A data-based global platform builds a community that supports people and organizations who want to protect ecosystems and the natural world. Technology and nature coexist in an app to learn, connect, and have a verifiable impact on nature.
What’s new? A tool to gather data on the environment without harming it. Data are offered to communities and support them to take action on climate and nature preservation.
Why is this important? The current state of the environment is far from ideal. But the climate crisis also offers opportunities. By using biology we can achieve sustainable solutions and protect ecosystems for the long term. Nature-based solutions allow for regeneration and a healthier environment.
Read the whole story
While it seems ironic advising companies and people that nature-based solutions are sustainable options, most of us have forgotten the true power that nature holds. Those of us in the technology industry have spent the past 100 years revolutionizing how we function as a society, yet we can protect ecosystems and work with nature to create innovative and sustainable technologies to combat the environmental crisis.
The current state of the environment is far from ideal. The climate crisis certainly comes with challenges, but also opportunities. If you haven’t already, now is the time to look around us and use those opportunities for the right reasons. For example, did you know farming without the use of pesticides can be achieved by combining certain plant species? By using biology (in this case intercropping) we can achieve sustainable solutions which are viable for the long term. Or, look at hydropower in Iceland or wind power across Europe. Nature-based solutions allow for regeneration and a healthier environment.
Learning to manage ecosystems holistically will help provide a multitude of essential benefits and services to people, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, securing safe water resources, making air safer to breathe, or providing increased food security. Nature-based solutions take these factors into consideration. Afterall a healthy environment equals a healthy society.
Why implement nature-based solutions?
We often undermine the impact that these solutions have. While change requires a conscious effort, often nature-based solutions are more effective and efficient. The Institute for European Environmental Policy created a report which highlights all the socio-economic benefits that come with this, such as creating more economic opportunities, employment, and well-being benefits. It also builds infrastructure, decreases pollution, promotes reforestation and regeneration, not to mention it helps to protect ecosystems, and allows for a healthier planet (and population) overall.
The UN estimates that ‘Restoration of 350 million hectares of degraded land between now and 2030 could generate USD 9 trillion in ecosystem services and take an additional 13-26 gigatons of greenhouse gasses out of the atmosphere.’ These results can be amplified only if we think about this in the long term. If we look at combining solutions and commit to it, we can achieve big results in our lifetimes and even better results for those who come after us.
6 Tips to think long term:
- Learn, Discover, and Educate – understanding the context of our current climate
- While most of us have some understanding of the environmental crisis, most of us feel like we can’t make a difference, yet alone a long-term one. Educating yourself is easier than it seems – try a video online, or an environmentally focused online outlet. Understanding the environmental impact of our actions and learning to adopt more sustainable ways of doing the same things, bit by bit, could add up to sizable positive change.
- Join a community
- Take advantage of technology and look for like-minded people online. There are many initiatives, projects, and businesses that are discussing these problems and solutions. Social media can also be a great tool to introduce yourself to these networks. Our app was designed around this idea, allowing people from all walks of life to connect and discuss the climate crisis. These platforms are an easy and instantaneous way to understand different perspectives and start changing your mindset to think long-term.
- Be aware of environmental risks and challenges for restoration
- Challenges come with change. Reforestation will require investments, whether this be money, effort, or time. It’s also not a guaranteed solution. In our speech at COP26 last year we highlighted 3 global risks including climate action failure, extreme weather, and biodiversity loss. While often our first reaction is to think of an immediate solution, by shifting our mindset to look for long-term strategies, these challenges simply become things to overcome, not ones that hinder us.
- Keep an eye on advancements being made in Clean Tech
- Cleantech aid’s in nature-based solutions as it combines technology with pre-existing natural processes. Think about renewable energy or recycling – these practices are all considered clean tech.
- Look at technologies that use non-invasive methods. Lemu’s app relies on collective intelligence, which refers to a combination of different data sources, to gather data on the environment without harming it.
- Understand the relationships and conflicts between people and nature
- It’s not feasible for us to completely change how we live. There are pre-existing infrastructures which will take time to change. We will also change at a different pace – keep this in mind as you take your own steps.
- Practice a future thinking mindset
- Thinking long term can be difficult, however, investing in small things can help. Buy a reusable cup, recycle your food scraps, and try to reduce your use of plastics. Investing in these things all make an impact over time.
Conclusion:
While thinking of long-term solutions can be daunting, it’s much like everything else in life: we set goals and we take small steps towards achieving them. Nature-based solutions have existed for thousands of years. Harnessing these natural processes will take effort, however, it took us over 100 years to get to this point, so why do we assume it would take any less time to reverse this?
Investing in nature does not equal a monetary return, it means that we stabilize biodiversity loss, extreme weather, and climate change. Also, ‘Investing’ doesn’t always mean money, it can also refer to effort, or making habitual changes (such as choosing to stop using plastics). Restoring the planet will not only protect our home, it will protect our livelihood. It will allow for food security, it will maintain our climate, and most importantly, it will create a sustainable balance between society and the environment.
Interested in learning more about what you can do to help? Check out the Lemu App to register for early access.
About Lemu:
Lemu is a data-based global platform building a community around people and organizations who want to protect the natural world. A place where technology and nature coexist. Lemu is an app to learn, connect, and have a verifiable impact on nature. The app is still in the developing stage for beta users who want to try it out and help build the app. Interested in joining the Lemu community as an early member?
About Leo Prieto:
Leo founded Lemu with the vision of bringing the offline online. A seasoned entrepreneur who pioneered the Internet industry in Latin America, he has been working with digital data for over 25 years. He is passionate about the potential of collective intelligence and using the most advanced technology available to improve life for all the inhabitants of this planet, not just humans. When he’s not online or doing shinrinyoku with his family, he wishes he was underwater or exploring our planet. His experience leading large technology teams to happy outcomes earned him the selection of Endeavor Global Entrepreneur in 2009. He has won several prizes since then, such as Espirítu Emprendedor 2022.
Today Leo is also a board member of Fundación Chile.
