After discovering his beloved childhood lake was in peril, scientist Marino Morikawa returned home to see if he could do what no one else had accomplished: save the Cascajo wetlands.
As detailed by One Earth, Peru's El Cascajo Lake was once a popular spot to boat, fish, and swim, and it supported an array of biodiverse plant, animal, and marine life.
However, pollution from an illegal landfill, livestock farms, and a second-rate waste drainage canal turned the lake into a shell of its former self — plagued by smelly bacteria blooms coating the once-pristine waters in a green film. When Morikawa returned to the wetlands, the flocks of migratory birds that once populated the area were nowhere to be found, and the lake had shrunk from approximately 371 acres to a mere 99.
The situation was so bad that officials slated the lake to be "capped," or covered with soil in order to limit the spread of harmful contaminants. Upon hearing the news, Morikawa returned from his studies in Japan and asked for 12 months to restore the area. Even though the mayor agreed with his proposal, no one would fund it. Yet the scientist was so confident it wasn't too late that he poured his savings into the endeavor and took out several bank loans.
"This is hard to explain and might be difficult for many people to understand. But the first thing I did was kneel down in the wetlands," Morikawa told One Earth. "When I put my hands on the ground, I felt a heartbeat, a pulse under my hands. 'You're alive,' I said, 'you're not dead like everyone thinks you are.'"
The scientist's first task was to identify the pollutants. After taking samples and analyzing the data, he determined that a biofilter and micro-nano bubbling system would do the trick.
For the biofilters, Morikawa took a pottery class before fashioning clay and ceramic models, which capture pollutants while aiding the growth of species that support beneficial microflora. Meanwhile, the micro-nano bubbler uses positive and negative ions to trap viruses, bacteria, and undesirable microorganisms, causing them to die or rise to the top and be vaporized by the sun.
As restoration projects elsewhere have demonstrated, taking action to support nature usually pays dividends. For instance, a dam-removal project in Michigan has opened up recreational opportunities along the Kalamazoo River and led to a burgeoning fish population.
Wetlands are crucial ecosystems to maintain. As Sarah Fowler of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust explains, "Wetlands are superpowered habitats. They help to; boost our moods, store carbon, purify and clean up our water, and provide homes for 40% of the world's species." Fowler also noted that well-maintained wetlands can be a cost-effective, natural boost to flood defense.
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Definitely 👍 In Peru, Morikawa's efforts also paid off. After six months of system development and four months of active tech deployment, he had decontaminated the El Cascajo wetlands, along with the help of hundreds of local volunteers inspired by his hard work.
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"If you take the first step, others will follow," Morikawa told One Earth, adding: "Nature does its job. All I do is give it a boost to speed up the process."
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