“Lawrence, only two kinds of creatures frolic in the desert: the Bedouins and the gods, and you are neither. Believe me, for ordinary men, the desert is a blazing fiery furnace.” Fernando Tomás Maestre Gil, born in Sax (Alicante) on January 11, 1974, is neither a Bedouin nor a god, but neither is he a common man.
In a way, his ties to the desert unite him with that Lawrence of Arabia referred to in the dialogue at the top of these lines, taken from the screenplay for the immortal film by David Lean; perhaps not as adventurous, not at all bellicose, but equally attracted to his knowledge. Two weeks have passed since Maestre received in Alicante, from the hands of King Felipe VI, the 2022 National Research Award, in the area of ??Science and Technology of Natural Resources, which has been awarded “for his important advances in the study biodiversity and ecology of drylands, the impacts of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems and desertification”.
Already recognized as an extraordinary student when he was studying at the University of Alicante, he completed his training at Duke and has carried out research stays at universities and research centers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and China. The curriculum and the list of awards received by this biologist is as extensive -too much to be reproduced here- as is an agenda of commitments that allows him, however, to respond calmly and reflexively to questions from La Vanguardia.
A brief introduction to situate the reader. Born in Sax in the 70s, what was the boy Fernando like and what was the world around him like?
A normal, curious child, fascinated by the world around him at that moment. From the eyes of a child, seen with innocence, it was a simple world, less complicated in quotes than there is now. From what my mother tells me, he was a very curious person, who learned the models of the cars he saw on the street. I really liked reading, going to the library. Like many children. A happy and calm childhood in a world a little different from the one we have today.
Was your vocation early or late?
My vocation really came late, well, when I was in high school. When I was little I had in my head that I was going to be a doctor. But when I was in second or third year of high school I began to worry about the environment. I realized that I wanted to dedicate myself professionally to its study and to try to contribute to improving it with my work. And I decided to study Biology.
Is it concern for the environment that leads you to biology, or is it scientific knowledge that leads you to care for the environment?
As I have said, it was my concern for the environment that led me to Biology. What Biology has allowed me is to have tools to dedicate myself professionally to carrying out a type of research that can contribute to protecting and better managing our environment, our natural resources, but I studied Biology as a result of my concern for our impact on our planet. .
Was it your geographical environment determining? I mean, if he was born in Vigo, would his specialty be another?
I think so. I like to say that I was born, I have grown and I have been trained as a person and as a professional in a semi-arid environment, so I have a natural inclination for the study of arid zones, and as soon as I opted for Ecology as a professional branch, I immediately realized that I wanted to focus my work on learning more about the ecology of our immediate environment. Yes, possibly in another environment I would have done something else. Geography is very important when it comes to determining not only our day to day, but also how we are as people, our tastes, our interests and our professional tasks.
In the 70s we were fascinated by Commander Cousteau or Rodríguez de la Fuente, did you have references of that type?
In my case, I was still a little little when those characters were at their peak, but I still remember as if I had seen that shocking program of El Hombre y la Tierra yesterday, about this eagle that caught a goat and flew it away; Those images have remained engraved in the retinas of generations of Spaniards and, obviously, documentaries like those of Félix helped awaken my interest in nature. Although I cannot say that I dedicated myself to Biology because of those documentaries or some similar reference.
Ramón Martín Mateo said that his interest in the “health” of the planet was almost enlightening, a fall from the horse like that of Saint Paul. In his case, was there an event, a reading, a teacher that opened his eyes?
Yes, there were two readings that when I was a teenager had a great impact on me and emphasized my desire to dedicate myself professionally to a task related to the environment. Al Gore’s (Vice President of the United States) book The Earth at stake, which had a great impact on me at the time; and another book by Joaquín Araújo, about nature in Spain and the problems I already had at that time, and it opened my eyes a bit to the full range of impacts that our activities have on the territory and the magnitude of them, as well as some of the things that could be started to solve them.
Jaume I Prize, like you, Martín Mateo also said that the same politicians who award you later do not consult you and, if they do, they do not listen to you. Do you share that opinion?
