allan savory from the african center for holistic management wins 2010 buckminster fuller challenge

allan savory wins 2010 buckminster fuller challenge

on june 2, 2010 the winner of the 2010 buckminster fuller challenge has been announced, a 100,000 USD prize to support the development and implementation of a strategy that has significant potential to solve humanity’s most pressing problems. the award goes to a 27-year-old brooklyn-based organization that promotes innovative design-science projects. biologist allan savory from the african center for holistic management.

‘keeping cattle: cause or cure for climate crisis’ by allan savory

the land management tool of grazing has been discredited for too long because of mis-use, and now we are suffering the effects of over-rested landscapes. while many environmentalists argue that livestock grazing is harmful to the environment, savory argues that it can have positive effects. ‘the animals eat dead plants, which can block light required to reach seeds. leaving those plants to decay on their own doesn’t happen fast enough to offset desertification’, he says.

without reversing desertification, climate change cannot be adequately addressed. this project demonstrates how to reverse desertification of the world’s savannas and grasslands, thereby contributing enormously to mitigating climate change, biomass burning, drought, flood, drying of rivers and underground waters, disappearing wildlife, massive poverty, social breakdown, violence and genocide.

in this particular project, ACHM has demonstrated on 6500 acres of grasslands in zimbabwe the process of reversing desertification. livestock have increased 400% using holistic planned grazing and we now enjoy open water, water lilies and fish a kilometer above where water has been known before in the dry season. the livestock are integrated with africa’s big game avoiding competition and wildlife are on the increase. currently, we can barely keep pace with grass growth even in dry years. this is greatly influencing scientists, ngo’s and pastoralists from all over africa.

all finalists were selected by a panel of 11 jurors and have submitted game changing strategies addressing issues from range land management to urban farming, here are the other 5 shortlisted, out of 214 other entrants:

– ellen fish from india’s barefoot college – stacy murphy of brooklyn’s bk farmyards – martin felson + sarah dunn of chicago’s eco-boulevards – jason mclennan from seattle’s living building challenge – martin buchholz from berlin-based watergy greenhouse