Sahara Forest Project
The Sahara Forest Project[1][2] is an environmental solution to create re-vegetation and green jobs through production of food, water, clean electricity and biomass in desert areas.
The project combines solar power technologies, saltwater cooled greenhouses and technologies for establishing vegetation in arid areas. The Sahara Forest Project uses deserts, sunlight, saltwater and CO2 to produce food, water and clean energy. The Sahara Forest Project also offers a positive measure to combat global climate change. Through the establishment of vegetation in arid areas, CO2 from the atmosphere will be stored in the soil and new biomass, potentially becoming carbon negative.
In January 2011 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority and The Sahara Forest Project AS in Amman, Jordan. This agreement committed Sahara Forest Project to conducting three comprehensive studies in Jordan financed and supported by Norwegian authorities. The Memorandum of Understanding also includes that the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority will facilitate 20 ha for a Test and Demonstration Centre and 200 ha for possible later expansion.
The Sahara Forest Project AS has also entered into cooperation with Yara ASA, the world’s largest supplier of fertilizer and the Qatari company Qafco, the world’s largest single site producer of urea and ammonia. After successfully completing a comprehensive feasibility study on Qatar, the first fully operational Sahara Forest Project Pilot Plant was opened in Qatar in December 2012. [3][4][5][6][7]
References
- ^ Jha, Alok (2 September 2008) "Seawater greenhouses to bring life to the desert" The Guardian. Accessed 29 December 2011.
- ^ Fourth World Conference on the Future of Science "Food and Water for Life" - Venice, September 24-27, 2008
- ^ Attention: This template ({{cite pmid}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by PMID 21233357, please use {{cite journal}} with
|pmid=21233357instead. - ^ Dell'Amore, Christine (22 January 2011) “High-Tech Energy "Oasis" to Bloom in the Desert?”, National Geographic daily News. Accessed 29 December 2011.
- ^ Rosner, Hilary (7 August 2011) “The Future of Farming: Eight Solutions For a Hungry World”. Popular Science . Accessed 29 December 2011.
- ^ Walt, Vivienne (15 January 2009) “Out of Africa: Saharan Solar Energy”. Time. Accessed 29 December 2011.
- ^ http://saharaforestproject.com/news/news-stories/the-heir-apparent-opens-pilot-plant-in-qatar.html