Harvesting fog in Morocco obtains the Momentum for Change award
An ingenious net that harvests fog from the air to provide drinking water for people on the edge of Morocco’s Sahara Desert, was awarded the Momentum for Change climate change award. One of the 13 game-changing initiatives from around the world that were announced last 29 September as winners of the award promoted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Dar Si Hmad, a women-led NGO in Morocco, designed and installed what is now the world’s largest operational fogwater harvesting system. It is an innovative solution to persistent water stress where fog is abundant, a technique inspired from ancient water practices. Six-hundred square meters of specialised fog-trapping nets hung between poles, currently capture an average of 6,300 liters of water/day, more than enough to service 400 residents. The unique fog harvesting project is a successful model of a locally-driven, participatory climate change adaptation initiative, providing an environmentally friendly water source to combat the effects of desertification.
The Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activities underline how climate action and sustainable development is building at all levels of society. Spearheaded by the UN Climate Change secretariat, the initiative was designed to promote some of the most innovative, scalable and replicable examples of what people are doing to address climate change. “UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa said. “By showcasing these remarkable examples of creativity and transformational change, along with the extraordinary people behind them, we can inspire everyone to be an accelerator towards the kind of future we all want and need.”
Each of the 13 winning activities touches on one of Momentum for Change’s three focus areas: Women for Results, Financing for Climate Friendly Investment and ICT Solutions. All 13 will be showcased at a series of special events during the UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech, Morocco (7 November to 18 November 2016). The 2016 Lighthouse Activities were selected by an international advisory panel as part of the secretariat’s Momentum for Change initiative, which operates in partnership with the World Economic Forum Global Project on Climate Change and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative.