally being accepted in Hawaii. I tried in 2000 to get involved, on the advice of a University of Hawaii professor who knew of my Vanuatu work, but was knocked back by the "risk" mis-information prevalent at that time.
ReplyDeleteI would be very happy to become involved, even from a distance, in sorting some of the erosion issues in Hawaii that even vetiver will need special attention to control.
I see too that you have discovered the hidden benefit of potting out a vetiver nursery - it becomes a very pleasant job...
Don Miller
donmillernz@gmail.com