Greener pastures: Can ancient eco-engineering help fix our degraded landscapes?

By Thomas Page, CNN

Updated 5:31 AM ET, Mon July 18, 2022

Bunds are simple structures that have been used for thousands of years to keep a liquid in or out. In Kuku, southern Kenya, they have been used as a water management strategy to revive and regreen degraded land. Non-profit Justdiggit worked in collaboration with the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust and the local Maasai community to restore arid, overgrazed land, digging over 150,000 bunds.
Photos: Bunds: The case for low tech land restoration mounts up
Bunds are simple structures that have been used for thousands of years to keep a liquid in or out. In Kuku, southern Kenya, they have been used as a water management strategy to revive and regreen degraded land. Non-profit Justdiggit worked in collaboration with the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust and the local Maasai community to restore arid, overgrazed land, digging over 150,000 bunds.
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A composite image from 2018-2020 of bunds regreening an area of Pembamoto, Tanzania. The local community left the area to regreen over the course of three years before beginning to harvest grass sustainably for fodder.
Photos: Bunds: The case for low tech land restoration mounts up
A composite image from 2018-2020 of bunds regreening an area of Pembamoto, Tanzania. The local community left the area to regreen over the course of three years before beginning to harvest grass sustainably for fodder.
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An aerial view of bunds turning green in Arusha, Tanzania. Regreening can have multiple benefits, including reducing the ground surface temperature.
Photos: Bunds: The case for low tech land restoration mounts up
An aerial view of bunds turning green in Arusha, Tanzania. Regreening can have multiple benefits, including reducing the ground surface temperature.
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An aerial image of bunds trapping rainwater after a downpour. The bunds are designed to slow surface run off and allow water to penetrate the ground, promoting plant growth, improving soil structure and reducing erosion.
Photos: Bunds: The case for low tech land restoration mounts up
An aerial image of bunds trapping rainwater after a downpour. The bunds are designed to slow surface run off and allow water to penetrate the ground, promoting plant growth, improving soil structure and reducing erosion.
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An aerial photograph of cell bunding on peatland that had been a tree plantation in Tullychurry, Northern Ireland. By removing trees and installing cell bunding -- which creates water-tight pockets -- Norther Ireland Water tried to determine if bunding could restore peatland, which naturally filters the country's drinking water.
Photos: Bunds: The case for low tech land restoration mounts up
An aerial photograph of cell bunding on peatland that had been a tree plantation in Tullychurry, Northern Ireland. By removing trees and installing cell bunding -- which creates water-tight pockets -- Norther Ireland Water tried to determine if bunding could restore peatland, which naturally filters the country's drinking water.
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The cells were dug across six hectares in late 2020 and monitored for a year. A study is due to be published later in 2022, according to Diane Foster of Northern Ireland Water.
Photos: Bunds: The case for low tech land restoration mounts up
The cells were dug across six hectares in late 2020 and monitored for a year. A study is due to be published later in 2022, according to Diane Foster of Northern Ireland Water.
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Sphagnum moss is an essential feature of peatland. The moss, which grows in wet, boggy conditions, decays over time to become fresh peat, <a href="https://cnn.com/interactive/2020/12/world/ticking-time-bomb/" target="_blank">a vital global carbon store</a>. By using bunding to raise water levels, researchers in Northern Ireland aim to promote the growth of the moss.
Photos: Bunds: The case for low tech land restoration mounts up
Sphagnum moss is an essential feature of peatland. The moss, which grows in wet, boggy conditions, decays over time to become fresh peat, a vital global carbon store. By using bunding to raise water levels, researchers in Northern Ireland aim to promote the growth of the moss.
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