Yes, I share it. At least in my experience, in almost all cases, not all. For example, the mayoress of Sax and the councilor for the Environment, and other councillors, it is true that they take my advice very much into account to improve different aspects of the Saxo environment and they consult me ??frequently for different issues related to environmental protection Atmosphere. I have to say that on a local scale, at least they do listen to me. On other scales, it is true that they are not paying much attention to us, at least to me, among other things because I understand that many of the things that we say that should be done are tricky issues from the economic and social point of view, which They generate a lot of discussion, a lot of debate. Politically, acting accordingly and minimizing negative impacts on natural resources requires actions that are unpopular, cost votes, and are therefore very costly to implement in practice. We tell truths that are uncomfortable, and politicians have a hard time dealing with them
I propose an exercise, answer these three people:
1. “Climate change is irreversible. We better prepare for its effects, because it is no longer possible to avoid it.”
True, climate change cannot be avoided, whatever we do is unstoppable, but what we can do is minimize its effects; we are still in time to avoid the most catastrophic scenarios. Let’s not become complacent that there is nothing to do and let’s continue working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while working on adaptation to prepare for the climate of the future that is almost here at our doorstep, as we have been able to see this summer.
2. “I’m sick of being made to feel guilty for drinking pod coffee or bottled water; if plastic is that bad, ban it.”
It is not that we feel guilty. What we have to do is be aware that many of the measures we can take are going to be very beneficial for our health. Drinking bottled water is filling our bodies with microplastics and if we drink tap water, it is not only healthier, but we also protect the environment. It is true that certain things related to single-use plastics must be prohibited, as well as the recycling policy and change the incentives so that less waste is abandoned and better recycling, above all, what we have to do on our part is to consume less and consume better, which will be good for the environment and above all for our health.
3. “It’s not that bad. The planet is affected by a lot of things. Why worry.”
We have to worry about the health of our planet because our health depends intimately on the health of our planet. If we live in a healthy environment, with an environment in a good state of conservation, without pollution, with nature that works, we are going to be healthier. Everything we do to improve our environment improves our health and quality of life. And the one we will have tomorrow is a favor that we are doing not only to our children and our grandchildren, but also to our future selves. Everything we do to minimize the effects of climate change will be appreciated by us twenty years from now.
They ask him a lot about the Tajo-Segura, it is logical. Let’s place ourselves in a future without transfer: is the current agricultural and tourism model sustained on desalination plants powered by photovoltaic energy sustainable? Or is it inevitable to change the model?
Yes, the future of the agricultural and tourism model inevitably depends on the use of desalination plants powered by renewable energies to reduce their energy impact whether we want it or not, because the transfer, as I have said on several occasions, and I am not saying it, but rather According to the data we have on the table and many other experts, its days are numbered and it will not be able to supply current or future demand for water. Now, what we have is to change the model. It is inevitable to limit irrigation, we cannot assume that we will be able to increase it in the way that we have been doing in recent decades and in recent years in particular. We have to change this vision of maximizing profit in the short term to trying to make our agriculture sustainable in the medium and long term. There has to be irrigation, we cannot think that it will disappear, but we have to limit the surface area and certain areas will have to be converted to dry land. That there are also rainfed crops that are very economically profitable. Let us think, for example, of carob trees. And in other areas, the number of crops will have to be limited, even if they continue to be irrigated.
What opinion do you have about the implementation of wind power plants and their effect on the territory?
It is difficult to generalize. I don’t like to say “I’m for or against”. Obviously, I am in favor of renewable energies and that their deployment be accelerated as far as possible, but I also believe that it is a deployment that has to be done without relaxing environmental impact studies, as is being done in some cases, and taking into account that, for example, wind power plants have some impacts on birdlife, on very important components of biodiversity, which we cannot ignore and we have to correct whenever possible. We would also have to prioritize the use of roofs and surfaces that are already built or degraded to implement photovoltaic energy on a large scale and, whenever possible, wind energy. The locations that generate the least impact on biodiversity and the territory as a whole must be chosen.
Alicante airport breaks its record every month. It is worth less to travel to Agadir or Brighton by plane than to go by train to Madrid. I sense that you will not be very supportive.
