According to Saqib Mahmood, the department has given the go-ahead to begin work on this pilot project, and some areas of Rawalpindi are deemed most suitable for the purpose.
In an effort to promote horticulture and provide drinking water in water-scarce areas, the Punjab Forest Department will soon begin work on a project to convert fog into water in hilly, desert, and other potential areas. The method of obtaining water from fog is known as a “fog collector,” according to the Department’s Chief Conservator Saqib Mahmood on Sunday.
Many countries have been working on it for the last 30 years, and the experiment has been successful in Malaysia, Chile, Peru, Ghana, South Africa, Eritrea, Morocco, and parts of the Middle East. He explained that they are not only watering the plants but also getting drinking water from fog collectors.
Though a number of countries are obtaining water for drinking as well as for plants using this method, he stated that it is still being done on an experimental basis around the world.
He stated that while many countries benefited greatly from this method, this would be the first of its kind in Pakistan, beginning as a pilot project with the planting of approximately 100 saplings.
According to Saqib Mahmood, the department has given the go-ahead to begin work on this pilot project, and some areas of Rawalpindi are deemed most suitable for the purpose.
“This method is very successful in areas where the amount of water in the fog is high, particularly in hilly areas.” “The vapour in the air takes the form of liquid water droplets, and this phenomenon is most observable on thin, flat, exposed objects, including plant leaves and grass blades,” the chief conservator explained.
“With this in mind, a mesh sheet (green net for plants) is installed in a vertical pattern to allow air to pass through it, converting vapour into drops that are channelled into a filtration system, thus collecting clean water.” He claimed that this was a very simple and easy procedure that anyone could use at home to obtain clean water.
He claimed that a two-meter wide and six-meter long simple green plastic net installed vertically in the path of the wind could collect six to twenty litres of water in one night.
“The efficiency of the fog collector is determined by the net material, the size of the holes and filament, and the chemical coating,” he explained. Collectors of fog can accumulate up to 10 percent of the moisture in the air, depending on their efficiency.”
He stated that using this method, water could be obtained in some desert areas and river catchments, thereby alleviating the shortage of clean water. He claimed that fog collectors could provide water for the reforestation of ridges and upper parts of mountains where conventional watering methods were ineffective.
He added that by directly collecting fog water, the fog water could be delivered in drip irrigation systems by gravity flow and become self-sustaining. According to Saqib Mahmood, if the pilot project is successful, its scope will be expanded to other potential areas of the country.