Sahara Forest Project
{{Short description|Reforestation and Ecology Project}}
{{use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
File:The Sahara Forest Project pilot facility in Qatar.jpg
The Sahara Forest Project aims to provide fresh water, food and renewable energy in hot, arid regions as well as re-vegetating areas of uninhabited desert.{{cite news |last=Jha |first=Alok |date=2 September 2008 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/sep/02/alternativeenergy.solarpower |title=Seawater greenhouses to bring life to the desert |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=29 December 2011 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.thefutureofscience.org/speaker/abstract/PatonCharlie.pdf |title=Fourth World Conference on the Future of Science "Food and Water for Life" - Venice, September 24-27, 2008 |date=September 2008 |url-status=dead |work=thefutureofscience.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090419091919/http://www.thefutureofscience.org/speaker/abstract/PatonCharlie.pdf |archive-date=2009-04-19 }} The founding team was composed of Seawater Greenhouse Ltd, Exploration Architecture, Max Fordham Consulting Engineers and the Bellona Foundation.
The proposed technology combines saltwater-cooled greenhouses with solar power technologies, either directly using photovoltaic (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power and technologies for desert revegetation. It is claimed that these technologies together will create a sustainable and profitable source of energy, food, vegetation and water. The scale of the proposed project is such that very large quantities of seawater would be evaporated. By using locations below sea level, pumping costs would be eliminated. A project in Qatar has been completed, and pilot projects in Jordan and Tunisia have been initiated.{{Cite journal | last1 = Clery | first1 = D. |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.331.6014.136 | doi = 10.1126/science.331.6014.136 | title = Greenhouse-Power Plant Hybrid Set to Make Jordan's Desert Bloom | journal = Science | volume = 331 | issue = 6014 | pages = 136 | year = 2011 | pmid = 21233357| bibcode = 2011Sci...331..136C
| url-access = subscription }}{{cite news |last=Dell'Amore |first=Christine |date=22 January 2011 |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/100122-green-desert-oasis-sahara-forest |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220915145200/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/100122-green-desert-oasis-sahara-forest |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 September 2022 |title=High-Tech Energy "Oasis" to Bloom in the Desert? |work=National Geographic |access-date=29 December 2011 }}{{cite news |last=Rosner |first=Hilary |date=7 August 2011 |url=https://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2009-07/8-farming-solution-help-stop-world-hunger/ |title=The Future of Farming: Eight Solutions For a Hungry World |work=Popular Science |access-date=29 December 2011 }}{{cite web |last=Walt |first=Vivienne |date=15 January 2009 |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1872110_1872133_1872141,00.html |title=Out of Africa: Saharan Solar Energy |work=Time Magazine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090119015717/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1872110_1872133_1872141,00.html |access-date=29 December 2011 |archive-date=2009-01-19 }}
Pilot in Qatar
Sahara Forest Project's first pilot facility was built in Qatar and officially opened on 16 December 2012 by the then Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.{{cite news |work=Gulf Times |date=12 December 2012 |title=Heir Apparent unveils Sahara Forest Project |url=https://www.gulf-times.com/story/335275/Heir-Apparent-unveils-Sahara-Forest-Project |first=Pratap |last=John |access-date=18 September 2022 }} The results were better than expected.{{cite journal |journal=Science |date=7 November 2013 |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/desert-farming-experiment-yields-first-results |first=Daniel |last=Clery |title=Desert Farming Experiment Yields First Results }}{{cite web |title=Qatar Pilot results exceed expectations |work=saharaforestproject.com |date=7 November 2013 |access-date=18 September 2022 |url=https://www.saharaforestproject.com/qatar-pilot-results-exceed-expectations/ }} The results have guided next steps, namely a test and demonstration center providing the first commercial-scale of the full Sahara Forest Project value chain.
Jordan agreement
{{Update|section|date=October 2019}}
On 22 June 2014, the Sahara Forest Project signed an agreement with the Norwegian Embassy in Amman for establishing a Sahara Forest Project Launch Station and related activities in Jordan.{{cite web |title="A showcase for the region" - Norwegian embassy signs contract with the Sahara Forest Project|work=Norwegian Embassy in Jordan |date=23 June 2014 |url=http://www.norway.jo/News_and_events/Other-regional-news/A-showcase-for-the-region---Norwegian-embassy-signs-contract-with-the-Sahara-Forest-Project/#.U-zweiHP0-Q |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814172300/http://www.norway.jo/News_and_events/Other-regional-news/A-showcase-for-the-region---Norwegian-embassy-signs-contract-with-the-Sahara-Forest-Project/#.U-zweiHP0-Q |access-date=16 September 2022 |archive-date=14 August 2014 }} The Launch Station will be the first step towards a full-scale Sahara Forest Project Centre in Aqaba, Jordan. The Launch Station will contain a saltwater-cooled greenhouse in combination with solar power technologies and facilities for outdoor cultivation and revegetation. The Qatar plant was dismantled in 2016, and is expected to be operational in Jordan in 2017 after being shipped.{{cite web|url=http://www.tu.no/artikler/sahara-forest-project-vil-bygge-tre-ganger-storre-enn-planlagt-i-jordan/359408 |title=Sahara Forest Project vil bygge tre ganger større enn planlagt i Jordan |language=no |trans-title=Sahara Forest Project will build three times bigger than planned in Jordan |first=Øyvind |last=Lie |work=Teknisk Ukeblad |date=18 October 2016 |accessdate=18 October 2016}}
Not all reports on the project are optimistic. Hydroponics projects globally tend to be overly optimistic but there are downsides to producing expensive crops in a population that cannot afford to buy them.{{Cite web|url=https://www.greenprophet.com/2012/05/aqaba-sahara-desert-project/|title=Aqaba's Got Norwegian Wood - Isn't it Good? - Green Prophet|first=Faisal|last=O'Keefe|date=3 May 2012}}
See also
- Al Baydha Project
- Sahara
- Sundrop Farms; a somewhat similar project{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/nov/24/growing-food-in-the-desert-crisis |first=Jonathan |last=Margolis |title=Growing food in the desert: is this the solution to the world's food crisis? |newspaper=The Guardian |date=24 November 2012 |access-date=16 September 2022 }}{{cite web |work=sundropfarms.com |url=http://www.sundropfarms.com/our-technology/ |title=The Sundrop System |access-date=18 September 2022 }}
- Wadi Rum Consultancy
- Great Green Wall (Africa)
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- [http://www.seawatergreenhouse.com/ Seawater Greenhouse Ltd]
- [http://www.saharaforestproject.com Sahara Forest Project]
- [http://www.exploration-architecture.com/projects/sahara-forest-project Exploration Architecture]