Clean Water & Sanitation

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

The UN asserts (as is well known) that clean, accessible water for all is essential to sustain life on earth.  Millions of people including children die every year from diseases associated with inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene. Water scarcity, poor water quality and inadequate sanitation negatively impact food security, livelihood choices and educational opportunities for poor families across the world. At the current time, more than 2 billion people are living with the risk of reduced access to freshwater resources and by 2050, at least one in four people is likely to live in a country affected by chronic or recurring shortages of fresh water. Drought in specific afflicts some of the world’s poorest countries, worsening hunger and malnutrition. The UN maintains that to improve sanitation and access to drinking water, there needs to be increased investment in management of freshwater ecosystems and sanitation facilities on a local level in several developing countries within Sub-Saharan Africa and in other areas of the World. TAP is needed to provide support to natural freshwater ecosystems.

For the Sahel area of Africa, TAP will provide virtually complete, end-to-end clean water for many who have lived through years of successive droughts. TAP’s four desalination plants and 8,000 km freshwater pipeline will ensure clean, potable water for those along the Great Green Wall and beyond. The 11 Sahel countries of the Pan African Great GreenWall (GGW) project will access 800,000 cubic meters of fresh water daily, a life-changing provision that will eliminate much of the human effort now wasted on securing water daily, and provide all those along the GGW with the possibility of self-sufficiency and beyond.

No Poverty

End poverty in all its forms everywhere.

The UN maintains that economic growth must be inclusive to provide sustainable jobs and promote equality. Up to 42% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa continues to live below the international poverty line of $1.90 US a day. Poverty includes hunger and malnutrition, limited access to basic services, social exclusion and a lack of participation in decision-making. Economic growth must be inclusive to provide sustainable jobs and promote equality.

The eradication of poverty in Africa and globally is a necessary and critical goal of the United Nations. Particularly in water-scarce areas of the world such as the Sahel, TAP enhancement and improvement of health, agriculture and lifespan through clean, reliable fresh water is foundational support for poverty reduction.

Zero Hunger

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

The food and agriculture sector offer key solutions for development and is central for hunger and poverty eradication. The UN advocates that It is time to rethink how humans grow, share and consume food. If done right, the UN maintains agriculture, forestry and fisheries can provide nutritious food for all and generate decent incomes, while supporting people-centred rural development and protecting the environment. Climate change is putting pressure on the resources people depend on and is increasing risks associated with disasters, such as droughts and floods. The UN maintains:

” A profound change of the global food and agriculture system is needed if we are to nourish the 815 million people who are hungry today and the additional 2 billion people expected to be undernourished by 2050.

THE UN agrees that Investments in agriculture are crucial to increasing the capacity for agricultural productivity and sustainable food production systems are necessary to help alleviate the perils of hunger. In aiming to provide the first permanent solution to drought in the region, the TAP project will inherently spur game-changing agricultural and food supply sustainability.

The UN is particularly focused on increasing agricultural productivity and especially small-scale food producers for both local and business-building activities. TAP’s on-going, permanent provision of fresh water will enhance the health of residents, capacity of varied sustainable agricultural areas and livestock, contributing to and enhancing food security.

Life On Land

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.

The UN advises in response to climate change it is essential to sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss. Forests cover 30.7 per cent of the Earth’s surface and, in addition to providing food security and shelter, they are key to combating climate change, protecting biodiversity and the homes of the indigenous population. By protecting forests, this will strengthen natural resource management and increase land productivity. At the current time, thirteen million hectares of forests are being lost every year while the persistent degradation of drylands has led to the desertification of 3.6 billion hectares. Deforestation and desertification – caused by human activities and climate change – pose major challenges to sustainable development and have affected the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in the fight against poverty.

2.6 billion people depend directly on agriculture, but 52 per cent of the land used for agriculture is moderately or severely affected by soil degradation. Arable land loss is estimated at 30 to 35 times the historical rate. Due to drought and desertification, 12 million hectares are lost each year (23 hectares per minute). Within one year, 20 million tons of grain could have been grown. 74 per cent of the poor are directly affected by land degradation globally. Over 80 per cent of the human diet is provided by plants. Only three cereal crops – rice, maize and wheat – provide 60 per cent of energy intake. As many as 80 per cent of people living in rural areas in developing countries rely on traditional plant-­‐based medicines for basic healthcare.

The UN encourages all persons to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. These goals embody the successful completion and operation of TAP, in a large section of a large continent which has seen among the worst droughts and desertification processes in the world. While TAP has access to and uses the expertise of a wide variety of eminent researchers, TAP would look for a consultative role in these operations which are subject to negotiations between and among adjacent states. TAP’s knowledge, contacts and expertise in these areas will be readily available subject to requests from national governments or authorities

Good Health & Well-Being

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

The UN states ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being for all at all ages is essential to sustainable development. 17,000 fewer children die each day than in 1990, but more than five million children still die before their fifth birthday. 80 per cent of infectious diseases are water-related, and diarrheal diseases kill one out every five children under the age of five 5 each year. Children born into poverty are almost twice as likely to die before the age of five as those from wealthier families. Despite determined global progress, an increasing proportion of child deaths are in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia.

