Sahara Forest Project

The Sahara Forest Project[1] is a solution to provide fresh water, food, renewable energy and green jobs in hot, arid regions as well as re-vegetating areas of uninhabited desert, in a profitable way.

Organization

The Sahara Forest Project[2][3] is a scheme that aims to provide fresh water, food and renewable energy in hot, arid regions as well as re-vegetating areas of uninhabited desert. This proposal combines saltwater-cooled greenhouses with Solar Power technologies, either directly using Photovoltaic (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP) 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 founding team behind the Sahara Forest Project was composed of experts from Seawater Greenhouse Ltd, Exploration Architecture, Max Fordham Consulting Engineers and the Bellona Foundation. The scale of the proposed scheme is such that very large quantities of seawater would be evaporated. By using locations below sea level, pumping costs would be eliminated. Among planned activities are one pilot project in Jordan and one in Qatar [4][5][6][7]

Pilot in Qatar

Sahara Forest Project's first pilot facility was built in Qatar and officially opened in December 2012 by then HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.[8][9][10][11] The pilot results were better than expected.[12][13] The pilot results have prepared for the next steps, a test and demonstration center providing the first commercial-scale of the full Sahara Forest Project value chain.

Jordan agreement

On 22 June 2014, the Sahara Forest Project signed an agreement with The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Amman for establishing a Sahara Forest Project Launch Station and related activities in Jordan. .[14] The Launch Station will be the first step towards the realization of 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.

CEO Joakim Hauge

Joakim Hauge
Born July 1973
Nationality Norwegian
Education Biologist
Employer Sahara Forest Project
Title Chief Executive Officer
Board member of Sahara Forest Project

Joakim Hauge (born July 1973) is a Norwegian biologist who is the Chief Executive Officer for The Sahara Forest Project.

Hauge holds an MSc in biology from Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis at the University of Oslo. He has a broad experience on issues related to innovation and biology from non-governmental and private sectors and has previously been advising national and international institutions such as the EU Biofuels Technology Platform.

Hauge has been a driving force in bringing the concept of “restorative growth” onto the political arena. He has lectured widely on the subject of innovation and sustainable solutions to combat climate changes and i.e. delivered talks at the UN side events at the Climate Negotiations in Qatar 2012 (COP18 Doha, Chatham House) and events organized by The Economist. Hauge has been featured extensively in international media such as CNN, Al Jazeera, Science, CCTV, France24, MSNBC, New Scientist, VPRO and Financial Times. Joakim Hauge was the closing speaker at TEDx Maastricht 2013.

See also

References

  1. UN COP18 Doha (October 2012)http://www.cop18.qa/en-us/News/SingleStory.aspx?ID=32
  2. Jha, Alok (2 September 2008) "Seawater greenhouses to bring life to the desert" The Guardian. Accessed 29 December 2011.
  3. Fourth World Conference on the Future of Science "Food and Water for Life" - Venice, September 24-27, 2008
  4. Clery, D. (2011). "Greenhouse-Power Plant Hybrid Set to Make Jordan's Desert Bloom". Science 331 (6014): 136. doi:10.1126/science.331.6014.136. PMID 21233357.
  5. Dell'Amore, Christine (22 January 2011) “High-Tech Energy "Oasis" to Bloom in the Desert?”, National Geographic daily News. Accessed 29 December 2011.
  6. Rosner, Hilary (7 August 2011) “The Future of Farming: Eight Solutions For a Hungry World”. Popular Science . Accessed 29 December 2011.
  7. Walt, Vivienne (15 January 2009) “Out of Africa: Saharan Solar Energy”. Time. Accessed 29 December 2011.
  8. Gulf Times (December 2012) http://www.gulf-times.com/qatar/178/details/335275/heir-apparent-unveils-sahara-forest-project
  9. Dell'Amore, Christine (22 January 2011) “High-Tech Energy "Oasis" to Bloom in the Desert?”, National Geographic daily News. Accessed 29 December 2011.
  10. Rosner, Hilary (7 August 2011) “The Future of Farming: Eight Solutions For a Hungry World”. Popular Science . Accessed 29 December 2011.
  11. Walt, Vivienne (15 January 2009) “Out of Africa: Saharan Solar Energy”. Time. Accessed 29 December 2011.
  12. Science (7 November 2013)http://news.sciencemag.org/asiapacific/2013/11/desert-farming-experiment-yields-first-results
  13. Landscape ME (January 2014) http://issuu.com/allanronald45/docs/landscape_magazine_january_2014/25?e=7613768/6201013
  14. Norway in Jordan (June 2014)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-y_2HkcSM8
  15. Corrugated cardboard swamp cooler by Sundrop Farm
  16. Sundrop Farm's system

External links

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