The EU has supported a project that uses fog nets in Spain and Portugal to aid reforestation and improve crop yields in arid regions.
The Guardian reports that this initiative, named Life Nieblas (where “niebla” means fog in Spanish), is being implemented on Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, Spain, as well as in Portugal. The goal in Gran Canaria is to collect 215,000 liters of fog and dew each year to restore 35 hectares of Doramas forest with 20,000 laurel trees—an area at high risk of desertification due to wildfires.
Fog water collectors in the Canary Islands, Spain. (Photo: Guardian).
Vicenc Carabassa, the lead scientist on the project currently working at the Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (Creaf) at the University of Barcelona, noted that fog nets—plastic mesh structures aligned with the wind—exist but have not been utilized effectively.
Mr. Carabassa stated: “Fog harvesting is particularly applicable for restoring the laurisilva of the Canary Islands, as this type of forest exists by collecting fog water.” Laurusilva refers to subtropical rainforests that host evergreen species. Water droplets from the fog often condense on the leaves.
For optimal operation, fog collectors require both fog and wind, conditions that are present in the Canary Islands and Portugal but less so in the Mediterranean, where wildfires and desertification are increasingly problematic.
Mr. Carabassa emphasized, “We are still trying to explore what the optimal conditions are for the fog collectors to operate.” He also added that restoring laurisilva could help replenish water-retaining layers that are under constant stress in the Canary Islands.
As the Canary Islands and other regions around the world seek to combat the effects of climate change, fog harvesting is becoming an increasingly viable technology for communities facing challenges related to soil erosion and water supply.
Since 2018, Mr. González Pérez and his wife have relied solely on fog collection to irrigate their 1.5 hectares of farmland on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, where they grow lemons, plums, and artichokes, as well as raising 50 chickens, amid a lack of rain during the summer months.
On a sunny day, their fog collector can produce nearly 1,800 liters of water. Their system is entirely funded through grants from the Spanish government. The water collected from the fog meets World Health Organization (WHO) standards for drinking water safety and has provided a vital resource to local communities.