This comprehensive UN goal applies to all peoples in all countries around the world, designed to eradicate a number of afflictions from diseases and ensure access to essential health care. TAP’s fresh water provides one of the non-negotiable requirements for life; itis a UN Human Right and an essential foundation for any country.

Quality Education

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

The UN reminds us that obtaining a quality education is the foundation to improving people’s lives and sustainable development. In addition to improving quality of life, access to inclusive education can help equip locals with the tools required to develop innovative solutions to the world’s greatest problems.  While this UN SDG is primarily about basic education for children, TAP will also encourage important learning opportunities.  In recent years, many major construction projects in Africa funded through charity-based aid, or through government-to-government bilateral arrangements, have not included opportunities for Africans to be trained in the knowledge and or to acquire the skills necessary for their long-term employment. This has been a disappointment. 

“While more than US $300 billion in aid has apparently been disbursed to our continent since 1970, there is little to show for it in terms of economic growth and human development.” 

The requirement to share technical knowledge and provide on the job training for Africans will be a goal linked to TAP employment.    

While mass education is of course under the aegis of local, regional, and national governments, a key component of TAP is the requirement for the employment of local and regional citizens. Substantial numbers of residents with technical, scientific and implementation skills will continue training and maintenance training on all of TAP’s infrastructure and systems. When TAP’s work in Africa is complete, each country will have a specially trained workforce able to maintain the entire system from desalination plants, solar energy production, transport, salt brine management and distribution and pipeline infrastructure.

Gender Equality

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

The UN maintains that gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. Providing women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision-making processes can fuel sustainable economies and benefit societies and humanity at large. The UN suggests that implementing new legal frameworks regarding female equality in the workplace and the eradication of harmful practices targeted at women is crucial to ending the gender-based discrimination prevalent in many countries around the world. TAP recognizes and respects traditional family cultures across Africa. TAP is, however, willing to work with those PAGGW member countries that intend to follow the UN lead regarding gender equality.   

Obtaining water is for many women and girls a daily onerous task which prevents a host of other, more rewarding, and productive activities. TAP will help reduce and/or eliminate this daily, endless task and help train women and girls in the same skills as menserving the maintenance, repair, construction, monitoring and distribution of this vast amount of clean water.

Affordable & Clean Energy

Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

The UN reminds us that energy is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today. Be it for jobs, security, climate change, food production or increasing incomes, access to energy for all is essential. Working towards this goal is especially important as it interlinks with other SDGs. Focusing on universal access to energy, increased energy efficiency and the increased use of renewable energy through new economic and job opportunities is crucial to creating more sustainable and inclusive communities and resilience to environmental issues like climate change. Slightly less than 1 billion people are functioning without electricity and 50% of them are found in Sub-Saharan Africa alone. The UN advocates for more access to clean fuel and technology and more progress to be made regarding integrating renewable energy into end-use applications in buildings, transport and industry.

TAP’s provision of continent-wide clean water also may provide excess power capacity through existing, new, and developing technologies. The infrastructure planned for TAP includes corollary power generation through agreements with national governments and use of several different methods of power generation which is in excess of the power required to run the pipeline.

Decent Work & Economic Growth

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

Sustainable economic growth will require societies to create the conditions that allow people to have quality jobs. Roughly half the world’s population still lives on the equivalent of about $2 US a day with global unemployment rates of 5.7% and having a job does not guarantee the ability to escape from poverty in many places. This slow and uneven progress requires us to rethink and retool our economic and social policies aimed at eradicating poverty. Sustainable economic growth will require societies to create the conditions that allow people to have quality jobs that stimulate the economy while not harming the environment. Job opportunities and decent working conditions are also required for the whole working age population. The UN maintains there needs to be increased commitments to trade, banking and agriculture infrastructure to help increase productivity and reduce unemployment levels in the world’s most impoverished regions.

Opportunities presented by TAP will include utilization and employment of the current younger generations of trained, technically-educated young women and men in each country, who will receive specific training in their area of interest and aspirations, in all aspects of TAP’s desalination process and infrastructure, long-distance transport of water together with the potential integration of power and communications systems along the pipeline, as well as maintenance and monitoring of all TAP operational requirements. This essential educational process is necessary to ensure the smooth and effective transition of pipeline operations from TAP to each individual country, and their citizens, along the route.

Industry, Innovation, & Infrastructure

Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.

The UN agrees that investments in infrastructure – transport, irrigation, energy and information and communication technology – are crucial to achieving sustainable development and empowering communities in many countries. It has long been recognized that growth in productivity and incomes, and improvements in health and education outcomes require investment in infrastructure. Technological progress is the foundation of efforts to achieve environmental objectives, such as increased resource and energy-efficiency. Without technology and innovation, industrialization will not happen, and without industrialization, development will not happen. There needs to be more investments in high-tech products that dominate the manufacturing productions to increase efficiency and a focus on mobile cellular services that increase connections between people.

