Rebuilding a Forest Quickly

Shubhendu Sharma (credit: Ashoka)

In most countries, particularly those in the tropics, deforestation is the norm. The impacts from this on soils, water supplies, and species diversity are negative, severe, and increasing. What if you could restore a forest quickly? An engineer in India, Shubhendu Sharma, is using a novel strategy that adapts production-line, manufacturing principals as tools and the results are impressive.

Sharma's thinking began when he volunteered to assist the ecologist, Akira Miyawaki, to cultivate a forest at a factory in Japan where he worked. Miyawaki’s techniques have regenerated forests from Thailand to the Amazon, and Sharma decided to try and replicate his model in India. He explains the methodology in a fascinating presentation for a TED conference audience. WHB

Morphobot Has Arrived Amazing Landscapes