How to grow vegetables in the Sahara 要如何在撒哈拉沙漠種菜
The Sahara Desert was once a lush landscape full of exotic plants and wildlife, before a dramatic era of climate change created the arid plains of today.
撒哈拉沙漠曾經是一個充滿著奇異植物和野生動物的綠地，在一次戲劇性的氣候變遷時期之後才成為了今天這樣的乾燥平原。
Now an
ambitious, high-tech agriculture project could make the desert bloom again, and
establish a new green economy in the process.
現在，有一個充滿野心的高科技農業計劃能夠讓這片沙漠再次開花，並在執行的過程中創造新的綠色經濟。
Norwegian
social enterprise Sahara Forest Project (SFP)
is preparing for the construction of a $30 million facility over 10 hectares in
Tunisia -- where desert covers around 75% of territory -- which will bring
together cutting edge technologies to regenerate the environment, deliver fresh
food and water, and create jobs.
撒哈拉沙漠森林計劃（以下簡稱SPF）正準備一項三千萬美金的的建設，位於突尼西亞，占地超過10公頃，整塊地有百分之75被沙漠所覆蓋，整個計劃不但會以先進科技重新恢復整個生態環境的運作，還能夠生產食物和水和製造工作機會。
"We try
to achieve a triple bottom line," says Joakim Hauge, CEO of the company.
"Something that makes financial sense, but also delivers social and
environmental benefits."
公司CEO
Joakim Hauge表示：「我們嘗試要做到三重底線（註一），讓這項建設符合經濟效益，又同時能創造社會及環境利益。」
Solutions inspired by nature受自然啟發的解決方法
The SFP has developed a model based on
using resources that are abundant to deliver scarcities. This principle will be
reflected in the core technologies of the Tunisian facility.
SPF發展出了一套模式，運用目前豐富的資源來創造出稀少的資源，而這個原則將會反應在突尼西亞建設的核心科技當中。
The desert sun will be harnessed for
solar power to heat and electrify the site. Seawater will be piped in to cool
greenhouses and allow year-round cultivation of crops, a 'biomimicry' process
inspired by the Namibian fog-basking beetle.
沙漠中的太陽將能夠用來製造太陽能為設施提供熱能和電力，海水將會輸入溫室幫助降溫，還可以用來終年灌溉作物，整個仿生學過程的靈感是來自於那米比亞的沐霧擬步行蟲。
Seawater will
also be desalinated to extract both salt and fresh water, and the humidity of
the greenhouses will be used to spur the growth of new plant life outside the
facility, in the hope of regenerating a wider ecosystem.
海水還會被除去鹽分進而提煉出鹽和淡水，而溫室裡的濕氣則可以用來刺激設施外的植物生長，希望能夠讓更多的區域重啟生態系統的運作。
The methods
may seem far-fetched, but a successful pilot of
the model in Qatar produced vegetables at a comparable rate to European farms
over three crops a year, while plants multiplied rapidly around it. A scaled up
facility is under construction in Jordan.
這些方法或許看起來有些不切實際，但是在卡達的農場有類似歐洲農場模式連續三年快速耕作且成功的先例，而且案例中農場周圍的植物也開始快速的繁殖。另外，在約旦有規模更大的設施正在建造中。
Hauge says
that efficiency has improved as the group have learned to adapt their model to
particular conditions.
Hauge表示整體效率已經有所改善，因為整個團隊已經了解到要將模組隨著特殊的情況進行調整。
"We have
learned more about the value of local knowledge," he says, adding that the
Tunisian project would rely on local talent across a spectrum of jobs from
farming to highly-skilled, technical positions.
「我們學習到了對當地背景了解的重要。」他說，補充表示這個突尼西亞計劃會依賴各行各業包括農業到高技能的科技產業的當地人才。
Hauge hopes
the project, and its local employees, can inspire growth in the nation's
renewable sector.
Hauge希望這個計劃和其當地的員工能夠帶動整個國家對於再生能源領域的成長。
Right place, right time對的時間，對的地點。
Tunisia was
chosen as the site for the project on October 9, 2015 -- the day a group of
Tunisian activists were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their role in the
2011 "Jasmine Revolution" that preceded a transition to democracy.
在2015年10月9日突尼西亞被選為這個計劃的實施地點，而這天也是突尼西亞的社會運動參與者因為2011年，開啓民主變革的「茉莉花革命」而獲得諾貝爾和平獎的那天。
"Tunisia
was always interesting for its physical conditions," says Hauge.
"Political developments made it increasingly interesting for us."