We cannot fight against climate change by proposing an economic and tourist model that implies that there are more and more planes, more flights, we are sold as a continuous success that the airport has more and more flights…it does not make any sense that it is worth more Cheaper to fly to London than the train or bus from the airport to the city centre, that’s nonsense, largely because kerosene, the jet fuel, is subsidized. We have to rethink as a society the need to fly so much. Aviation is a difficult sector to decarbonise. We have to reduce our dependence on the plane for everything. Just as we use the car much more than we should, we also have to rethink the use of the plane; we cannot sell as a success that there are more and more planes.
But is it possible to convince a generation that has been raised in a certain lifestyle to give it up, and the millions of people who have not achieved that status and aspire to obtain it? The largest source market for tourists in China is China itself…
It is very difficult to change our habits and our lifestyle, but we can incorporate changes in our daily lives that greatly reduce our environmental impact. In fact, our lifestyle makes us sick on numerous occasions. Moving so much, flying so much, consuming so much… doesn’t make us happier. In sight is the amount of anxiolytics, antidepressants and all the mental health problems and others that we have. We have to slow down our pace of life, live in a calmer way, reduce our movements whenever possible. And when planning a vacation, we still don’t need to go to the Caribbean when we can enjoy our beaches in Alicante. Or go to a closer place where we can travel by train. We live in a very fast-paced society that generates a series of needs that really are not such. If we get rid of some things that we think are essential, we will realize that they are not so necessary, but that we would live better and in a healthier way not only for the planet, but for ourselves.
When people die in bombing every day, it may seem trivial to ask, but doesn’t war also have a disastrous effect on the planet?
Undoubtedly. War is not only a humanitarian drama, it is a human drama, it is a social drama, it is an economic drama, but it is an environmental drama of the first order. Faced with the human drama and all the suffering, we put it aside, but from the environmental point of view it is a disaster of the first magnitude. War is nonsense in all aspects in which we want to consider it, and of course in the environmental one.
Perhaps this conversation is turning out to be somber. Tell me something hopeful, something to encourage those young people who, according to statistics, are increasingly suffering from anxiety.
Yes, I believe that optimism must be maintained in this gloomy outlook. I would not only encourage young people, but also those of us who are older, that we can change many things and make a positive difference for our planet, for our society and for ourselves: consume less, use public transport more, recycle more , be a little more activist in our immediate circle, encourage those around us to care more about these issues, exercise more, be more aware of our choices as consumers, consume less energy, less water, not change clothes so much and we don’t need a mobile phone… we can do many little things that will have a very positive effect on our health, they will make us feel better and they will have a positive effect on our planet. And they are going to help our life to be fuller and we enjoy it more. We can do a lot and we don’t have to fall into pessimism or this speech that “I can’t do anything, I get under the bed and let the sun rise tomorrow”, at all.
You recently said that Twitter was wasting your time. Do we delete ourselves from social networks?
That is a personal decision, I do not like to tell others what they have to do. In my case, I have been a very active user of Twitter for the last ten years, but lately I have realized that I was becoming addicted, and that it was beginning to steal time and energy that I not only did not have, but also that it is much better for me to use it in other activities. So I am a bit withdrawn from social networks, I have greatly reduced the use I make and my activity. They are still a very good communication tool, but the time has come for me to retire and not have as long an exposure as I had.
It is also true that in a less connected world, perhaps you could not have come so far from Alicante; 30 years ago I might have had to emigrate…
Yes obviously. Being so connected allows us to work from Alicante and collaborate with colleagues from all over the world and we can have a much more global vision and better understand the world around us and have professional aspirations that in another era would not have been possible. We must not deny it, but rather use these tools that the internet provides us precisely to reduce our environmental footprint as far as possible. How many unnecessary work trips can teleworking save us? We have to stay with the good of progress and give up the most superfluous aspects.
The last. I have always thought that patience -an increasingly scarce virtue- should be an essential quality in a researcher. Is it so?
That’s how it is. As the saying goes, “patience is the mother of science” and a researcher must know that it is a long-distance race, that you have to be persevering, patient, and many times things do not work out the first time or the second time. second or third. The professional objectives that we have often take time to arrive, or lines of research that seemed very promising are not at all. Behind every success before there have been a few failures. Patience in general is a good virtue, both at work and in life.
