NAWAMED et AQUACYCLE ensemble pour changer le paradigme de la réutilisation des eaux usées
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Dr. Yaser Abunnasr, associate professor of landscape architecture and planning at the department of landscape design and ecosystem management and NAWAMED project coordinator at the American University of Beirut, was invited by AQUACYCLE project to participate in its first series of stakeholders workshop, which was held on July 25, 2020 at the doctoral school of sciences and technologies, Lebanese university in Tripoli, Lebanon.
Similar to NAWAMED, AQUACYCLE is a project financed under the ENI CBC MED program titled ‘Towards sustainable treatment and reuse of wastewater in the Mediterranean region’, which offers opportunities for cooperation between 8 partners, towards sustainable cost-effective treatment and reuse of wastewater with minimal running costs and maximum environmental benefits. CERTE - Centre de Recherches et des Technologies des Eaux, from Tunisia is a common partner in both projects. More information about AQUACYCLE available here
The theme of this first workshop was “Changing the paradigm for wastewater reuse”. It included interactive sessions in which participants were invited to identify relevant issues as well as possible solutions to overcome wastewater problems in the city of Tripoli.
Dr. Abunnasr gave a presentation titled “Nature based solutions for grey water recycling: Potential for cities in Lebanon”, explaining how green walls and constructed wetlands provide ecosystem benefits that help clean water, reduce temperatures, increase biodiversity, and clean the air and many other benefits.
Recycling grey water is becoming a mainstream of sustainability, although highly engineered solutions are costly and energy intensive, nature-based solutions can provide economically viable solutions to recycle grey water at the individual scale
His presentation well-introduced nature-based solutions and the NAWAMED project as a novel approach to grey water recycling and its potential applications and opportunities for cities in Lebanon through upscaling.
In addition, Dr. Abunnasr participated in the discussions to collect the participants’ feedback and expectations about AQUACYCLE project’s envisaged outcomes, such as the planned demonstration on a pilot basis of an eco-innovative wastewater treatment technology, as well as an initial prototype of a WebGIS based decision support tool towards the drawing up of treated wastewater reuse action plans. Besides, he also gave a short-filmed interview on reaction to the AQUACYCLE project.
Thus, this workshop is a first step in future collaboration between both projects, through the initiation of sharing ideas, exchanging knowledge and information related to technical activities/tasks, pilot experiences and overall lessons learned.