Hauge表示：「因為突尼西亞的自然環境讓我們對這個地方一直很有興趣，而其政治發展讓這個地方更加吸引我們。」
That same day, the SFP convinced the
Norwegian Foreign Ministry that a newly dynamic and forward-thinking Tunisia
would be the ideal host for their project, and secured funding for it.
在同一天SFP也說服了挪威外交部充滿可能性和前瞻性的突尼西亞是他們計劃最理想的地點，也因此而獲得了補助。
The Tunisian government has also been
supportive, as it seeks solutions to growing climate threats such as droughts
and floods. Tunisia recently committed to raising 30% of energy from
renewable sources by 2030, up from just 1% in 2015.
突尼西亞政府也對此表達支持，同時也在尋找對於像是乾旱和洪荒這類日漸嚴重的氣候威脅的解決方法，突尼西亞近期承諾在2030年前將會使用再生能源，從2015年僅僅1%的供電，提高至百分之30的電力。
In addition to addressing an emergency,
the clean energy industry also offers another symbolic break from the past.
除了處理眼前的危機，清潔能源產業相較過去也有了象徵性的突破。
"The renewable sector can be good
for our economic transition, after the success of the political
transition," says Ammar ben Lamine, the Tunisian Ambassador to Norway, and
a key ally of the SFP project.
駐挪威的突尼西亞大使及SFP計劃的關鍵支持者Ammar ben Lamine表示：「在成功的政治變革後，再生能源產也對於我們經濟轉型也有幫助。」
Like doing 'agriculture on Mars'就像在火星上進行農耕
Despite the success of the SFP pilot in
Qatar, there are doubts that the project can deliver on its grand promise.
儘管了在卡達已經有了SFP計劃成功的先例，對於這個計劃是否真的能夠達成先前提出的許多承諾，尚存著許多的疑慮。
"The problems are not dissimilar
to doing agriculture on Mars," says Professor Heribert Hirt, head of the Center for Desert Agriculture at the King Abdullah
University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia.
位在沙烏地阿拉伯的阿卜杜拉國王科技大學沙漠農業中心的負責人Heribert
Hirt教授表示：「這和在火星上進行耕作會遇到的問題差不多。」
"(Among) the biggest problems in
the entire region of Northern Africa and the Arab countries are the dust and
sand storms that constantly cover up solar panels and get into all machinery
that is exposed."
「在北非和阿拉伯國家的區域會遇到最大的問題之一，是塵土和沙塵暴會一直覆蓋太陽能板並且跑到所有暴露在外的機器當中。」
However, Hirt believes that the SFP is
"worth the effort and will teach us more how to transform these vast
regions of unused land back into agriculture."
然而，Hirt相信SFP計劃是「值得去努力的，且會讓我們更了解如何將沒有使用的廣大區域轉型再度開始農業。」
Addressing
desertification has become a global challenge, that is listed among the UN's sustainable development goals for
all member states. Responses to the challenge include the African Union's
"Great Green Wall"
initiative.
對抗沙漠化已經成為目前全世界面臨的挑戰，而這也被列為聯合國所有國家可持續發展目標之一。面對這個挑戰，非洲聯盟有「綠色長城計劃」（註二）的初步方案。
The SFP intend
to scale up their model to have a greater impact. Looking beyond its work in
Tunisia and Jordan, the group has embryonic plans for a 4000-hectare
mega-facility that would employ 6,000 people and deliver 170,000 tons of
produce each year.
SFP希望能將他們的模式升級進而創造更大的影響，更長遠地來看突尼西亞和約旦目前所達成的成就，這個組織目前初期的計劃是建造能夠創造6000個工作機會的4000公頃大型設施並且每年生產170,000頓的作物。
Should such
plans come to fruition, the Sahara could enter a new, green era.
若這些計劃真的成真了，撒哈拉沙漠將會進入一個全新、綠色的時代。
（註一）Triple Bottom Line 三重底線—三重，是提到經濟底線、環境底線、和社會底線，意即是企業必須履行最基本的經濟責任、環境責任和社會責任感
（註二）Great Green
Wall 綠色長城計劃
非洲綠色長城（英語：Great Green Wall）為沿著撒哈拉沙漠南緣的撒赫爾地區種植跨越非洲大陸的樹牆，是一項防止沙漠化的計畫。這項計畫由非洲聯盟主導，概念起自於綠色前線、中國的三北防護林等大型綠色工程計畫，以解決撒赫爾和撒哈拉地區在土地退化和沙漠化後所導致的社會、經濟、環境的不利影響。
原文網址：http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/16/africa/sahara-forest-project-tunisia-feat/