TAP infrastructure will both mirror, follow and lead existing land-based infrastructure and enhance a number of capabilities specifically around desalination, pipeline transportation across-continent, and will employ evaporative salt ponds for both mining and ocean preservation, along with new means of creating power and building in telecommunications facilities.

Reduce Inequalities

Reduce inequality within and among countries.

The UN advises that to reduce inequalities, policies should be universal in principle, paying attention to the needs of disadvantaged and marginalized populations. The international community has made significant strides towards lifting people out of poverty. The most vulnerable nations – the least developed countries, the landlocked developing countries and the small island developing state – continue to make inroads into poverty reduction. However, inequality persists, and large disparities remain regarding access to health and education services and other assets. There is growing consensus that economic growth is not sufficient to reduce poverty if it is not inclusive and if it does not involve the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental. To reduce inequality, policies should be universal in principle, paying attention to the needs of disadvantaged and marginalized populations. There needs to be an increase in duty-free treatment and continuation of favouring exports from developing countries, in addition to increasing the share of developing countries’ vote within the IMF. Finally, innovations in technology can help reduce the cost of transferring money for migrant workers.

While TAP remains a massive, humanitarian project, geo-political issues are not the focus of TAP. TAP may however be a catalyst to enhance equality within and among countries affected by and benefitting from the Great Green Wall.

Sustainable Cities & Communities

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

The UN advocates for a future in which cities provide opportunities for all, with access to basic services, energy, housing, transportation and more. Cities are hubs for ideas, commerce, culture, science, productivity, social development and much more. At their best, cities have enabled people to advance socially and economically. With the number of people living within cities projected to rise to 5 billion people by 2030, it’s important that efficient urban planning and management practices are in place to deal with the challenges brought by urbanization. There needs to be a future in which cities provide opportunities for all, with access to basic services, energy, housing, transportation and more. Rapid urbanization is exerting pressure on fresh water supplies, sewage, the living environment, and public health.

Safe, reliable permanent fresh water will help provide one of the non-negotiable requirements of life, without which cities and human settlements will of necessity, focus efforts on survival. Reliable access to fresh water will lessen the need for massive human migration in search of better opportunities.

Responsible Consumption & Production

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

The UN maintains that sustainable consumption and production is about promoting resource and energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure, and providing access to basic services, green and decent jobs and a better quality of life for all. Its implementation helps to achieve overall development plans, reduce future economic, environmental and social costs, strengthen economic competitiveness and reduce poverty.

The UN’s concern for educating consumers on sustainable consumption and lifestyles, is heightened regarding the world’s use of fresh water. Less than 3 per cent of the world’s water is fresh (drinkable), of which 2.5 per cent is frozen in the Antarctica, Arctic and glaciers. The UN explains that humanity must therefore rely on 0.5 per cent for all of man’s ecosystem’s and fresh water needs but despite this, humankind is polluting water in rivers and lakes faster than nature can recycle and purify. More than 1 billion people still do not have access to fresh water. Excessive use of water contributes to the global water stress.

As a global sustainable development goal, the U.N. is uniquely positioned to assist and persuade countries of the world to commit to a sustainable existence on planet Earth. TAP contributes to this goal at a very foundational level – survival, through clean drinking water.

Climate Action

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

Climate change is now affecting every country on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives, costing people, communities and countries dearly today and even more tomorrow. The poorest and most vulnerable people are being affected the most. Affordable, scalable solutions are now available to enable countries to leapfrog to cleaner, more resilient economies. The pace of change is quickening as more people are turning to renewable energy and a range of other measures that will reduce emissions and increase adaptation efforts. Climate change, however, is a global challenge that does not respect national borders. It is an issue that requires solutions that need to be coordinated at the international level to help developing countries move toward a low-carbon economy. Few regions on earth are already challenged severely by climate change as the Sahel, most notably regarding rapid desertification.

Changing the ecosystem of a large part of a continent will slow the encroachment of the desert and provide a return to arable productive land. TAP’s substantial use of saline ocean water could over time provides a counterbalance to increasing sea level rise. TAP also uses only evaporation salt ponds to manage the large amounts of brine that many desalination plants simply return to the sea.

Life Below Water

Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

Careful management of this fundamental resource is a key feature of a sustainable future. The world’s oceans – their temperature, chemistry, currents and life – drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind. Our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air, are all ultimately provided and regulated by the sea. The UN set as a goal that by 2025, countries will prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution.

TAP’s well-conceived and well-designed evaporative pond system ensures that not only does brine from its desalination plants not get returned to the ocean in a damaging concentrated volume, but TAP will also transform both brine and potentially other minerals into highly-sought-after and essential minerals.