ASEC 2010 Challenge

The Challenge

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization some 13 million hectares of the world’s forests are lost every year, including 6 million hectares of primary forests. Primary forests — forests with no visible signs of past or present human activities — are considered the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the planet. Besides wiping out biodiversity, deforestation contributes about 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The main causes of deforestation include cutting timber to construct houses and furniture, and make paper.

Your challenge today is to design a product or process that will significantly reduce the use of timber in one or more of these areas: housing construction; furniture; or paper.  You will need to create a business plan for your product, and a 3-D model to be shown to potential investors.

In addition, your design will also need to educate the public – especially young people — about the benefits of your product.  Therefore, your 3-D model will later be donated to the local science museum as an exhibit, helping children learn how your product or process contributes to reducing deforestation and/or greenhouse gas emissions.